In The Rest Room and Equal Opportunity, Molotch argues that debate about how to achieve equality often “stems from the effort to provide equal opportunity for individuals by taking into account differences among groups.” Provide an explanation of this quote and an example of this type of debate from contemporary politics. (Do NOT use any of the examples from the text.)
What will be an ideal response?
Varies. The student’s answer should indicate that they understand that it is possible to think about groups as being disadvantaged even if that means that every individual member of that group is not necessarily disadvantaged in every single instance. This links to sociological imagination in that the world is not “set up” the same for all types (based on social characteristic or social location) of people, and that necessarily structures/shapes in systematic ways what happens to members of these different groups.
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Portraying the problems of racial and ethnic minorities as their fault rather than recognizing society's responsibilities is an instance of ________
a. victim discounting b. blaming the victim c. the scapegoating theory d. the melting pot
The Obama administration's attempt to reshape the educational system is _____
a. No Child Left Behind b. Race to the Top c. Education for All d. Reach for the Stars
Who defined minority and majority groups in terms of wealth, power, and prestige?
A. Karl Marx B. Max Weber C. Émile Durkheim D. Herbert Spencer
Operationalizing a variable means transforming the concept into something that can be observed and measured.
a. true b. false