RESOURCES TO USE Video interview of entertainer Russell Brand with…

RESOURCES TO USE Video interview of entertainer Russell Brand with…

RESOURCES TO USE

Video interview of entertainer Russell Brand with BBC broadcaster Jeremy Paxman on BBC “Newsnight”

Transcripts of the interview Blackboard

Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective by Ravelli & Webber, emphasis on chapter on “Social Inequality”, but use all the chapters covered thus far.

Read the chapter “Social Inequality” in Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective

Watch the video of the “BBC Newsnight” (2013) interview of Jeremy Paxman (show host) interviewing actor, comedian, activist Russell Brand. An English transcript is available.

Watch the interview several times; once is not enough.

THE QUESTIONS The purpose of this assignment is for you to integrate the textbook knowledge and apply it to real situations. Demonstrate your ability to look at the issue of social inequality from a sociological perspective. Use the resources to answer these questions:

1. In the BBC Newsnight (2013) video, celebrity Russell Brand says he was a drug addict at a young age. Review that section of the video and summary of why Russell Brand says he was a drug addict. (one paragraph)

Next, use your sociological imaginations and key terms from the textbook to explain from a sociological perspective why someone in Russell Brand’s situation might become a drug addict. Include ideas about what sociological forces and social conditions might contribute to and sustain addiction? How can some cases of drug addiction be viewed as a societal issue?

2.Explain why Brand says there is social inequality in the world.Reflecting on what Brand says, which sociological theory in Ravelli & Webber (chapter on Social Inequality) best explains Brand’s point of view? Back up your answer with ideas HINT: choose one from the four main theories discussed in the textbook – Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism or Feminist Theory.

In the BBC Newsnight (2013) video, Russell Brand said that he does not vote. Use Brand’s ideas, sociological terms from the textbook, and sociological theories & perspective to explain why Brand does not exercise his right to vote.

Do you think not voting leads to political change? Why or why not?