Sociology 101: Final Exam - Short Answer Questions and Analysis

This document presents a student's responses to a Sociology 101 final exam, addressing four short-answer questions. The student analyzes a friend's statement on poverty from a sociological perspective, emphasizing the role of societal resource distribution and potential leadership influence. The response evaluates a statement about divorce rates, drawing on course materials to discuss legal options, marital challenges, and the family decline perspective. The student finds a news article on anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, classifying the racism as overt based on direct attacks and accusations. The student reflects on the decision to deliver education remotely during the pandemic, considering the availability of media and internet access and leveraging sociological imagination to understand learners' interaction with social media. The document also includes an essay discussing Robert J. Brym's book "Sociology as a Life or Death Issue," exploring the connections between sociology and death, particularly through popular culture, suicide, and homicide.

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SOCIOLOGY 101
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SOCIOLOGY 101
FOUR (4) of SIX (6) questions
1. A friend says to you “People are poor because they’re just lazy, get a job”. As a sociology
student, how would you respond to this friend?
As a sociology student, my first response would be “No.” That is not the case. Getting a
job is not the only solution to poverty. It is important to look at society as a whole and
understand the distribution of resources among people. Also, it is reasonable to look at how
resources are managed by those in authority or public office. Perhaps leaders are the ones
impoverishing people. In essence, this is a socio-economic problem that requires direct
involvement of the leaders to support and empower people. That will be the only perfect way to
eradicate poverty instead of accusing people of laziness.
2. A friend says to you “Half of marriages end in divorce – people are unhappier than ever!”
Evaluate this statement using your knowledge of the course material.
First, it is anecdotal to assert that half of marriages end in divorce. It is also anecdotal to
claim that people are unhappier than ever. From the course materials, it is clear that people can
divorce legally, if they find it as the only way to extricate themselves from relationships they no
longer want. People who once were deeply in love can fail to tolerate each other and withstand
challenges that come with marriage. Some marriages will end up being violent or abusive and in
such a situation, it is plausible to get out such a marriage. People become unhappier than ever

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before, based on how their partners will treat them. If marriage is characterized by domestic
violence, it is conceivable to consider a divorce. Also, family decline perspective points to a
crisis in a family, and there is a lot of things contributing to it.
3. Find a news article that addresses racism. Evaluate the article using your knowledge of the
typologies of racism and discrimination that we discussed in class. In your answer, copy and
paste the URL link to the article. If the link is not included – your answer will not be counted.
This news article is reporting racism targeting Asian Americans in North America. Asian
Americans have recently been targeted in the wake of Covid-19. According to the article
businesses owned by Asian Americans have been attacked. Some Asian Americans have been
spat on, a situation that put this ethnicity in a difficult situation to survive on a continent they
have always known as their home despite their descent. Based on the typology of racism the
direct attacks on Asian Americans, makes this racism overt. Overt racism is deliberate and
usually entails personal attacks like spitting on Asian Americans, damaging their properties and
accusing them of causing Covid-19 when in reality they have got no any responsibility for the
virus (Shimizu, 2020).
Article link: https://theconversation.com/anti-asian-racism-during-coronavirus-how-the-
language-of-disease-produces-hate-and-violence-134496
4. In light of the recent COVID 19 pandemic, elementary and high schools in BC (and
elsewhere) have made the decision to deliver education remotely/online. Reflect on this decision
using your knowledge of the course material and your sociological imagination.

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Covid-19 pandemic is a real threat to life and every human activity. Therefore, the
education officers had to think through how students can learn digitally. This decision must have
been arrived at based on the availability media and internet at homes. Now, the media such as
TV can run learning programs to keep children busy. In some situations, some learners have
taken online classes. In essence, from a sociological imagination, learners interact online and
find a lot of fine on it. Therefore, this decision was informed by the understanding of how
learners’ liking of social media can be leveraged to deliver education remotely/online.
Final Essay
Sociology as a Life and Death Issue is a thought-provoking book. For sociology students
or scholars, the book gives a different angle from which this discipline should be looked at.
Death has associated causes which generally originate from society. If a person is influenced by
some dangerous happenings in society, they will definitely lose their lives. In this book, the
author-Robert J. Brym, has tried to explain how death exists in all aspects of life. Even though
people are afraid of death or dying, the truth is that death is present in every aspects of life.
Hence, sociology is a life and death issue.
Popular culture is an aspect of life where drug abuse is normalized. Hip hop music is part
of popular culture, which young people have embraced. Brym looks at hip hop music and tries to
connect it to homicide. In his thinking, there is an association between hip hop music and
homicide rate among the black males. Hip hop music is part of human’s entertainment, but the
fact that it glorifies drug abuse and other immoral behavior underpin how it causes death
(Lawson, 2015). Hip hop music is part of life, but when drug abuse is tolerated, it is likely that
victims will commit homicide which definitely results in death (Daniels, Netherland, & Lyons,

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2018). In essence, the point is that hip hop music or pop culture can alter behavior and motivate
people to get into certain activities which ultimately endanger their lives. Truly, popular culture
portrays gang violence, drug abuse and other behavior such as sexual immorality, which in most
cases can lead to homicide. Therefore, sociology tries to dig deeper into how popular culture can
result in behavior that in due course endanger lives. It gives a deeper understanding of how
popular culture or hip hop music leads to behavior that in the end causes death (Lawson, 2015).
Sociology explains how suicide happens in society. Society is an aspect of life, which
ideally leads to death. Brym in his book explains Emile Durkheim’s study of suicide to
understand how this phenomenon happens in society (Brym, 2009). The author classifies suicidal
people based on how they interact with others. Generally, suicide happens in society and
sociology helps people understand how it comes about (Lester, & Gunn III, 2016). There are
several factors which can lead to suicide. For instance, family violence, racism, gender violence
and bullying from social media can lead to suicide.
In summation, sociology is a life and death issue because it mirrors death in every aspect
of life. As people enjoy life, death can strike in form suicide, fatalities from natural vagaries, and
homicide. As people interact, there are those that will be pushed into committing suicide due to
discrimination or any other form of abuse. With advent of social media, bullying has increased
and this pushed some teens into suicide. Also, despite homicide being a crime, there is a way
sociology helps people understand the causal or contributing factors.

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References
Brym, R. J. (2009). Sociology as a life or death issue. Vancouver: B.C. College and Institute
Library Services.
Daniels, J., Netherland, J. C., & Lyons, A. P. (2018). White women, US popular culture, and
narratives of addiction. Contemporary Drug Problems, 45(3), 329-346.
Lawson, C. J. (2015). Mortality in American hip-hop and rap recording artists, 1987-2014. Med
Probl Perform Art, 30(4), 211-216.
Lester, D., & Gunn III, J. F. (2016). Sociology of suicide. In Stress: Concepts, Cognition,
Emotion, and Behavior (pp. 273-276). Academic Press.
Shimizu, K. (2020). 2019-nCoV, fake news, and racism. The Lancet, 395(10225), 685-686.

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