There is just one question for everyone in your first research discussion. But there are sure to be as many answers as there are members of the class. "Your country" for the research discussions is identified by the city name of your group, i.e., Korea if your group is "Seoul."

Here's your question:

What notable feature of life in your country, or of its relations with other countries, can be seen in one of the following areas: population change and patterns, urbanization trends, environmental issues and questions, technological change and globalization, or international stratification? In your initial essay, you should write about just one of the above subjects. You may focus on one specific aspect of the subject (for example, a particular environmental problem in the country), or you may look at the broader picture of how the feature you choose is an important aspect of what the country is like and how its people live. Your textbook readings on these subjects and the class lectures should give you a start in developing your ideas and figuring out what to study.

Read the "Message Board Guidelines" page for guidelines about how to develop your reply postings in this first research discussion.

Second Research Discussion

There are 12 questions for you to choose from in the second research discussion. Pick any question you'd like to answer for your initial essay.

1. Identify one or two prominent economic problems that currently are being faced by this country, and discuss the nature of this problem (or these problems). What seem to be the causes of the economic difficulties you are discussing? What measures are being taken to address these problems?

2. Does the political system in your country tend to reflect features of a "strong state," or of a "weak state"? (See the textbook discussion surrounding Figure 9.1.) How do you know? How do these features affect social/cultural and economic life in the country?

3. What political perspective(s) tend to be predominant in the country you are visiting? Is the country's politics characterized more by "liberalism," "social democracy," or what? (Refer to chapter nine of the textbook - "The Political 'Rules of the Game.'" What is the basis for your conclusion?

4. Is the country you are visiting involved very much in the global economy, or not? In what ways is the country prominently tied to economic globalization? (Addressing this question requires some thought about what globalization is and about what aspects of the country's economic activity would be good indicators of involvement, or lack of involvement, in the global economy.)

5. What recent political issues and/or conflicts have been prominent in the country you are visiting? (Select just one or two issues or conflicts for this assignment.) How are these issues being addressed?

6. Is unemployment a very big problem in the country you are visiting? What accounts for the trends in employment and unemployment that characterize the country? (That is, if the employment picture is a good one, what features of the economic or political system are responsible for this situation? And if unemployment is high, what seems to be responsible for the high rate of unemployment?)

7. How serious is the problem of poverty in the country you are visiting? What factors seem to be especially implicated in the poverty that exists there? What is being done to confront the poverty problem in the country?

8. Briefly summarize prominent features of the country's economic system. How close does the country come to having a free market economy? A command economy? Give evidence for your assessment. Are these economic arrangements relatively enduring and stable in the country, or are they new and somewhat shaky?

9. Identify some particular feature of the political life in the country you are visiting that you find intriguing or noteworthy. Discuss this feature, explaining what is especially striking about this aspect of the country's political system. What are implications of this political characteristic for other spheres of activity in the society -- the economic and social/cultural spheres? In some cases, you may find it useful to compare what you find in this country with a similar or contrasting feature in another country -- the U.S. or some other nation.

10. Identify some particular feature of the economic life in the country you are visiting that you find intriguing or noteworthy. Discuss this feature, explaining what is especially striking about this aspect of the country's economic system. What are implications of this economic characteristic for other spheres of activity in the society -- the political and social/cultural spheres? In some cases, you may find it useful to compare what you find in this country with a similar or contrasting feature in another country -- the U.S. or some other nation.

11. Identify some particular feature of the cultural life in the country you are visiting that you find intriguing or noteworthy. Discuss this feature, explaining what is especially striking about this aspect of the country's culture. What are implications of this cultural characteristic for other spheres of activity in the society -- the political and economic spheres? In some cases, you may find it useful to compare what you find in this country with a similar or contrasting feature in another country -- the U.S. or some other nation.

12. Describe key respects in which family life tends to be different and/or similar, in general, compared to what is typical in the United States.

Third Research Discussion

For your final research essay, you should examine any one of the following types of institutions in the country you are visiting:
(1) the educational system, (2) the mass media, (3) health care, (4) the legal system and criminal justice, or (5) religious institutions.

We're to the place now where you can examine with more educated eyes than before some specifically sociological aspects of how societal institutions operate and in what ways they're connected to not only the cultural dimension of life but also to the political and economic spheres as well. If you choose to, you can do it by focusing on any one (or more) of the following four themes:

a. What clear effects is this institution having today on culture in the country? (For example, you might address such questions as these: How does the institution exert its influence on culture? What are some visible and important results? What has changed in the culture because of the way the institution has evolved and developed over time?)

b. What are the linkages between this intitution and the society's political and/or economic spheres? (For example, you could inquire into questions regarding the economic importance of the institution, how the institution is politically protected [or under political fire], or what political issues are associated with the institution.)

c. What social or political groups benefit most from this institution, as it tends to function in the country you are visiting? Which groups benefit the least? (In examining these questions, you could compare the workings of this institution in the country you are visiting with the way it functions in another country, such as the United States. The differences in who benefits the most and least under different kinds of institutional arrantements would be informative.)

d. What are advantages and disadvantages of the way this institution is structured and the way it functions in the country you are visiting?

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