Senior Humanities
  • Daily Lessons
  • Course Overview
  • Resources
  • Senior Project
    • 2025 Award Finalists
    • 2024 Award Finalists
    • 2023 Award Finalists
    • 2019 Award Finalists
    • 2018 Award Finalists
    • Early Senior Theses and TED Talks
  • Honors

Friday- Data That Matters

9/30/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. ​Senior Project Brainstorm 1: 3-2-1 Brainstorm. DUE: Wednesday, 10/5, Start of Class.
  2. Data That Matters.  DUE: Thursday, 10/6, MIDNIGHT.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 10/4, MIDNIGHT.

Starter 17
  1. Which issue are you more interested in right now? Housing and inequality/class, or postsecondary education and inequality/class?  Why? Talk me through what draws you to that issue, what questions you have, what you would like to know more about.

PM Class Only: Correlation Brainstorming
In your groups, come up with all the different variables you could correlate social class to for the following topics:
  1. Housing
  2. Post-Secondary Education

For example, if I were going to correlate social class and jobs, I might have the following things:

I want to correlate a person’s social class with…

  1. Type of job
  2. Level of education needed to get your current job
  3. Annual salary or hourly wage
  4. Job satisfaction
  5. Happiness with job
  6. Length of time at job
  7. And many more!

Data That Matters
  1. Read assignment
  2. Read example
    1. What do you notice about their writing?
    2. What do you think will be easy about this for you?
    3. What will be difficult?
  3. DUE: Next Thursday, MIDNIGHT.​​

Thurs- Inequality for All + Correlations

9/29/2022

 
​DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. ​Senior Project Brainstorm 1: 3-2-1 Brainstorm. DUE: Wednesday, 10/5, Start of Class.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 10/4, MIDNIGHT.

Starter 16- Movie Notes Review
Look back at the notes you have created for Inequality for All so far.
  1. What is the most interesting thing you have learned from this documentary so far?
  2. If you could do a correlation between any variable related to socioeconomic class, what would 3 ideas for this be?
    1. For example: correlation between class and attitude towards college, or correlation between class and school attendance

Finish Inequality for All
Documentary Notes
  1. What are they measuring?  Keep track of the correlations and other measurements you see here, and write down what two things they are correlating for each.
  2. What are the larger conclusions they are drawing from these measurements and data?
  3. What questions does this generate for you?  What measurements would you like to see to gather more information on this topic?

Inequality for All- Small Group Discussions
Students in groups of 6-8, small informal discussions.


Brainstorm- What questions do we want to answer about social class as it relates to housing and post-secondary education?

Brainstorm 1- Determining Social Class/defining social class
  1. In your partners, come up with a list of ALL the things you could use to measure or determine social class 
  2. Now, narrow it down to your top 3
  3. Combine with another pair, come to consensus on top 3
  4. Make a master list on the board

Brainstorm 2- Correlations to Class
In your groups, come up with all the different variables you could correlate social class to for the following topics:
  1. Housing
  2. Post-Secondary Education

For example, if I were going to correlate social class and jobs, I might have the following things:
  1. Type of job
  2. Level of education needed to get your current job
  3. Annual salary or hourly wage
  4. Job satisfaction
  5. Happiness with job
  6. Length of time at job
  7. And many more!

Exit Ticket: Which issue are you most interested in right now, in terms of the connections to social class/inequality? Housing or Post Secondary Education?  Why?

​

Weds- Senior Project IdeaFest

9/28/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. ​Senior Project Brainstorm 1: 3-2-1 Brainstorm. DUE: Wednesday, 10/5, Start of Class.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 10/4, MIDNIGHT.

SLIDESHOW FOR TODAY

Our Goals Today (5 min)
  1. Generate a bunch of different potential ideas
  2. Build on and make those ideas more specific
  3. Walk out with different ideas for thesis, project, connections to start researching next week
​
Where we’re going next 2 weeks
  1. Narrow ideas and do initial research
  2. First critique round

Initial Brainstorming
  1. Students in groups of 15 (3 total groups)
  2. 3 Stations
    1. Research questions (what do you want to understand)
    2. Project ideas (what could you build, create, do)
    3. Community Connections (who could you work with/help)

Cycle 1- Generate as MANY IDEAS as possible (15 min)
  1. Explain “Yes, and…” philosophy
  2. 5 minutes per station
  3. EVERYONE is writing!

