Discussion questions for behold the dreamers

Sociology Questions: Behold The Dreamers

Greetings,

This assignment will focus on the interconnectedness of book content, sociological concepts and theories, and the 2008 financial crisis. Most questions will require you to define concepts and theories, use those concepts and theories to analyze book content, and make inferences using facts about the 2008 financial crisis.

This assignment is writing-intensive, reading-intensive, and thinking-intensive; therefore, I encourage you to reserve enough time to respond to questions in a manner that is representative of an advanced sociology major. Each question has several parts. Be sure that you respond to all parts of each question.

Be certain to have your responses to the analysis assignment available for reference.
Other references include Crash Courses in Sociology videos (posted in Canvas), Sociology in Action textbook, and the Behold the Dreamers book.
1. One of the themes in the book is the American Dream. Generally speaking, the American Dream ideology suggests that through hard work, an individual can achieve upward social mobility, education, homeownership, and provide a life for children that will allow the children to exceed the gains of their parent(s).

1a. Discuss origin stories for Cindy and Clark. In other words, discuss their early lives before they married each other. When you respond to this question, be sure to respond to the following questions:

According to the book, what was the occupation of Clark's father?
What was Clark's occupation?
Based on the American Dream ideology, do you think Clark surpassed his father's occupation in life? Why or why not?
According to the book, what is Cindy's origin story?
How was she able to attend college?
What is/was Cindy's profession?
According to the American Dream ideology, did Cindy surpass her mother's social class in life? Provide support documentation from the book to support your response.
1b. In the book, we see that the Edwards family and individual members of the Edwards family enjoy different types of privilege. Identify two types of privilege experienced by the Edwards family and/or an individual member of the Edwards family. If you choose individual family members, be sure to identify the family member by name. When you identify the types of privilege, be sure to:

explain/define the type of privilege
discuss how the Edwards family and/or an individual family member experiences this type of privilege
If you need a review on the concept of privilege, click on the following links:

https://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/privilege.html (Links to an external site.)
http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/privilege-media/forms-privilege (Links to an external site.)
1c. Using the two types of privilege chosen by you, discuss how these two privileges insulated the Edwards family during the recession that resulted from the 2008 financial crisis. Compare the Edwards family outcome in the recession to the Jongas family outcome in the recession. What do you notice about experiences for each family?

2. One aside thought associated with the American Dream ideology is that immigrants can come to the United States and, through hard work and assimilation, achieve the American Dream. If you need to review the assimilation concept, see pages 186-187 in the Sociology in Action textbook.

2a. How do the actions, activities, and decisions of Neni and Jende Jonga reflect the expected lifestyle of many immigrants? In other words, what do Jende and Neni do to "ensure" that they are/were en route to the American Dream? Provide three examples from the book that illustrate actions performed by them that are aligned with attainment of the American Dream.

2b. Identify two factors that kept the Jonga family from achieving the American Dream. Discuss how these factors affected the Jonga family. What was the final action that influenced Jende to return to Cameroon?

2c. In chapter 47, we read about Neni's academic accomplishment, her encounter with Dean Flipkens, and the situation surrounding her ability to secure scholarships.

What honor did Neni receive for her academic excellence?
Why was she excited about receiving the honor?
When she inquires about scholarships, what information is given to her by Dean Flipkens?
Why do you think Dean Flipkens dissuaded Neni from her attempt to become a pharmacist?
3. The 2008 financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession are important historical settings for the novel. Earlier in the semester, you completed several assignments that focused on the 2008 financial crisis. The author did not delve into details about the structural factors that led to the financial crisis; therefore, I incorporated assignments that would provide information for you.

3a. In the reading published by United for a Fair Econoomy (UFE), the documentary, the Glossary and Key Players document (very helpful document), and the Charles Ferguson interview, we learn how deregulation of the mortgage industry led to the 2008 crisis. Additionally, in the documentary, we see that executives at Lehman Brothers and other financial firms were aware of the impending crisis.

Define deregulation.
Explain how deregulation of the mortgage industry over time provided the platform for the 2008 financial crisis? Be sure to connect information presented in the documentary with information presented in the UFE publication.
In chapters 6, 7, and 15 in the book, Jende overhears conversations that Clark has with his Lehman Brothers peers before the financial crisis. Summarize these conversations. How does this book content align with information presented in the documentary and the UFE publication?
Regarding who was held accountable for the 2008 financial crisis, how does Clark's outcome align with information presented in the documentary? What specific information in the book support your response?
4. Merton's Strain Theory (sometimes you will see it expressed as Merton's Anomie Theory) of deviant behavior can be applied to several characters in the book.

Explain Merton's Strain Theory.
Identify the five adaptations associated with the theory.
Briefly explain each adaptation.
Identify three characters in the book and explain how one adaptation can be used to analyze experiences in each character's life. If you think that a character displayed more than one adaptation, you are free to mention more than one adaptation for the character and explain your response. Be sure to use examples from the book.
5. Social Institutions Present in Behold the Dreamers

Define social institutions.
Why do we need social institutions in society?
Identify three institutions that influence the lives of the Edwards and the Jongas.
What is the purpose of each social institution that you identified in the aforementioned question? In other words, why does society need each social institution that you identified in the aforementioned question?
How did each institution influence the lives of the Edwards and the Jongas? Be sure to use examples from the book to support your responses.

Documentary Analysis: Inside Job

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to guide your viewing of the documentary entitled Inside Job so that you will have information necessary to incorporate in responses to questions based on the Behold the Dreamers book.

Instructions for Assignment

As you watch the documentary, you will record notes for each bulleted phrase below. Be sure to record complete notes because you will need this information for future assignments related to the Behold the Dreamers book. Be certain to keep a copy of your responses for future use.

· Type your first and last names in the top left-hand corner of the document that you will submit in Canvas.

· Type the phrase in boldface and type your notes under the bolded phrase.

· Save your document in MSWord (doc or docx). I setup Canvas whereby you can only submit a document that has been saved in MSWord. I make this request so that I can make comments on the document.

· The document entitled Inside Job Documentary Glossary and Casts/Key Players is a good reference for this assignment.

Grading for Assignment

You can earn a complete (C) or incomplete (I) for this assignment. A grade of complete will be assigned to responses that are detailed and representative of a graduating senior enrolled in a senior capstone course. A grade of incomplete indicates that your notes are vague and suggest that you may need to spend additional time in deliberate thought about the documentary and its content.

Assignment Due Date

This assignment is due by 11 PM on Sunday, September 15, 2019.

As you watch the documentary, record notes about the following . . .

· your feelings about the events depicted in the film (feel free to be honest about your feelings)

· who and/or what organizations should have been held accountable for the financial crisis (state a reason or reasons for your response/responses)

· how the financial meltdown affected and/or may be still affecting the lives of people (be able to give examples)

· whether you disagree or agree with Alan Greenspan’s ideology about free markets (state a reason or reasons for your position on Greenspan’s ideology)

· meaning of the following phrase to you: It’s a Wall-Street run government.

· key financial players in the administrations of former President Bill Clinton, former President George W. Bush, and former President Barack Obama (you can name two key financial players for each former president)

· your thoughts about unregulated markets (be sure that you understand how unregulated markets operate in the economy so that you can clearly express your thoughts)

· analysis of the financial crisis using sociological imagination (be sure that you can define the sociological imagination concept and how this concept can be used to analyze the financial crisis)

· analysis of financial crisis from functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives (be sure that you can explain the three theoretical perspectives and how each concept can be used to analyze the financial crisis)

· general profile of persons who received subprime mortgages