DIVIDING THE FUTURE
Information, technology, essays
Today
Our divided information society
Immortality, for some
Essay writing
Course review and essay questions To what extent are technological advances in medical technology likely to increase social divisions in Britain?
Our digital society 
Contemporary Western societies are increasingly based upon the creation and manipulation of digital information
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Digital, information-based, economies require highly skilled workers, educated in the development and use of information communication technology
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Access to this technology and its benefits are unequally divided
Did your school actively encourage students to do ‘STEM’ subjects?
Social exclusion in a digital age 
Digital exclusion is strongly related to social exclusion, both in terms of economic and employment prospects, but community connections
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12% of men in Britain and 17% of women in Britain have never used the internet
Source: ONS, Internet Access Quarterly Update, 2012 Q3
Digital concerns
Digital exclusion is a significant concern for governments as it disconnects citizens from the information economy
Consequently governments have focused on developing digital infrastructure and increasing ‘digital literacy’
Unequal access to technology is evident in other areas of society
Medical developments 
New technological developments in medicine have had a significant impact on health and life expectancy, although life expectancy is falling for some
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Whilst these developments represent progress for humanity as a whole, they are unevenly accessible
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With the increasing expense of new medical treatments, health becomes privatised and those relying on the state are left behind
Selection of the fittest
Eugenics is a philosophy advocating for the selection/removal of certain genes to improve humanity that has been particularly controversial because of the use of sterilisation upon those with socially undesirable traits
However, improved technology has allowed for more subtle selection of desirable genes, such that it is becoming possible to have ‘a designer’ baby
Rapid advances are being made in medical technology such that futurists argue that functional immortality is becoming a possibility, for some…
Would you like to change the genetic traits of your possible future children?
Immortality
There are some suggestions that some of humanity could be functionally immortal by 2045
These developments are all privately funded and accessible only to those who have paid
If the richest can live forever, what about the rest of us?
We are already finding social pressures from our ageing population
Life extensions
The most striking research around immorality focuses around ‘miraculous’ developments
More practically, developments in medical technology may lead to significant extensions in human life expectancy and wellness
This can be anything from new joints to new organs and curing diseases
The post-human body
It is possible that medical technology will develop to the point that our bodies are no longer ‘human’ in the way we currently understand them
This creates the possibility that those with access to this technology will become almost literally a new species from the rest
Do you want to live forever?
Write down all the concerns you have about the essays
Basics
Due January 6th at 3pm
Submit one copy to the Gaskell building, one on BBL
2,000 words, +/- 10% (reference list not included)
Student: 01015673
Grade: C Whilst this essay demonstrates some knowledge of the field, it is largely descriptive and thus the discussion is quite superficial. The essay is reasonably well structured, but it is difficult to identify a main argument and there is little critical analysis of the evidence used to support the ideas being presented. In addition the writing is not particularly academic.
What I’m looking for…
Make a clear argument in response to the essay question
Engage with the main academic debates identified in the lecture, but go beyond the lecture notes
Use authoritative supporting evidence to support your ideas
Taking a Stand
Ultimately, academic writing is about expressing an informed and authoritative opinion objectively and concisely
Academic writing is what you think, but it isn’t simply your opinion
Your opinion becomes an academic argument because it is defended with evidence and analysis
Thesis statements 
Your argument is previewed at the beginning of your work: the thesis statement
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Thesis statements contain your justified response to the assignment question
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Thesis statements contain a claim, a justification and are often supplemented by a qualifying statement.