Cycle 2- Focus, specify, build (35-40 min)
  1. Choose a focus area- we should end up with 3 roughly equal groups
  2. Kyle and Lori Demo on whiteboard
  3. Research Questions
    1. Focus on the most interesting ideas
    2. Make them more specific
    3. Build on them
    4. Combine them
    5. Generate MORE questions!
  4. Project Ideas
    1. Refine them
    2. Identify potential audiences
    3. Identify impact
    4. Community connections?
  5. Community Connections
    1. Local
    2. State
    3. National
  6. Each Group Share out: 3 best ideas and why

3-2-1
  1. Access Brainstorming Document in Google Classroom
    1. A repository for ALL of your brainstorms
    2. Do NOT turn this in unless we tell you to!
  2. Explain 3-2-1 style brainstorming
  3. Are there connections between these?  Where could they be?

Tuesday- Inequality for All

9/27/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. DUE: Tuesday, 9/27, MIDNIGHT.​

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)​
  1. Class Narrative Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class
  2. Senior Thesis Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class

Announcements: 
  1. Wednesdays from now → Thanksgiving
    1. 1st Period- Catch up/work time/Individual Help
    2. 2nd/3rd periods- Senior Project Work with Kyle and Lori
    3. 4th Period- Catch up/work time with Kyle or Lori
  2. Seminar Reflection 2: Due TONIGHT at midnight!  

Voting Registration
Let’s hear from (and participate in voting registration!

Starter 15- Inequality Prediction + Data
Prediction 
  1. Imagine the US is divided into quintiles in terms of population (groups of 20%)
  2. How do you think the wealth of the US is divided between these?  In other words, for the lowest 20% of the population, what % of the wealth of the US do they have?  Then for the next lowest, etc.
  3. How do you think the wealth of the US SHOULD ideally be divided between these?  Why?

Wealth Inequality in America
Watch the infographic!  
  1. How did your prediction stack up?  
  2. How did your ideal stack up?
  3. What do you think explains the difference between the ideal/predictions/reality?

Inequality for all NOTES
Purpose of this film- to give a broad historical context and overview of how we got to where we are today, how that is connected to policy and politics, and why this is a problem.
  1. Review/read over the initial background information
  2. Have students read over the questions they will need to answer during the movie (bullet points are fine!)

We will finish this on Thursday!

Friday- Seminar Reflection + Analysis

9/23/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. DUE: Tuesday, 9/27, MIDNIGHT.
  2. Seminar Reflection Revision/Resubmissions. DUE: Sunday, 9/25, MIDNIGHT.  Please note that to be re-assessed, you must highlight and comment the revisions you made so I can easily find them!

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)​
  1. A Touchy Subject Annotations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 9/27, Start of Class
  2. Class Narrative Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class
  3. Senior Thesis Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class

Goals for Today:
  1. I can explain 3 methods for setting up quotes, and know where to find the resources to help me with this.
  2. I understand the 3 components of analysis, and have outlined at least one TEA (or TEAEA) paragraph that includes these components.
  3. I know what the expectations are for citations, and know where to find resources to help me create these.
 
Starter 14- Starter Self-Assessment
  1. Looking at this rubric, and at your starter document, tell us where you fall on this rubric, and give specific examples to support your assessment.
  2. How is this class working for you thus far?  Let me know what is going well for you in here, and what I can improve on to make this a better experience for you, or support you more effectively (please don’t tell me to stop making you read and write…it’s literally my job…).
  3. Make sure you have shared your starter document with me!
 
Review/Resource: Setting Up Quotes
Review this resource!
 
Analysis Framework and Outlining/Revision
  1. Use this to outline your first (and, if you find it useful, your second) TEA paragraph for your seminar reflection.  Then take some time to write!
 
Review/Resource: MLA Citations
  1. You are expected to do both in-text/parenthetical citations and Works Cited for any writing you do that contains outside evidence. 
  2. See the RESOURCES page of my DP for resources that can help you with this.
  3. See GOOGLE CLASSROOM for the links to Amazon that will give you the citation information for the two text sources
    1. A Touchy Subject- just cite the book linked on Google Classroom
    2. Class Narratives- for this, you will do an edited collection citation for the book linked on Google Classroom
  4. You may use citation generators for Works Cited, but remember…garbage in, garbage out.  Double check them to make sure you are correct!  For example, I just tried to do citations for Class Lives (the book of your class narratives), and it came out incorrect both times.

