Sociology Q&A WA15

01. .05 points, 10-45 words > Explain how John Guare’s play Six Degrees of Separation (1990) is a play about the ways people share gossip with one another and back up your answer with an example of some of the gossip that circulates in the story. In order to get your half point here you must specifically reference the film or the play version of Six Degrees of Separation and be sure to explain and defend your response.

02. .05 points, 10-45 words > Read what C. Wright Mills’ idea about the sociological imagination was all about here (Links to an external site.) and then make the argument that Paul Poitier’s ideas about the imagination are similar to this very famous sociological concept. Explain and defend your response. I first introduced C. Wright Mills here.

03. .05 points, 10-45 words > How do Paul Poitier and Oesia and Flan Kittredge meet and who, specifically is the person or people who connect them?

04. .05 points, 10-45 words > The beating and death of Matthew Shepard happened about five years after the movie version of Six Degrees of Separation came out in theaters. How might his beating and death help inform our understanding of why Trent Conway felt he had to hide his sexuality from his family, peers and community? Explain and defend your response. I presented the story of the beating and death of Matthew Shepard in class. Trent is a character in both the film and play version of Six Degrees of Separation (1990).

05. .05 points, 10-45 words > Do you think Paul Poitier was correct to think that he needed to claim that he was the son of a famous African-American movie star in order to get very wealthy New Yorkers to like him? Back up your answer with at least one specific scene or or character or piece of dialogue from either the film or play version of Six Degrees of Separation (1990) and be sure to explain and defend your response.

06. .05 points, 10-45 words > According to the documentary Stranger with a Camera (2000), first assigned here, what was the war on poverty and how was the war on poverty different than the culture of poverty in the United States in the late 20th century? In order to get your point here you must specifically reference Stranger with a Camera. Need a definition for the culture of poverty? The culture of poverty is a concept in social theory that asserts that the values of people experiencing poverty play a significant role in perpetuating their impoverished condition, sustaining a cycle of poverty across generations. Need more of a definition? Click here (Links to an external site.).

07. .05 points, 10-45 words > Watch the first forty-five minutes of the documentary below, Born Rich (2003) and come up with your own definition for the culture of wealth. You must reference this documentary specifically in coming up with your definition in order to get your point here.

08. .05 points, 10-45 words > According to the documentary above, Born Rich (2003), are African-American people a part of the culture of wealth that existed in New York City in the late 20th century? Explain and defend your response.

09. .05 points, 10-45 words > Make the argument that the young people featured in the documentary above, Born Rich (2003), were from the exact same culture of wealth that Paul Poitier aspired to be a part of. Be sure to explain and defend your response. Be sure to specifically reference a scene or character or piece of dialogue from either the film or play version of Six Degrees of Separation.

10. .05 points, 10-45 words > Would Daniel Patrick Moynihan consider the culture of wealth to be an example of anomie? Why or why not? Be sure to explain and defend your response. I first introduced Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s research to you here and you need to specifically reference this research in order to get your point here. I.e., Don’t just Google the name. Show that you understand how Moynihan’s research came up specifically in this course. Need a definition of anomie? Anomie is the lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group. I first introduced it to you here.

11. .05 points, 10-45 words > Do you think it would be harder for a person to perform a social class they were not a part of or a gender they weren’t identified as? Formulate your answer by referencing the stories of Paul Poitier and Brandon Teena and be sure to explain and defend your response. Here is a quick link back to the story of Brandon Teena.

12. .05 points, 10-45 words > Click here (Links to an external site.) and scroll to the 4’16 mark to learn about the story of Chauncey Julius. You are looking for TAL-321, Sink Or Swim, Act 1, “Mr. Central High” (2005). Click here (Links to an external site.) for a transcript. What do you think: Is Chauncey a trickster or con artist like Paul Poitier was?

13. .05 points, 10-45 words > Why, do you think, did Oesia Kittredge become so obsessed with finding out who Paul was? Explain and defend your response.

14. .05 points, 10-45 words > Oesia Kittredge and Paul Poitier have a phone conversation at one point in the play and in it Paul says, “Oeisa Kittrich, I am Black.” What did he mean by this statement of fact? Explain and defend your reponse.

15. .05 points, 10-45 words > Does Oesia Kittredge ever find out who Paul was? Explain and defend your response.

16. .05 points, 10-45 words > At what exact point in the film Catfish (2008) does Nev call Megan (i.e., Angela) a psychopath? Based on the Robert Hare’s research on psychopathy, is it fair to call Megan – or Angela – a psychopath? Defend your response. You can find Catfish (2008) here. To learn about Hare’s research click here (Links to an external site.). It will take you to TAL 436, The Psychopath Test, Act 1, “The Underachievement Test” (2011). Or just read the transcript here (Links to an external site.). Either way, make sure you come away knowing what the PCL-R is and be sure to reference it in your answer.

17. .05 points, 10-45 words > Do you think in some alternative universe it would be possible for John Guare to turn Robert Dixon into a compelling fictional character and the American criminal justice system to have incarcerated David Hampton as a psychopath? Explain and defend your response. Don’t know who Robert Dixon is? Scroll up to Q17. He is featured in the audio documentary assigned there.

18. .05 points, 10-45 words > Which do you think would make better evidence, (better measurable facts) for a sociologist – A Facebook page created in cyberspace or an address book written out in ink on paper? In order to get your full half point here you must choose one of these options over the other and to fully explain and defend your response.

19. .05 points, 10-45 words > Is it possible that Paul Poitier, was a psychopath, based on Robert Hare’s definition in Q17? Explain and defend your response.

20. .05 points, A couple of sentences > Is Stanley Milgrim’s Experimental Study of The Small World Problem (1967) mentioned in this film and if so where exactly (i.e., identify the scene)? read this question carefully! What you are looking for is a reference to Stanley Milgrim’s Experimental Study of The Small World Problem (1967) specifically.