Discussion Questions

  1. In what ways do you see the history of exclusionary practices that prohibited the participation of people of color from voting affect voting practices today? What can be done to increase voter participation among historically marginalized populations?
     
  2. On a scale of 1–10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, how would you rate Donald Trump’s presidency? Do you believe Donald Trump won the 2016 election because he appealed to specific political interests, or because he pandered to a specific racial group? Or, was there some combination of race, social class, and gender that resulted in his victory? Explain your response using specific examples to support your discussion.
     
  3. Describe the society in which you desire to live. How is power distributed? Do all people have equal access to all resources? Does anyone ever “need” for anything? Would capitalism be present? How would elections be held? Who would hold the most and least power? Which of the three sociological theories used to explain the distribution of power in society would be best to create the type of society you want to live in?