Exit Ticket:
How confident are you, on a scale of 1-4 (1 = not at all, 4 = super confident), in your ability to do the following things:

  1. Write a thesis statement that flips the question
  2. Use the thesis to outline the structure of your essay
  3. Set up quotes, using one of the 3 methods we reviewed
  4. Analyze evidence using the analysis framework
  5. Correctly cite your sources

Thurs- Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals

9/22/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. Seminar Reflection + Writing Goals. DUE: Tuesday, 9/27, MIDNIGHT.
  2. Seminar Reflection Revision/Resubmissions. DUE: Sunday, 9/25, MIDNIGHT.  Please note that to be re-assessed, you must highlight and comment the revisions you made so I can easily find them!

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)
  1. DW2 Inferences and Generalizations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 9/23, End of Class
  2. A Touchy Subject Annotations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 9/27, Start of Class
  3. Class Narrative Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class
  4. Senior Thesis Notes. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 9/29, Start of Class

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
  1. Honors meeting FRIDAY at lunch.  Make sure you're keeping up with your reading and annotations!
  2. Starter Self Assessment TOMORROW.  Now is a good time to catch up on your starters if you have missed any. 

Seminar Reflection Part 1: Writing Goals
Look at the Writing Rubric (or Honors Rubric), both on the RESOURCES page of my DP. You may also want to reference your Senior Thesis Notes, and my specific feedback on your first seminar reflection (check your email!)
  1. Develop two specific writing goals for yourself as a writer based on these documents and my feedback.  We're going to be using these goals for the rest of the semester to gauge your growth as a writer, and will use your end of semester writing reflection as a springboard for your senior project paper.  As you feel like you achieve your goals, we'll develop new ones!  Please try to keep the grammar/punctuation goals to only one of your goals.  It’s fine to have one goal of this type, but the others should be broader in scope. 
  2. Write 2 Goal Paragraphs:  For each of those three goals, write a paragraph.  That paragraph should include:
    1. What your goal is 
    2. An example from your in-class essay, your college essay, or some other piece of writing that shows the need for that goal
    3. Some ideas about how you can work towards improving this skill for your next piece of writing (if you’re stuck on this piece, try Google or talking to me!)

GOAL EXAMPLES:
  1. Example:  Goal 1- Understanding the Text.  I will make sure that I thoroughly understand the text I am using in my writing before I use it as evidence.  In my "Habits of Highly Cynical People" writing, I used a quote that said "..........."  In my essay, I said that this quote meant "....quote from essay....." However, I misunderstood this quote because I didn't put it in the larger context of the argument Solnit was making.  In fact, the quote means (tell real meaning of quote here).  To improve this in future writings, I think I need to summarize the meaning of every paragraph of the reading in my annotations, and I need to ask questions more actively during seminar coaching.  If I'm reading it independently, I need to make sure I completely understand one paragraph before moving on to the next paragraph, rather than just continuing to read on.
 
  1. Example: Goal 2- Logical Flow.  I will  make sure that all my paragraphs logically flow from one idea to the next.  In my seminar reflection, my first paragraph was about how both the presidential campaigns oversimplify what the other one is saying, and my second paragraph was about how naive cynicism is bad.  I didn't connect these two ideas at all, so it was confusing for the reader to make that jump.  In future writing, I could do a number of things to improve this.  Early in my writing process, I could make sure that I have an outline, so that I've clearly thought through the logical flow of my paper.  I can also use transition sentences to show the reader the links between ideas.  Finally, I can reference terms and ideas from the previous paragraph in the one after it to show the reader how the ideas from the preceding paragraph connect to the ideas in the next paragraph.

Seminar Reflection Part 2: Analytical Writing
For this part of your seminar reflection, you will be focusing on developing your analytical writing skills.  You will respond to one of the prompts below with a thesis statement, and two paragraphs that support that thesis statement.  Honors Students- you are required to use two pieces of evidence per paragraph, and are strongly encouraged to add an introduction paragraph.

  1. What connections are there between the class narratives you read and the arguments made in “A Touchy Subject?”
  2. Why is it difficult for Americans to talk about class?  Draw upon both “A Touchy Subject” and the class narratives you read.
  3. What makes class distinctions murky in the United States?  Draw upon both “A Touchy Subject” and the class narratives you read.


