2.9 Going Deeper
Elizabeth B. Pearce
Now that you have been introduced to concepts that will help you learn about all families, this section has some resources for you.
First, there are some resources that the authors used but could not fit into the chapter. If there was something that really piqued your interest and made you want to learn more, it may be listed in this table. This is also a resource for students who may have an assignment to research a particular topic or who need to identify a topic for a final project. Scan through “Want to Learn More?” if you are interested.
Next, you will see a set of reflective questions. You may be assigned these questions as a chapter review, or perhaps you will be using them as discussion questions in class. These questions are designed to help you apply the chapter concepts, develop your sociological imagination, reflect, and use an equity lens. Look over the “Reflective Questions” if you’d like to explore your own thinking more thoroughly.
After that, you will see the same list of key terms that appeared at the start of the chapter. They may help you with your additional exploration or research.
Finally, there are activities that may be used in the classroom or as assignments.
Want to Learn More?
- A guide to cultural humility is offered by Culturally Connected.
- Read more about Nicole Maines challenging her elementary school’s restroom policy here.
- Read more about Rachel Dolezal, the woman born to White parents who identifies as Black, in this article from Time magazine
- To read about the growing and diverse groups of Asian Americans, read this Pew Research Center summary.
- Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? (a seven-part documentary) can help us understand intersectionality by focusing on the connection between social class, racism, and health.
Here are two websites if you would like to learn about how social justice is defined and how to contribute to greater social justice in the United States:
Reflective Questions
- What can you expect to learn from studying families?
- How will studying families impact your family and your work life in the future?
- What are the main methods for researching families? What are their weaknesses and strengths?
- How will cultural humility help you understand other people?
- What is an equity lens?
- What are the major theoretical perspectives? Which ones make the most sense to you?
- What is a social problem? What social problems have you experienced or observed?
- How will having a sociological imagination and understanding equity equip you to learn about families in the United States?
Key Terms
- Age: the developmental changes and transitions that come with being a child, adolescent, or adult.
- Cultural humility: the focus on staying other-centered in order to learn about and understand the experiences and viewpoints of people with social identities different from your own.
- Culture: the shared meanings and shared experiences passed down over t