Sociology Questions

Soc 100-001

By: Travis Hager

Suicide Bombers

• Why are men in Iraq willing to suicide bomb targets when most ever other culture would view this action as a heinous crime?

• What aspect of an Islamic extremist's life makes them hate allied forces so much as to live their lives only to kill the men and women of the allied forces.

Racism

• In American society racism is typically looked down upon but why have certain subcultures of America developed extreme hatred of certain other peoples?

• Is the number of extreme racists in American society comparable to other countries or is this hatred spawned by some aspect of American culture?

Cultural Beauty

• Why do certain groups such as the Padaung tribe encourage the deformation of the body in order to be considered beautiful?

• What aspect of American culture makes most consider this practice absurd but accept other forms of bodily deformation? Ex. Braces, cosmetic surgery, different types of makeup.

Environment

• It is evident today that earth’s resources are running out so why do Americans as a whole insist upon over consumption and abusing earths limited recourses in order to feel satisfied?

• What aspect of the American way of life makes us refuse to change our lives to help the environment and in turn ourselves? Ex. Reusable grocery bags, recycling, eco-friendly vehicles?

Guns

• What aspect of American life makes Americans so prone to gun ownership and usage?

• How does American views on gun ownership influence how other cultures view us as a whole?

Individuality

• In American society most people put themselves before their communities. What development in American culture has lead people to feel this way about their communities?

• How do these feelings of self importance effect how our citizens devote their time to non-profit and community services?

Family Unit

• Most family units in America have two incomes one from the mother and father. How has this relatively recent development effected how we raise our youth?

• Has this move to dual incomes lead to less personal feeling in the family unit and made the family only a shell of what it was intended to be?

Financial Gain

• What development has made financial gain so important in American culture that some people will sacrifice their safety and health to acquire it?

• What drives modern day companies to pay their employees only the minimum legal amount and even outsource labor to other countries in order to make more money? Instead of thinking about communities they only think about financial gain.

Fast Food

• Due to the increasing ammount of “fast food” that Americans eat we have been spending less time sitting down with our families, how has this effected the family as a whole?

• How has American’s view on obesity changed since the 1900’s due to the commercialization of the food industry?

The Poor

• In American culture why are the homeless seen automatically as lazy or drug users when our country is founded upon the ideal that everyone is equal?

• How has the increase in drug usage in America effected the unemployment and homeless rates?