Flipping the Question → Thesis
Everyone complete this as we walk through this, and you should end up with a solid thesis statement. Use this to structure your analytical response (you will have time tomorrow to keep working on this).

​

Senior Project Launch!

9/21/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. Class Narrative Notes. DUE: Thursday, 9/22, Start of Class
  2. Seminar Reflection Revision/Resubmissions. DUE: Sunday, 9/25, MIDNIGHT.  Please note that to be re-assessed, you must highlight and comment the revisions you made so I can easily find them!

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)
  1. DW2 Inferences and Generalizations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 9/23, End of Class
  2. A Touchy Subject Annotations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 9/27, Start of Class.

HUMANITIES: Senior Thesis Notes
  1. Read ONE of the Senior Theses linked here. 
  2. As you read, take notes in the document on Google Classroom on:
    1. What you notice about their writing
    2. What do you notice about their organization/structure of their argument?
    3. How do you need to improve as a writer and researcher in order to write at this caliber?  What specific skills do you need?  What work habits?
  3. 2020
    1. Willa Kopp DeVol (winner)- What has the search for consciousness looked like, and what can we infer from this pattern about our own human nature?
  4. 2019
    1. Sarah Von Tersch: What is the most effective way to reduce drug cartel power and minimize their negative effects?
    2. Caeley McClain:  What are the most effective methods to get uninvolved people to take initial action on climate change in the United States?​
  5. 2018
    1. Lily Bisantz- To what extent does the sexualization of young girls and women in Western culture perpetuate sexual violence?
    2. Dylan King- What in the past 50 years has led to the economic recession of Puerto Rico and how has hurricane Maria impacted the island?​​ 
    3. Quinn Luthy- How do confessional poets use form to create meaning?
    4. Ben Malone- What are the potential future roles of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies in the economy?
    5. Izzy Simpson- How can the fundamental structure of the stock market be utilized to predict market price fluctuations?
    6. Claire Leffler (Winner)- How can recurring patterns and forms found in nature be explained mathematically and why are humans visually drawn to recreating these patterns? 
  6. Other Solid Examples:
    1. Tucker Leavitt- Water Arc Explosions (Physics)
    2. Bekah Kuster- Energy Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases  (Energy)
    3. Lyle Bryson- Trends and Youth Culture  (Marketing/Psychology)
    4. Philip Wiley- What makes good science fiction?  (Literary Analysis)
    5. Allee McKown- Theories of Global Inequality (International Studies)​
    6. Oli Sakadinsky- Special Interest Groups in US Politics (Political Science)
    7. Izzy Bonecutter- Mindfulness and the Brain (Neuroscience)
    8. Isabel Krull- Culture of Ballet (Sociology)
    9. Claire Larson- Brain Trauma and EMDR Therapy (Neuroscience)
    10. Anne Chase- Social Media and Perceptions of Nature (Media Studies)
    11. Grace Frideger- Ecofeminism and the environmental movement. (Philosophy and Environmental Studies)
    12. Corry Arcomano- Dry needling vs. Acupuncture (Medicine)



​

Mon- A Touchy Subject Coaching + Prewrite

9/19/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. A Touchy Subject Seminar Prewrite. DUE: Tuesday, 9/20, Start of Class
  2. Class Narrative Notes. DUE: Thursday, 9/22, Start of Class
  3. Seminar Reflection Revision/Resubmissions. DUE: Sunday, 9/25, MIDNIGHT.  Please note that to be re-assessed, you must highlight and comment the revisions you made so I can easily find them!

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)
  1. DW2 Inferences and Generalizations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 9/23, End of Class
  2. A Touchy Subject Annotations. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 9/27, Start of Class.
Announcements: 
  1. Senior Project Launch on WEDNESDAY, and every Wednesday for the rest of the semester.
  2. Honors Discussion- Friday at lunch, my room
  3. This week, we are continuing to build foundational skills and knowledge about social class, in both my room and Kyle's class.  We will continue this through next week, and then start turning our attention towards our larger project, both in terms of community partners/action, and research/analysis. 

Learning Targets: 
  1. I can understand and summarize verbally the key ideas from "A Touchy Subject."
  2. I can react to a specific quote I have identified in writing from "A Touchy Subject."
  3. I have chosen the class narratives I will read during seminar tomorrow.

