Reference no: EM133556596

Assignment:

Sociology is all about questioning what we take for granted, such as what we eat and why. Please respond to the following prompt:

1. List and explain three (3) SOCIAL reasons why the vast majority of people in America do not eat dogs in the United States.

• Your response must go beyond, "we don't eat dogs because we learn that dogs are not food" or, "we don't eat dogs because they are cute and cuddly." Many people think bunnies are cute and cuddly, but it is very common them restaurant menus. Why don't those restaurants offer up a "dog stew" as well? If you were to choose this line of thinking, you'd have to discuss how we learn dogs are not food or why we consider them cute and cuddly. You certainly do not have to use these two examples, but hopefully they illustrate the depth I expect in your responses.

2. Do not use outside resources. This is a "thought experiment" that does not require research - only creative and critical thinking.

3. Do not use explanations based in health or nutrition (those are likely not social - they would fall under the category of biological).

This may seem like a trivial example of "questioning the taken for granted," but it is meant to get you thinking like a sociologist. Later, we'll apply this same perspective on questions like, "why is poverty concentrated among certain populations?" or "why are certain populations incarcerated at higher rates than other populations?" These are serious questions that need to be asked in order to address significant social problems and are the types of issues (among thousands) that sociologists study.