Sociological Reading Response Assignment

Developing critical reading responses with quotations concepts comparisons and questions on sociological inequality and mindfulness builds essential analytical skills for social work students.

1) QUOTATION (1 point): Select a quotation (2-4 sentences) from one attached reading that you find interesting and/or representative of the author’s larger argument. Be sure to use appropriate parenthetical citation. Choosing a quote that captures the essence often sparks deeper engagement with the material.

2) CONCEPT/IDEA (2 points): In this section you should identify the major concept or idea the author is trying to convey, define it in your own words, and describe why it is important sociologically. You should point out how the author supports his/her argument. In doing this, you are to summarize the author’s argument, not critique it. Recent discussions in sociology emphasize how these concepts link personal experiences to broader societal issues.

Also, keep in mind that concepts are typically bold faced terms in a text or are larger ideas that have a specific sociological meaning, but your contribution should not merely be a restating of an author’s definition of a concept.

3) COMPARISON/CONTRAST (3 points): Here you will take the ideas raised above and relate it to other course material. You can do this by comparing or contrasting arguments and ideas to other readings used in the course. This includes current readings for the week or from previous weeks. Updated course materials from 2025 highlight intersections with global inequality trends.

In this section, you may want to point out any similarities or differences between the concepts presented in your summarized reading and the concepts presented in other readings from the course. This comparison must be grounded in the sociological content of the course. The purpose is to strengthen your grasp on the course material for deeper and broader understanding of your social work practice.

4) QUESTION (2 points): Raise 1 related question about the concept/idea discussed above. Questions are like shovels – they are tools we use to dig deeper into the material we are working with. Like shoveling dirt or snow, asking questions can sometimes get messy. Contemporary sociological debates encourage questions that bridge theory and practice in diverse communities.

Be okay with that; roll your sleeves up. It’s part of the process of deep critical inquiry and thinking. Your questions should relate to and be inspired by the material you’ve been discussing here. Good questions will be thought provoking, discussable, and may even lead to more questions before leading to any answers.

Aim to ask questions that will deepen your/our understanding of the issue at hand. You may want to also ask questions that connect the readings to social work practice. We will follow-up on these questions in our class discussions.

Example

Quotation: “A critical sociological perspective can shine a discomfiting light on members of privileged groups, if only by making their privileges visible. It becomes harder, then, to teach sociological thinking when such thinking induces guilt and seems like putting one’s self in for blame” (Schwalbe 2008 p.xiii).

Concept/Idea: Schwalbe describes sociological mindfulness as being aware of the larger social context in which we are part of. He applies the notion of sociological mindfulness to the study of inequality. He argues that looking at the world critically and sociologically can be challenging for some people who may feel implicated or at fault for the amount and severity of inequality that exists in society.

This is important sociologically because if people feel guilty they may be unwilling or unable to learn about the sociological workings of society, which will likely reinforce them.

Comparison/Relation: Similar to Schwable’s sociological mindfulness, C. Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination discusses the distinction between personal troubles and public issues. Mills argued that in order to understand society, we must first understand our place in it. He emphasized the connection between individuals and society and insisted that we must know both to understand either one.

This relates to Schwalbe because if people refuse to look at their place in society for fear of guilt or shame, they will never be able to understand society or themselves. Mills and Schwalbe describe mirror concepts and both suggest that we need to consider how our behaviors and actions are influenced by larger social structures. Further, both argue that people are often unaware of how they participate in something larger than themselves

Questions: How can people learn to move from individualist views of society to an awareness of the larger social context? How does privilege impact this? What benefit will critical sociological thinking have and for whom?

Sample Answer Study Help

Sociological mindfulness encourages awareness of how individual actions contribute to broader patterns of inequality. Authors often support this by examining everyday privileges and their societal impacts. Comparisons to Mills’ sociological imagination reveal similarities in linking personal troubles to public issues. Questions arising from these concepts probe how privilege hinders recognition of systemic biases. Integrating cultural contexts strengthens applications in social work practice. Recent studies apply these ideas to global prosocial behaviors across diverse populations (Van Doesum et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023846118). Such frameworks aid in fostering empathy and informed interventions.

• Complete a reading response with a 200-300 word analysis including quotation, concept explanation, comparison to course materials, and a thoughtful question.
• Select a quotation (2-4 sentences) from one attached reading that you find interesting and/or representative of the author’s larger argumen

 References

1. Jacobs, J.A. (2021) Sociological Curiosity: Updating C. Wright Mills. Contexts, 20(3), pp. 28-33. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/15365042211035337.
2. Rashkova, Y. et al. (2024) Addressing the Societal Challenges in Organizations: The Conceptualization of Mindfulness Capability for Social Justice. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(2), pp. 597-619. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05357-5.
3. Van Doesum, N.J. et al. (2021) Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(35), e2023846118. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023846118.
4. Hemming, P.J. and Arat, A. (2024) Mindfulness in schools: issues of equality and diversity. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 45(5), pp. 678-693. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2024.2351887.
5. Chachignon, P. (2024) Mindfulness research and applications in the context of neoliberalism: A narrative and critical review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(5), e12936. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12936.