Starter 12: Application of Theories from Lecture on Friday
  1. Which of these theories do you think is dominant in the popular American narrative?  Explain.
  2. Which of these theories do you think best explains class stratification in the US?  Why?
  3. What questions do you have about social stratification?  List at least 3, put one on the board!

Fussell Coaching (40 min)
  1. Summarize his main point in one sentence- what is the THESIS of this article?  The idea that EVERY paragraph supports?
  2. Go paragraph by paragraph.  For each paragraph:
    1. What is the main point of this paragraph?
    2. How does this relate to previous paragraphs, OR to class concepts we’ve been discussing?
    3. Is there anything here you find confusing?  Discuss, and clarify your confusions!
  3. Write two discussion questions, give them to Lori

Seminar Prewrite (rest of class)
For your seminar prewrite, choose one quote from this text that strikes you.  This could strike you as particularly insightful, invoke a strong emotional reaction, or be something that you dispute.  In your prewrite, write down the quote and then react to it.  Describe what you think the quote means (hint, put it in context of the essay), then discuss why you chose it, and what it makes you think/what connections you are making.  Get specific and detailed here!

Set Up Class Narratives Assignment
Each student should have two class narratives- one from their assigned class, and one from a different class (your choice for this one).  See Google Classroom Assignment for your assigned narratives!
  1. Choose your narratives from the folders linked above.  If you would like me to print for you, let me know. 
  2. Read over the notes below, and let me know if you have any questions about what you will be doing in class tomorrow when you are NOT in the seminar.
​
Read the first class narrative (assigned), and take notes on the following:
  1. What are your big takeaways (2-3) from reading this?  
  2. How did this person react and relate to other classes they came into contact with?
  3. Where does their social identity create privilege?  Where does it create disadvantages?
  4. What connections can you make to any of the following:
    1. Functionalism  
    2. Conflict theory (including Marx and Weber)
    3. Privilege
    4. A Touchy Subject 

Now, choose a narrative from ANOTHER class to read.  Read the second narrative and answer the following:
  1. What were the biggest differences between the first narrative and this one?
  2. How did this person react and relate to other classes?
  3. Where does their social identity create privilege?  Where does it create disadvantage?

Friday- Inferences + Touchy Subject Annotations

9/16/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. DW2 Inferences and Generalizations. DUE: Friday, 9/16, End of Class
  2. A Touchy Subject Annotations. DUE: Monday, 9/19, Start of Class.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)
  1. College Essay FINAL/Cover Sheet. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Monday, 9/19, Start of Class

Starter 12:  Graphs from Pew Research
  1. Describe what you see here in terms of data. Summarize the main ideas, and discuss what stands out to you. 
  2. What are some potential explanations for this data?  How do these graphs inter-relate?
  3. What questions does this raise for you?  List at least 3.
 
DW2 Observations → Inferences → Generalizations
  1. Observation = something you experience with 5 senses
  2. Inference = something you think is true based on the evidence from your observations
  3. Generalization = larger inference about a group of people
 
Your Task:
  1. Take your observations from yesterday.  Write, in the right hand column, at least 5 inferences that you can make from this data.
  2. Draw lines from the observations to the related inference
  3. THEN, go to the very end.  Make 3 generalizations about the middle class in Durango.  These should be based on your observations and the discussion with me. Remember, generalization should be accurate, based on data, and attempting to capture a pattern. 
  4. Now turn that sucker in to the basket on Lori’s desk!
 
A Touchy Subject- Read and Annotate
Begin reading and annotating this essay about class distinctions in America.  You may annotate directly on the document, or on the form on Google Classroom.  Please remember, we’re looking for 2-3 annotations per page, and you need to do 5 vocab words as well (definitions + use in a sentence).

​

Thurs- Inequality Lecture + DW2 Neighborhood Walk

9/15/2022

 
DUE DATES- ON TIME​
  1. A Touchy Subject Annotations. DUE: Monday, 9/19, Start of Class.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)
  1. College Essay FINAL/Cover Sheet. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Monday, 9/19, Start of Class

Starter 11:  Why are there different classes?  (10 min)
What do you think explains the stratification (class divisions) in the US class system?  Why do you think that every society is stratified (divided) in some way?

