Writing Assignment 11
PURPOSE:
Knowledge:
After doing this assignment, you will understand:
How tastes are influenced by our social class
Skills:
After doing this assignment, you will be able to:
Identify how material culture is related to social class, and
Discuss how material culture contributes to class solidarity.
TASK:
There is a widely acclaimed documentary called People Like Us that details social class in the United States. The documentary is two hours long, so we will not watch all of it. Instead, please watch this trailer:
https://www.pbs.org/video/people-us-trailer/
Now, answer the following questions in a word document (1 paragraph each). Be sure to use examples from the video.
What does “class” mean? What criteria are considered when talking about social class? (5 points)
What are the common class categories in the United States? How are they distinguished from one another? (5 points)
Now, how did the people in the video refer to class or to different classes? Discuss your observations. (5 points)
How are the ways the people dress or the things that they own related to social class? How do people in the video speak about taste? (5 points)