TEXTBOOK & ADDITIONAL READING
SUPPLIES NEEDED: Charon Text, Access to PDF Files Over the Internet

Read pages 153-156 in the Charon text.

Read pages 42-72 in Priviledge, Power, and Difference . Section is titled, "Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination." and "Mking Priviledge Happen."

Johnson, A. G. (2001). Priviledge, Power, and Difference . Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

Read pages 461-469 in The Production of Reality . Section by Ridgeway is titled, "The Persistence of Inequality in Employment Settings."

Ridgeway, C. (1997). The persistence of inequality in employment settings . In J. O'Brien and P. Kollock,
The Production of Reality. Essays and Readings on Social Interaction (2nd ed.) (pp. 461-469).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Read pages 218-225 in The Production of Reality . Section by Orenstein is titled, "Fear of Falling: Sluts."

Orenstein, P. (1997). Fear of falling: Sluts . In J. O'Brien and P. Kollock, The Production of Reality.
Essays and Readings on Social Interaction (2nd ed.) (pp. 218-225). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

ONLINE DISCUSSION
SUPPLIES NEEDED: Access to Online Discussion Board

The individual activities in this section have asked you to consider two sources of power. The first, exemplified by Johnson's reading, is capitalism and wealth. And the second source, from the readings by Ridgeway and Orenstein, is culture, specifically the culture of gender.

For this group activity, your facilitator will break you into your several groups. Some groups will address the issue of the economy, power, and change, and the others group will address the issue of gendered culture, power, and change. In both cases, the big question is how is change possible, particularly in face-to-face interactions?


The Economy and Domination

Here are some questions to get you starting thinking and talking:
According to Johnson, how is it that we make privilege happen in face-to-face interactions? In particular, explain how avoidance, exclusion, and rejection work. Why is it "exhausting being Black in America"? How are the lives of the privileged (i.e., men and heterosexuals) damaged as well through systems of oppression? What does Johnson mean by "we can't heal until the hurting stops"? How can we stop the hurting?

Gender and Culture

Here are some questions to get you starting thinking and talking:
Given Ridgeway's argument about the unavoidability of gender categorization and the effects of gender categorization on interaction, how can we bring about gendered equality? Considering Orenstein's article about the importance of gendered sexuality, how would we have to change the gendered sexual scripts in order to bring about equality?


Go to Blackboard Group Discussion to post your answers.