Reading Reflection Instructions

Unit Reading Reflections Some of the goals of this class are to foster intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and development of your sociological imagination. For each unit that we cover this semester, you will complete a brief “Reading Reflection.” These are intended, in part, to motivate you to read the unit materials. Much more than that, they are intended to get you thinking about the material, and to generate questions that you would like us to explore. You will complete these BEFORE we discuss the topics tied to each unit. As you read the unit materials, jot down your thoughts, impressions, criticisms, and questions. Use those notes to compose your reading reflection. During class, I’ll ask you to share some of your comments about that unit’s readings. Sometimes this will be a “pair and share” exercise, sometimes small-group, and sometimes as a class. I would like your observations and questions to drive our discussion of each major sociological topic. We are covering 12 units this semester. Each reading reflection is worth 10 possible points, and your “best 11” reflections will officially count for a total of 110 possible semester points. Students must submit an electronic copy to the Assignments section in Canvas for that chapter. If they are submitted after that, they are late and points will be deducted—that’s an “on time” attendance incentive! They cannot be submitted electronically via e-mail, but may be submitted by the next class day (still in Canvas) after the due date for half credit. The extra reflection can help in the event of absence, or if you forget—or choose not—to do one! These reflections, MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS. I don’t want you to summarize content from the readings, I want to hear your thoughts, words, and observations about what you read. If you choose to include source material for example or emphasis, it should be very limited, and properly quoted/credited. For each unit, consider these major questions:  What did you find to be the most important general points from the readings. In other words, for a sociology student what should be the major “takeaways” from the material?  What was most meaningful to you and why? Relate something from the readings to your life, or to some current social event or issue. The point of doing this is to foster development of sociological thinking; recognizing the relevance of what you are reading, and being able to relate/apply the information to original examples.  What did you find most surprising or disturbing from the readings? What was most confusing, or what questions do you have after reading this chapter? Please share questions that the readings may have raised in your mind that you would like us to discuss. Unit Reading Reflection Example: Topic—Recreation and Leisure 1. What did I find most important from this unit? I found the discussion about “free time” to be interesting and important. We tend to think of “free time” as fun time or down time, but often our free time is filled with productive—and not always fun—activity. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for us to get away from work and other responsibilities since we tend to be always connected in some way technologically. I heard recently where some companies are having issues with employees wanting overtime pay if they are expected to always be “on call” and are expected to check e-mail and voice mail after hours. I can appreciate that! The unit discussion of just how concentrated media control is was also important, and rather disturbing. Most of what we as consumers get from the media in terms of entertainment (particularly TV, movies, video games) comes from a small conglomerate of media owners. Interestingly, new technologies have the potential to change that. Now, individuals can upload images, audio files, and videos for anyone to see, thus creating entertainment at a more grass roots level. This ties to discussion in one of the readings about “New Voices in the Media.” The challenge for all of us as media consumer is to figure out what information out there is good, what isn’t. For better or worse, most anyone can post most anything! 2. What was most meaningful to me, and how can I relate something from this unit to my life, or to some current social event or issue (not used as an example in the chapter!). Having young nieces and nephews, I could relate to the information about commodification. The unit readings talk about how people are spending more time alone with regard to leisure and entertainment, and often relying on other sources to provide them with entertainment. My nieces and nephews all wanted video games or electronic devices for Christmas this year (or $/gift cards to go toward purchasing a new system or downloading music from iTunes, etc.). I wonder if kids in the future will be able to make their own fun, entertain themselves, and use/develop their imaginations. There seems to be so much—too much—reliance on “stuff” to entertain us, particularly electronic devices. I’m also concerned that reading and writing skills may deteriorate as “we” increasingly rely on things like Spellcheck and get used to skimming online versus in-depth reading. I know that some schools today are not even teaching cursive writing anymore. Maybe I’m so concerned because I’m a teacher and feel those skills are very important.  3. What did I find most surprising or disturbing from the readings? What was most confusing in this chapter/what questions do I have after reading this unit? I don’t really have any questions from this week’s readings. What I found disturbing was the discussion of loss of privacy by those in the entertainment industry and how it can—and has— resulted in dangerous situations (stalking, threats, or worse). I know I’m not a celebrity, but with technology today, most anyone can get their “15 minutes of fame,” whether they want it or not. Some people post embarrassing videos of themselves or others on YouTube that go viral. I wonder if people give thought to the possible consequences of that; especially for those who may not want their images put out there for the world to see as “entertainment!” I’d like for us to talk about this some in class. I’m curious about how others in the class feel about privacy issues with technology, and how they try to protect themselves. I’d also like to talk about whether or not people think that “social” media is helping or hurting human interaction. I guess that is a question I have!