Essay 4, Due 9am, November 8

This past week we focused on choice and constraint. As stated during _x000D_
lecture, thinking in terms of "choices" and "constraints" is one of the _x000D_
most fundamental ways we can see how social forces shape individual  _x000D_
behaviors. By thinking about behavior in terms of choices and _x000D_
constraints, we can begin developing solid sociological explanations for _x000D_
almost any human behavior that catches our eye._x000D_
_x000D_
This week you will have three essay options. Please choose one:_x000D_
_x000D_
***Option #1****_x000D_
I want you to read "Men and Jobs," which is a chapter from a 1960s _x000D_
social study about unemployed men in Washington, DC. (Yes, I am _x000D_
assigning you reading that is more than 50 years old. It's not a painful _x000D_
read. I promise. It is located on our course website)._x000D_
_x000D_
The chapter "Men and Jobs" begins compellingly. A truck drives up and _x000D_
down the streets of a Washington, DC neighborhood. The driver of the _x000D_
truck calls out the window toward a group of men, trying to recruit any _x000D_
one of them for "day labor," where the men would exchange several hours _x000D_
of work for some cash. But many of these men, who are routinely _x000D_
unemployed, turn down the truck driver's job offer. This is puzzling. _x000D_
Why would an unemployed man turn down any job/opportunity to make money? _x000D_
How can we explain this seemingly irrational behavior?_x000D_
_x000D_
After reading "Men and Jobs" in its entirety, I want you to return to _x000D_
the chapter's opening scene --- where the unemployed men refuse the _x000D_
truck driver's job offer --- and then examine that behavior (to turn _x000D_
down the job offer) in terms of choices and constraints. In doing so, _x000D_
please address the following questions: Why do the unemployed men _x000D_
featured in this chapter choose not to hop on the truck and go to work? _x000D_
What are the things operating in their lives that constrain them from _x000D_
accepting the job offer? All things considered, does turning down the _x000D_
job seem like an irrational choice for the unemployed man to make? Why _x000D_
or why not?_x000D_
_x000D_
I want you to answer those questions in your own words. Do not simply _x000D_
repeat what the author of the "Men and Jobs" chapter has already _x000D_
written._x000D_
_x000D_
This essay must be between 700-800 words. Submit your finished essays to _x000D_
our Canvas site before 9am, Friday, November 8th._x000D_
***Option #2***_x000D_
During lecture on Friday, I talked about Elijah Anderson's "The Code of _x000D_
the Streets" and we also watched part of the documentary, "Baltimore: _x000D_
Anatomy of an American City." Drawing upon the reading and documentary, _x000D_
please answer the following three questions:_x000D_
_x000D_
1) In your own words, what is the code of the street? Don't simply _x000D_
repeat what Anderson wrote._x000D_
_x000D_
2) As you watched the documentary "Baltimore: Anatomy of an American _x000D_
City" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCiMHEz_lNo) did you notice any _x000D_
examples of the code of the street? Please explain and illustrate._x000D_
_x000D_
3) For many young African American men who live in America's inner _x000D_
cities, they can become trapped in a vicious cycle of hopelessness and _x000D_
alienation. Why don't they get a job? Why don't they stop the violent _x000D_
behavior? Is it easy to break out of the vicious cycle they find _x000D_
themselves in? Why or why not? As you answer, please emphasize the _x000D_
choice/constraint dynamics that are likely operating in their lives._x000D_
_x000D_
This essay must be between 700-800 words. Submit your finished essays to _x000D_
our Canvas site before 9am, Friday, November 8th._x000D_
***Option #3***_x000D_
During lecture on Friday, we took attendance via an extra credit _x000D_
assignment. For those who did not attend lecture on Friday, why did you _x000D_
miss class? Please sociologically explain your absence in terms of _x000D_
choices and constraints._x000D_
_x000D_
This essay must be between 700-800 words. Submit your finished essays to _x000D_
our Canvas site before 9am, Friday, November 8th.