Researches social issues

by | Feb 9, 2022 | sociology

Instructions: Please read the instructions carefully and contact me if you have any questions prior to submitting your work.

After reading the chapter and reviewing the PowerPoint and supplemental readings on the course site, you should complete the following tasks:

Answer the questions below. Your responses should be about one, 5 to 7 sentence, paragraph per question set (meaning numbers 1,2,3, etc should be about one paragraph in length.) Your responses should demonstrate a clear engagement and understanding of the course material, critical application of the sociological concepts/theory and should include clear grammar and sentence structure.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You should cite any evidence/information from the text or other sources (this is important, if you do not cite, your work will be reported as plagiarism)

Please review the assignment rubric under ‘Course Resources’ for clearer indication of grading distribution and let me know if you have any questions/concerns.

Questions:

  1. Sociology researches social issues through the use of theoretical frameworks. Examine the news and pick a controversial news story about a big current social issue; this could be police brutality, poverty, sexual assault, etc.). Consider what different questions a sociologist researching this topic might ask if they were investigating this issue from a conflict versus functionalist versus symbolic interactionist perspective; this is to say, how would each of these theories examine this social issue? How might these differing approaches work together to build a deeper sociological understanding of the issue?
  2. In regards to the sociological imagination, think of a problem that impacts you personally (e.g., the high cost of tuition, unemployment, divorce, etc.) and explain how you would make sense of it differently if you viewed it as (a) only a personal problem or (b) influenced by a public issue. How do possible solutions to the problem differ depending on how you view it?
  3. Imagine you would like to look at reasons behind the high college dropout rate in the United States. How might your explanations differ based on whether your analysis was on the micro, meso, or macro level? Why? Which level or levels would you focus on for your study? Why?

Chapter Learning Objectives:
To read these particular portions of the chapter, please click on the links below and you will be taken to that section of the book.

1.1 What Is Sociology? (Links to an external site.)

Explain concepts central to sociology
Identify how different sociological perspectives have developed
1.2 The History of Sociology (Links to an external site.)

Explain why sociology emerged when it did
Describe how sociology became a separate academic discipline
1.3 Theoretical Perspectives (Links to an external site.)

Explain what sociological theories are and how they are used
Describe and analyze the similarities and differences between structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism
1.4 Why Study Sociology? (Links to an external site.)

Explain why it is worthwhile to study sociology
Identify ways sociology is applied in the real world

Sample Solution

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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