Lecture:  Social Stratification and Theories  (30 min)
  1. US Class Divisions
    1. Review the basics, that this is going to be the general structure we refer to.
    2. These are typical incomes--there is a range within each class, and different people will define them slightly differently
    3. Important:  These are HOUSEHOLD incomes (typically a family of 3), not individual.
  2. Social Stratification
    1. System where people are divided into layers based on property, prestige, and power
    2. Social patterns, not about individuals (in terms of blame or change)
    3. Ranks people according to relative privileges
    4. Every society does it (caste system = more fixed, our system = more open)
  3. Functionalist Perspective (Davis and Moore)
    1. Social stratification is functional, and necessary for maintaining stability
    2. Society needs to make sure that certain positions are filled (doctors, etc.)
    3. Limited number of people have skills or talents for these important positions
    4. To develop these skills, training is necessary, this requires sacrifices
    5. To motivate people to sacrifice and fill these positions, society must offer them greater rewards (sustenance and comfort, humor and diversion, self-respect and ego expansion)
    6. Most important positions get greatest rewards, and vice versa
    7. Different access to societal rewards -->differentiation in prestige and esteem → institutionalized social inequality
  4. Critiques of Functionalism
    1. Difficult to compare functional importance of any job (Ex: NBA vs. Primary school teacher, banker  vs. garbage man).  Little connection between income and functional importance
    2. Social stratification not fair or rational
      1. Wealth and inheritance
      2. Control of access to training → artificial scarcity of talent (med school)
      3. Opportunities not distributed equally
    3. Functionalism is used to keep poor people buying into their own oppression
  5. Conflict Perspective
    1. Stratification is dysfunctional and harmful
    2. Every society, groups struggle to gain larger share of resources
    3. When a group gains power, uses that power to extract what it can from groups beneath it.  Also uses social institutions to keep itself in power.
    4. Benefits rich at the expense of the poor
    5. According to conflict theory, capitalist economic competition unfairly privileges the rich, who have the power to perpetrate an unfair system that works to their advantage.
    6. “Losers” who are at the bottom of the social stratification have little opportunity to improve their situation, since those at the top tend to have far more political and economic power.
  6. Critiques of Conflict Perspective
    1. People do not always act out of self-interest (donations to charity)
    2. Conflict theory underestimates social mobility, people can change classes through hard work.
  7. Marx’s Theory
    1. In capitalist societies, the bourgeoisie class owns the means of production while the proletariat class sells their labor to the bourgeoisie.
    2. The bourgeoisie have power and status, which they use to maintain the society’s superstructure —it’s values, ideologies, and norms.
    3. In an ideal Marxist communist society, everyone would share access to the means of production and social stratification would be nonexistent.
    4. In a capitalist society, the ruling class promotes its own ideologies and values as the norm for the entire society, and these ideas and values are accepted by the working class.
    5. A temporary status quo could be achieved by employing various methods of social control—consciously or unconsciously—by the bourgeoisie in various aspects of social life. 
    6. Eventually, the capitalist economic order would erode, through its own internal conflict → revolutionary consciousness, development of egalitarian communist society.
      1. State would own the means of production
      2. Equally distribute resources to all citizens. 
  8. Weber’s Theory
    1. Response to Marx
    2. Class is a person’s economic position, based on birth and individual achievement.
    3. Status is one’s social prestige or honor, which may or may not be influenced by class.
    4. Power is one’s ability to get one’s way despite the resistance of others.
    5. Students:  Come up with an example in each category of a person or type of person who has this characteristic, without perhaps having the others

Application of Theories (5 min)
In your group, discuss:
  1. Which of these theories do you think is dominant in the popular American narrative?  Explain.
  2. Which of these theories do you think best explains class stratification in the US?  Why?
  3. What questions do you have about social stratification?  Put them on the board!

10 min- Prep for DW 2
Observation form review, where to park, etc.

4th and 6th- to DW2 for "Middle Class" neighborhood observation.
<<Previous

    Lori's Blog

    Lesson plans posted daily. Come here to see what you missed, find instructions, etc.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Daily Lessons
  • Course Overview
  • Resources
  • Senior Project
    • 2025 Award Finalists
    • 2024 Award Finalists
    • 2023 Award Finalists
    • 2019 Award Finalists
    • 2018 Award Finalists
    • Early Senior Theses and TED Talks
  • Honors