Running Annotated BibliographyMrs. SchroederEnglish 12Quarter 2, 2012

Social Construct:Social Class, Gender, Race, Culture, Age, Generation, Health, Ability, Sexual Orientation, Geographic Location, Religion, hobbies and interests, physical appearance, access to technology and education

Definition Main Entry: social construct

Part of Speech: n Definition: a social mechanism,

phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice

People Like Us. Dir. Louis and Andres Alvarez and Kolker. The Center for New American Media, 2006. DVD.

People Like Us: Social Class in America is a documentary that explores class structure through interviews with various Americans from diverse locals and diverse socio-economic situations. It is not a Marxists analysis nor a celebration of the capitalist system rather it is a film that reveals a real look at the reality and the real implications of class structure in America. Rather than a commentary, People Like Us provides both a window and mirror for viewers to see different worlds and reflect on the controversial topic. Kohler and Alavarez’s approach helps viewers reassess their assumptions about class (i.e. that it does not exist or that it does not matter). The film is not a definitive documentary, but rather an eye-opening catalyst for discussion.

For me, the most poignant part of the documentary is when Brooks notes that High School is the last time that most people have contact and interact with people of classes other than their own. As an instructor, the implication for me is to provide the opportunity for students to really understand one another’s plights before they exit into their own stratified worlds.

Upper SES: awards, money, luxury, heritage, travel, opportunity, invitation, formal, elegance, exclusive , excess, advantage, highly educatedpictures: Bing images

Middle SES: comforts, stability, access, informal, some travel and opportunity, average, somewhat limited, educated

Lower SES: make-do, hard labor , limited access, disparity, limited opportunity, somewhat educated

“Knowledge of the Hidden Rules of Social Class: A Questionnaire”. Adapted from Ruby K. Payne’s book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, 4th rev. ed. (2005), for an exercise developed by Patrick J. AshtonRules: Surviving in Poverty• How to look for

problems in used cars

• How to live without a checking account

• An example in People Like Us is Tammy’s story. Tammy lives in Southern Ohio in a trailer and works at Burger King with only a high school degree. Her job at Burger King barely pays the bills much less provides enough for a savings account. She walks to work everyday because she cannot afford to have her car fixed.

Rules: Functioning in Middle Class• How to sign up or

get children into schools, leagues, lessons, and college

• Knowledge of stores and brands

• An example in People Like Us is Genie Sayles who helps people to adjust to the upper class by teaching them the subtle rules. She talks about rules like the acceptable distance for conversation, as well as the appropriate choices of clothing, accessories, and clubs.

Rules: Navigating the Upper Class• How to read communicate

in another language and have knowledge of foreign countries

• Belong to exclusive country clubs, attend private schools, board charities, know hidden rules of organizations.

• An example in People Like Us is the WASP section. Thomas Langhorne Phipps suggests one is born into the WASP society and cannot be accessed by the outsider. Another couple discusses that in the WASP culture, “you grown up with these people attend the same schools belong in the same clubs, play the same sports.”

Lubrano, Alfred. "Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams." Limbo: Blue-collar Roots, White-collar Dreams. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004. Print. Lubrano writes about his experience crossing the class lines. Predominantly, he

writes about his father, a blue-collar construction worker, and compares his own life experiences to that of his father’s. Beginning by contrasting their college experience, Lubrano is the college student and his father is a construction worker on campus. Lubrano contrasts childhood, networks, values, rules; he acknowledges that each of the classes seem to operate according to a set of known but unwritten standards. These unwritten set of laws present both an obstacle and a frustration to any individual who crosses class lines and echo Orwell’s timeless note that “Ultimately, its very difficult to escape culturally from the class into which you are born.” Even cited research in the article states, “the importance of class influence in upbringing was greater even than that of race.” Lubrano makes the case that sooner or later, Americans need to acknowledge, no matter how uncomfortable the issue makes us, that class not only exists, but matters deeply in American culture.

What interested me in this article was the concept of the “Straddler”,a person born into one class, but moves into another. Lubrano uses his personal example to demonstrate the inner conflict the move between social classes presents. My great grandparents moved here from Germany with nothing and lived as poor farmers in Kansas. Like many children of small town farmers of the time, my parents were the first to go to college and secure advanced degrees. I can’t help but wonder what effect this ends up having on small towns. Every year when we return to Kansas, the town seems more desolate and more gentrified; it seems like a tragic loss that in order to “move up” one has to “move away”.

My Claim about Social Class Make a claim about the construct of social

class. Does this match the mainstream idea about the American Dream (that anyone and everyone has access to it)? Why or why not? How does it affect people in the US and perceptions of one-another? How does it affect and individual’s opportunity? To what extent does social class define a person born in the United States? Support your claim with at least three pieces of evidence (research) from class.

Gender in media and imagesKilling Us Softly 4. Dir. Media Education Foundation. Perf. Jean Kilbourne. Media Education Foundation, 2010. DVD.

