ASSIGNMENT 1: THINKING SOCIOLOGICALLY ABOUT BALTIMORE CITY (10 POINTS)

PART ONE: For the first part of this assignment, you will be using data from the United States Census to gather information about Baltimore neighborhoods. The U.S. Census is important to sociologists because it is the largest source of information about American society. The census was first administered in 1790 and is now carried out every ten years. In terms of research methods, the census is a survey, a quantitative research technique described in more detail in Chapter 2 of the textbook. However, the census is an unusual survey in the sense that the goal is to include every person living in the United States. The census does not use sampling, a technique in which a small group of people are selected to be representative of larger populations.

Use the American Fact Finder Website (factfinder.census.gov) to complete the following chart. There are some instructions for using the American Fact Finder website in a separate file attached under this assignment in Blackboard.

PART TWO: The neighborhood where Freddie Gray grew up is about 3 miles from the wealthy neighborhood of Roland Park, but in many ways these two places are a world apart. Chapter 1 of the textbook introduces you to three of the most important theoretical orientations in sociology: structural functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. Pick any two of these three theoretical traditions and in a paragraph or two explain how a sociologist might use those two theories to explain why life in these Baltimore neighborhoods is different. For instance, structural functionalism focuses on how people work together to form stable communities (or why communities fall apart). Conflict theory focuses on competition for power and wealth within societies. Symbolic interactionism focuses on the way we treat one another in face-to-face interactions. Note: this is a tough question with no simple right or wrong answer. Your grade will be based on how well you incorporate information from the textbook about the sociological theories into your answer