This activity assesses course learning outcome # 3. “Students will describe the connections between social institutions, groups and organizations, and interpersonal interaction patterns in daily life.”
In this 50-point assignment, you will evaluate an obituary of a lesser-known public figure of the past to discover their statuses, roles, and connections those things have to social institutions.
Ask our embedded librarian for help in finding an actual obituary or short, obituary-like, biographical sketch that was published in a newspaper or periodical. Do not use a general biography from Wikipedia or some other source. Our librarians can help you search online periodical databases for obituaries and obituary-like biographies that were published at the time of the following individuals’ deaths.
Choose from among these people:
Otto von Hapsburg Walter “Sweetness” Payton Phyllis Schlafly
Alexander Haig Charlton Heston Pol Pot (Cambodian leader)
Emiliano Zapata Fr. Augustus Tolton Pearl Bailey
Medgar Evers St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Ambr. J. Christopher Stevens
Harvey Milk Max Beauvoir (of Haiti)
Who did you choose? [erase this and type here]
What source did your obituary/biographical sketch come from? [erase this and type here]
Part 1 (16 points) Fill in the blanks with eight statuses (one to three words each) that the individual had according to the info was reported in the obituary. Also identify whether the status you list is an achieved or an ascribed status by erasing the wrong word listed beside the status you wrote. 2 points each
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
- [erase this and type here] Ascribed or Achieved?
Part 2 (4 points) In your own words, describe what a master status is. Which of the statuses or status sets above seem to be the individual’s master status? Explain why you claim the one(s) you do as the master status. Use evidence quoted from the obituary to support your claim. (minimum of 4 sentences is the goal here.)
[erase this and type here]Part 3 (20 points) Use Five of the Eight statuses you listed in part one and describe the connection each of those statuses has to macroscale parts of the social structure such as any specific social institution, social facts, or norms.
Example, in Mrs. T’s obituary it will probably say that she was a college instructor which is one status, but that particular status is connected to at least two macroscale parts of the social structure – the economy because teacher is a job for which she received a salary to pay her bills, and also college instructor is connected to norms in the USA for expected higher education levels of people who want follow society’s norms for the path to success in life. You could name either of these macroscale components or both! But at least one is necessary. Review week 4 and 5 lecture videos for more ideas and chapters 4 and 5 for info sources.
Each one is 4 points, minimum two sentences each.
[erase this and type here] [erase this and type here] [erase this and type here] [erase this and type here] [erase this and type here]Part 4 (10 points) – Imagine you are old and have had a long, fulfilling life with the things in it you plan for in the future. What statuses and roles do/did you have that should go in your obituary? What macroscale/social structure reasons were those statuses and roles a part of your life? Minimum – One, five-sentence paragraph.
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