Case Studies for the project

Case Studies for the project

. A Case Study is an assignment in which a situation (a case) is provided and is analyzed through a series of questions. You will need to answer these questions as you would a short answer question or essay question (depending on the length of your response) for an assessment. The questions and subsequent answers should be placed within a word document with proper headings, title page, and reference list (if outside sources are used).

Use APA style formatting for this assignment.
The Case Study is the first entry in what is to be a portfolio for this course. There are a total of four portfolio assignments, with the other assignments meant to test your ability to apply the information you learned to the environment around you.
This skill is important as it will allow you to perceive the changing world around you and apply the concepts of sociology in your everyday life. The ability to apply these concepts to the world around you can also be transferred to other courses as well.

Case 1
John Rommel was born in 1955 to a lower class family in New York. His father had immigrated over to the United States from Germany prior to the rise of Hitler in 1933. He desired to show pride in his new country, so he worked hard at the docks to earn a living for his family. While he was never made much, he always stressed pride in his work and obeyed the law. He believed this was a firm foundation for becoming successful.
John always showed a bright mind and highly intuitive nature, but he never showed any desire for schooling. He saw society as an unfair, unforgiving system that repressed those of lower social status. John was not a violent person; he considered himself very honorable, but he did not have a desire to work like his father did, earning low wages for hours of tedious work to support his family. Instead, he opted for more illegal endeavors€”gambling, stealing, and even dabbling in organized crime. However, he never told his father because he did not want to disrespect his family. When he turned 17, he became a drug-runner for the Gambino family because a couple of his close brothers had become involved in the business as well. Soon John became involved with more than just drug running; he began to assist the family with offering protective services to different shops and businesses in Brooklyn’s lower east side. Should the businesses miss a payment or refuse their help, he would instigate certain actions against the business to cause severe damage, enough to ensure the business owner would seek their protection from then on.
Eventually, John’s employment with organized crime caught up to him as he was arrested at the age of 25. When he appeared in court, his defense suggested that he plead guilty as the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him anyway. When he was sentenced the judge decided to send him to prison for five years, with a potential of being released after three years for good behavior. John noticed his parents sitting in the audience at the hearing, and he began to feel a great sense of shame for what he had done and believed he had brought shame to his family.

Based on what you have just read, and using your textbook as a reference, answer the following questions:

1. Why would John be considered a deviant? What social foundations of deviance appear to be evident in this case?

2. Examine the three theoretical foundations of deviance (structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social-conflict). Determine which foundation applies to John’s situation and why. Give specific examples.
3. Choose three theories, one within each theoretical foundation, that apply to this case. If a foundation does not have an applicable theory, state why and what behavior could have been exhibited that would have reflected that.

Case 2

Lee is a 15-year-old boy living in Los Angeles, California. He attends a multi-cultural high school comprised of 2,200 students of various backgrounds. Recently, he has been required to enroll in a sex education class where the students learn about different events in culture that lead to our knowledge regarding sex today. Mrs. Gabbert is the teacher and has been teaching this sort of class for 15 years. Lee notices that a lot of the boys chuckle and laugh when it comes to serious issues regarding sex. The boys seem to mainly ask questions about condoms and birth control, and when the teacher answers their questions, they whoop and holler. The girls find it rather immature, and they tend to divert the questions more towards teen pregnancy and abortion. The topic of abortion strikes a chord with Lee, as he has been brought up to believe that all life should be valued, but some in the class disagree and think that a woman’s body is hers to deal with and make the choices as she pleases. Others take a more moderate approach and believe that abortion is only right if the mother’s life is in danger or she is a victim of rape. To give a counter-opinion, Lee thinks an alternative to abortion is the legal adoption of the babies by a qualified set of parents. This can cause a split in the classroom, though; as some believe that qualified adoption means atypical husband and wife, while others believe adoption should be to gay and lesbian partners. Still others think that adoption should be available for those who are single, along as the income is available to support it. This became such a hot topic in the classroom that Mrs. Gabbert decided to setup a debate about these issues. She provides the students with a series of questions to answer regarding the topics, and they are to act as a group to answer the questions and present their stance on the topics.

Based on what you have just read and using your textbook as a reference, answer the following questions:

1. First, how would you give a biological definition of sex? Give your own definition and what you think it means in the context of society.
2. How do you believe the sexual revolution and counter-revolution, has influenced the events taking place in this class? Support your statements with examples (from textbook or other sources).
3. Examine the different issues at play here. Why do you believe the girls may be more concerned with teen pregnancy and subject of abortion more so than the boys?
4. Why might the boys think condoms and birth control are funny subjects? What influence do you believe the subjects of pornography, prostitution (especially in media), and pre-marital sex have upon adolescents?
5. Examine the three theoretical analyses of sexuality. Which one do you believe applies to this situation? According to information from the textbook, which theory do you believe these children probably believe?
6. What influence do you believe the recent gay rights movement has had on this classroom environment? What does the textbook have to say regarding matters of sexual orientation?
7. Why do you think both the boys and girls may have equal opinions regarding matters of abortion? Explain the two major positions of abortion and how this may influence the different generations.

TEXT: Macionis, J. J. (2008). Society: the basics (10th ed., Annotated instructor’s ed.). Upper SaIDle River,