Give a brief summary of this lecture (3-5 sentences). Which section affected you the most and why? Give a specific example. What does Kilbourne want her audience to learn about media images and why?

Ad deconstruction: Find an ad that demonstrates gender bias. Cut, paste, and cite that ad here.

What does the ad say about gender through its image? Give specific evidence. What are the implications; what messages does this ad send to men and women; girls and boys?

Brain Games: “Battle of the Sexes”

Male Give some

examples or summarize what this episode demonstrates about the male brain.

Female Give some

examples or summarize what this episode demonstrates about the female brain.

Half the Sky: Half the Sky. Dir. ShowForce, Fugitive Films, PBS. Perf. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Docuramafilms, 2012. DVD.

Give a brief summary of the film. What is it about?

Talk about the segment of “Gender-based Violence”. Discuss the cyclical roles of male dominance in terms of power and control. Describe the social constructs that are in place to keep the women silent, submissive and oppressed. Give specific examples.

Talk about the segment of “Sex-Trafficking”. Discuss the role of the Somaly Mom Foundation in confronting this form of injustice. Do you think this is an effective means of confronting this social construct? What are some societal implications of sex-trafficking?

My Claim about Gender Make a claim about the construct of gender.

What are the mainstream ideas or messages about gender (how does one achieve the ideal)? Is it possible to meet the societal expectations? Why or why not? How does it affect people in the US and perceptions of one-another? How does it affect and individual’s opportunity? To what extent does gender define a person born in the United States? Support your claim with at least three pieces of evidence (research) from class.

Book Choice #1 (social class, race, culture) MLA citation here Picture from your

text here. Use the book cover or another symbolic image

Reflect on your discussion with your group regarding your text and examples of how the text examines social class/race/culture. Give specific examples.

Rabbit Proof Fence. Dir. Phillip Noyce. Miramax, 2002. DVD.

Culture: What are some ways culture is addressed in this film and how? Give examples from the movie. Reflect on culture and how it is used in terms of power and privilege.

Race:How is race addressed in this film? Give examples and reflect on how race is used by those in power.

“Danger of a Single Story” "Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

Two Examples: Adichie uses her life examples to

explain the positive and negative influences that stories have on the audience. One negative aspect of a single story is that it forms a stereotype and the only way to balance the stereotype of the single story is provide multiple perspectives and stories.

Adichie begins with a personal example, she talks about forming a single story based on the social class of her house servant Fiede. The second example she provides is one of her college roommate who forms her opinion of Chimamanda based on Adichie’s race/culture.

My Ten: My list of ten begins with gender,

social class, race, abilility, language, education, generation, geopraphy, family

Gender to me is one social factor that has had a huge influence on my life and identitiy more so than any other factor. Although the American dream suggests that anyone can climb up the social class ladder, I think it is more common for people to stay in their social class. Because race is an abitrary factor that society has chosen to use in terms of stereotype, value, and judgement; this is an important social factor as well. The aspects beyond the top three that I picked have to do with access to education, health/fitness, and lifestyle.

Ted Talks: Race and CulturePictures: Microsoft clip art

Nina Jablonski Breaks the Illusion of Skin Color." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ted.com/talks/nina_jablonski_breaks_the_illusion_of_skin_color.html>.

Summarize this lecture in 2-3 sentences

Describe race using scientific evidence

What have been the social implications of race? Give examples of historical events motivated by the issue of race.

How did colonialism define or create issues surrounding race? What is the evidence of the impact and consequence of colonialism on society today?

"Wade Davis: Dreams from Endangered Cultures." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., Feb. 2003. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html>.

Summarize this Ted Talk in 2-3 sentences.

Is it ever appropriate for an outsider to condemn a culture’s practice because of ethical violations? Give a specific example.

Is it inevitable that each culture will eventually become extinct? Explain.

Is it possible that with the inevitable changes that time brings, a culture can sustain its essence? Explain.

Babies. Dir. Thomas Balmes. Focus Films, 2010. DVD. Babies, a film by Balmes, follows the lives of four families birth and first

year of life. The film merely presents raw footage that exposes the differences in the way various cultures approach birth and children. The four families are from Africa, Mongolia, Japan and the United States. While there are basic similarities in the way the babies develop and reach milestones such as making sounds, crawling, standing, and walking; the families approach to instruction, environment, and discipline varies significantly. For example, in Africa and Mongolia the children do not wear diapers or excessive clothing, have close interaction with animals and play outside without many toys and minimal parent interaction. While in both the Japan and the US the children are clothed and diapered spend much of the time indoors in with many toys and parent interaction. This difference can be attributed to the “Pick when ripe or pick when green.” theory to which the culture ascribes. Through the paralleled images in the film, Balmes is able to visually present the extent to which culture influences or dictates one’s life experience even at the earliest stages.

Discuss each child briefly and the effect that his/her culture may have on his/her perception and life. Think about the questions on the film sheet.

