You will be asked to select discussion questions from among those listed below.

1.  Popular culture – t.v. tells us about American Society

Select 5 t.v. shows among you and discuss them as if you were an outsider from another country.
What would you learn about life in America from these shows?

2.  Milgrim Experiment – extent to which subjects would be willing to comply with an order – obedience (p. 224-5 in text, read in class)

Is this an ethical experiment? Why?

3.  Homophobia – a fear and hatred of homosexuals.

Homosexuality – a preference for sexual relations with someone of the same sex.
Why is homophobia strong in the US?  What are people afraid of?

4.  Bi-lingual Education  English Only

    learning to speak more than one language fluently
learning in your native language until you can understand enough English

What should be the goal of a bi-lingual educational program?  Why is this a controversial issue in California?

5.  War (Terrorism or Iraq)

When is war justified?  Is torture justified?

6.  Culture

Have you ever experienced first hand a culture other than your own? Explain. What did you learn about yourself from this experience?

7.  Race/ Ethnicity

Is hate speech free speech and protected by the Bill of rights?

8.  Culture

Is there such a thing as American culture? Explain.

The class will get into groups of 5 to discuss the questions. One person will be a recorder of comments and make a list of the names of the students in their group. Each student in the group will then write a 1 paragraph summary to turn in the next class. Attendence = 1 point, summary = 1 point x 5 = 10 points.

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