UO Moral Panics Discussion

1. First, watch this short sketch from Key and Peele, and then use the concept of code switching to provide an analysis. Be thorough here (what is code switching? How is it related to culture? Why might people engage in it?).

2.This question is about moral panics. You will first view two short clips – one is a trailer to the 1936 film “Reefer Madness”, the other is a news clip from 2019. You will provide an analysis of the two clips using concepts related to moral panics and deviance. How do they relate to each other? How does “Reefer Madness” represent a moral panicsand how does the news clip illustrate concepts related to deviance? Be sure to define/explain all concepts used.

3. According to Figure 1 in the chapter on Culture (see below), the lower 49% of Americans (those who make less than
$50K in family income) were only 14% of the attendees of ballet, classical or jazz music, arts museums, opera,
musicals or plays. And Figure 2 notes an overall decline in those activities. Use a perspective or concepts from this
chapter to discuss the issues around access to high culture arts activities like the opera and ballet. Then discuss why
should we care about whether or not certain populations have access to high culture while others do not

4. Describe how sociological ways of knowing are different from other ways of knowing (common sense, tradition,
opinions, etc). How might a sociologist’s understanding of women’s underrepresentation in positions of political
power be different from somebody who argues that men are just naturally better leaders? Your answer should
include reference to the differences between quantitative and qualitative research – what can each type of research
design tell us about these disparities?