JOURNALS
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Journal #1- Health |
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Drawing upon the chapter and class discussions of what health incorporates
(i.e. not simply physical or illness related), provide a detailed
description of the health of yourself and your family and your
neighborhood while you were growing up.
2 Reflect on
what this tells you about yourself and your future in terms of your health
and again health broadly defined not just physical. Consider your
supports and barriers as provided in class. 3 Reflect on
your feelings about Canada’s medicare system? Do you agree with it or
not, do you like it or not, do you want to see Canada move towards
allowing private healthcare providers or not, etc...? With all
these questions, always provide an explanation for your feelings, thoughts
and opinions, articulating a rationale based on your principles, beliefs
and values. |
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Journal #2- Social class |
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1. Using the social class characteristics outlined in class (or refer to my webpage and go to class relations link, then class characteristics link), describe in DETAIL your social class background while growing up. Then identify what social class you/your family falls in in terms of the 5 social class categories outlined in class. 2. Reflection: After this description comment on/reflect upon what opportunities you did or did not have because of the social class you found yourself in. What were your first memories of social class and that your family’s social class was different from others? 3. Project into the future: what do you hope will be your social class and what can you realistically expect your social class to be, explain, i.e. idealistically and realistically describe your future social class. |
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Journal #3- Environment |
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Part 1 (If you are feeling stressed out – that is the time to do this activity) Dress comfortably. Go outside and find a place in nature away from any signs of human made environments (Pt. Pleasant is good for this if you live in the city). Walk for a while, then sit down somewhere where it is peaceful. Then find an object in nature, something that grabs your attention or not. Contemplate this object for at least 15 minutes. Take a few deep breaths and clear your mind of thoughts pertaining to your everyday life. If such thoughts come to mind just let them pass through your mind, don’t judge them as good or bad, just simply notice them. Maintain your focus on the object and then observe what comes to mind without judging these thoughts. After allowing thoughts to simply pass through your mind, consider what does this object tell you about your own life, and what does it tell you about your connection or relationship with nature. For your journal describe your experience of your contemplation of nature. Comment on what connections/relationships you have with nature that arose from this contemplation. What does this tell you about your life and your feelings for the natural environment. Part 2 Where do you find yourself in terms of the Human Exemptionalism/Exceptionalism Paradigm and the New Ecological Paradigm (you can do a search on these terms on the internet if you need more explanation of ideas)? Comment using many of the descriptors of each paradigm, and provide an explanation as to why. If need be, distinguish between your beliefs/attitudes/feelings and your behaviour (exercise done in class with environmental questions can help you with this – available on my website, scroll down to environmental sociology, then follow link to environment questionnaire). Use this to discuss how you value non-humans (consider all other life forms including air, water, insects, mammals, etc...) as compared with humans. What criteria do you use to make your decision, i.e. what is the basis for your decision – spirituality, biology, technology, family, etc... Be detailed in exploring this issue. |
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Journal #4 - Media |
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| Reflect in depth on how media has affected your life, and all of your life not just now. Discuss many different types of media from the numerous print to audiovisual types (radio, television, newspaper, magazines, books, internet, films & videos, video games, advertising forms, billboards and other signs, theatre, etc…). Consider various aspects of your life and how each type of media affected each aspect of your life, i.e. the impact of media on you as student, worker, peer, consumer, voter, etc..., i.e. institutional realms of family, school, work, leisure, government, etc... | |
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Journal #5 - Ageism |
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1. How have you been discriminated against as a youth? Describe several experiences, and reflect on how this made you feel (describe your FEELINGS). 2. How might you have contributed to this discrimination (that towards yourself as a youth), i.e. how might you have contributed to the discrimination you were subject to? How might you be contributing to the perpetuation of discrimination against youth now that you are a little older? 3. How have you contributed to the discrimination of the elderly? Discuss why you did this and comment on your feelings about this. |
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Journal #6 - Race and ethnicity |
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1. Explore: what does it mean to be _______ (fill in blank with your race). If you consider yourself biracial or multiracial then fill in the blank with the racial category you have predominantly identified with over the majority of your lifetime. Explore: what does it mean to be ________(fill in blank with your ethnicity). ). If you have more than one ethnicity in your heritage then fill in the blank with the ethnic category you have predominantly identified with over the majority of your lifetime. Refer to the White privilege questionnaire - see race relations on the first page of my website. Focus on you as an individual but also on the institutional level, i.e. you being a member of x race or x ethnicity. And consider various aspects of your life, in your employment, in your education, in your leisure activities, in your relationships, etc... 2. Make 3 observations of personal experiences you have been involved in or have been witness to which clearly have been examples demonstrating race and ethnic prejudice/discrimination in Canada. For example, in your job the workers being non-white and the bosses being white. So describe 3 situations that you have experienced or witnessed in your own life. With each description, I want you to comment on how this is simply a reflection of Canadian racial and ethnic prejudice/discrimination. With the example, this is a case where the top positions in organizations (public, private or non-profit) are mainly held by white people and thus they hold the power. With each experience how did you FEEL and/or how do you FEEL now being able to comprehend more the reasons for the situation. Consider the various ways in which you have been hurt by these situations and/or how you have benefited from these situations. Consider direct and indirect hurts and benefits. |
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Course documents of Critical issues in social analysis |
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