My claim about race and culture. Make a claim about the construct of race or

culture. Does this match the mainstream idea about the American Dream (that anyone and everyone has access to it)? Why or why not? How does it affect people in the US and perceptions of one-another? How does it affect and individual’s opportunity? To what extent does race or culture define a person born in or living in the United States? Support your claim with at least three pieces of evidence (research) from class.

Generations: World events/movements and their power to shape people"America The Story of Us." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2013.

America Story of Us: Give a summary of this episode “The Millennium”. What are some of the events covered in this episode and how do these events shape each generation. What are important factors to consider about each generation according to speakers in the documentary? Include specific examples. (backlash, boom/bust, war, technology, culture vs. counter culture)

Compare, Contrast, ClaimA comparison of my generation and the ___ generation.

Generation ___: Cite a book/handout/website where you gathered information about this generation.

Generation name and years

Events, technological developments, economics, world issues

Characteristics of this generation

Contribution to society How does this generation

shape the American culture?

My generation: Cite a book/handout/website where you gathered information about your generation

Generation name and years Events, technology, economics,

world issues Characteristics How does your generation differ

from the other generation and what similarities do you share?

What do you think will be the greatest contribution from your generation? Give a specific example.

In what ways do you predict that your generation backlash against mainstream culture and why?

Age: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Dir. Paramount Pictures. Perf. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Paramount Picutures and Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. DVD.

Age as a social construct. • What are some of the

social expectations we have about age in the United States? Give a specific example from contemporary society.

Age in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Give a two sentence summary of the film

How does the film challenge the social construct of age? What was your reaction to the film and its concept of age? Give a specific example of a scene that affected you; why and how did it affect you?

Give two age/stage examples from the film from your notes. How does the film challenge or enforce the social construct of the age and stage given?

My Claim about Age/Generation Make a claim about the construct of

age/generation. Does this match the mainstream idea about the American Dream (that anyone and everyone has access to it)? Why or why not? How does it affect people in the US and perceptions of one-another? How does it affect and individual’s opportunity? To what extent does age/generation define a person born in or living in the United States? Support your claim with at least three pieces of evidence (research) from class.

Book Choice #2: Race and Culture and Generation/Age

Book and citation:

Give a brief summary of the book here. What is the main conflict and who are the main characters? What is the message the author wants to convey?

Does this book deal more with race/culture or generation/age and how? Give a specific example from the book

Relay notes from your discussion. What was the main topic in your discussion and which parts of the book were most mentioned. Give specific examples

Connect this text to other class content.

WastelandWasteland. Dir. Lucy Walker. Perf. Vik Muniz. Almega, 2011. DVD.

Wasteland is a powerful film documenting the lives of several catadores who work at Gramacho and pick recyclable materials from the garbage as a living. These lower class citizens are forced out of society by circumstance ; Muniz tells their stories through his art using the recyclable materials they pick.

Race/Culture is an issue addressed in the film in terms of Muniz discussing the Brazilian culture and their attitudes about class. But the film also shows race indiscreetly by the obvious difference in the race of museum patrons versus Gramacho workers.

Class is an issue addressed in the film as Muniz discusses with the audience how the workers were middle lower class citizens whose fragile position was pushed over the edge to poverty by a significant event or circumstance.

Gender is an issue to the workers of Gramacho, especially the women. The women say that the only choices for work for a female in poverty are picking or prostitution, while males seem to be given more opportunities for work.

Generation is an issue that the workers of Gramacho demonstrate through their choices after leaving. The two older workers choose to return or stay because of the relationships they have built and the loyalty they feel toward their jobs. The younger workers are happy to leave and sever their ties to the other workers and company easily.

Catadores: Magna and ZumbiProjects, Almega. "Wasteland." WASTE LAND :. 02 Films, 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

Magna:

As a catadore at Gramacho, Magna is at first embarrassed of her job. She says people on the bus sniff the air around her and avoid looking at her. This is a good example of how Magna experiences prejudice based on her social class. In terms of discussing gender, Magna also talks about her choice for work in her position as a woman in poverty. She explains that women in poverty have limited choices for work besides prostitution and Gramacho provides the alternative opportunity for work.

Zumbi:

As a catadore at Gramacho, Zumbi is passionate about literacy and children’s access to books. He starts a library at Gramacho. Zumbi’s passion about education lends itself to a discussion about race/culture and generation. The Brazilian culture does not allow its lower class and poverty stricken citizens much in terms of education, so it becomes an eternal cycle for those born into it. Zumbi as an older member of Gramacho refuses to accept the majority dominant attitudes within this culture and works to change things for the younger generations.

Social Construct and ClaimSocial Construct Define Social Construct (you

may give the class definition here).

Discuss what you have discovered in terms of social construct and Social class.

Discuss what you have discovered in terms of social construct and race/culture.

Discuss what you have discovered in terms of social construct and gender.

Discuss what you have discovered in terms of social construct and generation/age.

List of Claims: List at least five claims

here that you may consider for your synthesis essay.

Example claim: Females continue to endure hardship and violence based on gender; however this oppression and abuse becomes much more prevalent when the female is face with more non-dominant traits in terms of social constructs.