Asserting your Position
Context
Preview
Thesis Statement
Hook the reader and tell them what they need to know about the debate
Tell the reader your process for responding the question Tell them what you will be arguing
Evidence 
To convince the reader and to move our position from opinion to argument we need to incorporate evidence into our work
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Here it is vital to go beyond describing this evidence into critically analysing it, particularly if it contrasts with your main point
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The way you discuss this evidence is vital for making your writing more critical
Indirect quotations (Paraphrasing) • Demonstrates your understanding of broad concepts or theories • Distils points and saves word count • Allows synthesis of various sources
“Direct quotations” • “Adds authority by identifying key moments in the debate” (Taylor, 2010, p.12) • Lends energy and ‘punch’ to a claim
• Should be integrated with your own sentences and ideas. Only directly quote when you couldn’t have said it better yourself.
Using evidence: The common errors ‘Working class mothers smoke much more than others.’ ‘Working class mothers smoke much more than others. “Low income people are often stressed, which leads to an increased desire to smoke” (Daily Mail, 2014). As a consequence we can see that poorer mothers take less care of their health.’ ‘According to the NHS (1991), working-class mothers are 25.2% more likely to smoke than other mothers.’
Some neo-conservative thinkers (see Murray, 1984; Ford, 1999 and Smith, 2014) have come to associate unemployment and poverty with the term ‘underclass’. The underclass is a subgroup of disadvantaged people who voluntarily do not engage with employment and rely on the benefit system, producing what Murray (1987) identifies as a ‘culture of dependency’. This apparent dependency culture produces an ingrained sense of ‘worklessness’
and intergenerational reliance upon state benefits. Whilst recent statistics (ONS, 2014) identify the presence of intergenerational unemployment, finding that the children of unemployed fathers were twice as likely to be unemployed at age 24, this link does not necessarily support the dependency culture thesis.
Instead…
Evidence check list
Does it support the point you are making? (If I ask ‘really?’, you can point to the reference)
It is authoritative? (It might relate to your point, but can I trust it)
Is it recent? (does it still apply to contemporary circumstances)
Summary
Academic writing is always what you think, but is defended with other scholars’ research
State your argument and defend this argument with a logical structure
Ensure that your writing is supported by authoritative and clearly integrated evidence
Go beyond description (So what?) and drive your reader around your research
Module review
Social differences are an essential element of the human experience – they are what makes us unique
By categorising these differences, however, we can see clear divides within society whereby those with certain differences suffer substantial disadvantage and *perhaps* injustice
Despite the regular reproduction of these divides, society generally manages to remain cohesive and ordered
Unemployment and welfare
Social class is at the core of sociological explanations of social stratification
Social class is regarded as a structure that produces social patterns and influences human behaviour
However, there is considerable debate around class, primarily – Is class determined by economic structures or is it culturally constructed?
Unemployment and agency
Under the conservative cultural conception of social class, unemployment and poverty are caused by a ‘dependency culture’ and poor choices
By contrast, structural sociological theories like Marxism insist on the social influences on unemployment
These understandings drive social and political responses to unemployment, particularly in regards to welfare
Agency is our ‘capability to act otherwise’ and can be ‘reproductive’ or ‘transformative’
Critically discuss the structural influences on unemployment in Britain. To what extent does individual agency play a role in these patterns?
Elitism and equality 
Elitism occurs when a small minority has a disproportionate influence over the majority of the population
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Elitism can occur through economic inequality, but is often maintained by cultural and social capital, as well as the cultural practices that favour the existing elite
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Equality and egalitarianism are appealing ideas, but the mechanisms for achieving them can often undermine the original aims
Critically evaluate the impact of social class on admissions to Oxbridge universities.
Gender discrimination 
Women are clearly disadvantaged in public life, but the explanations for this disadvantage are varied
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Are our bodies naturally different, which leads to different social roles and outcomes?
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Is gender socially constructed, in which case, are social institutions and structures gendered towards men, or is a case of direct discrimination?
Critically evaluate the causes of the ‘gender pay gap’ in contemporary Britain
Race and ethnicity
We rejected the idea that race was a fixed biological difference, despite popular conceptions to the contrary
Nonetheless, if it is not biological, why are there such clear social divisions between ethnicities?
These divides are not simply a struggle between two groups: there are very different outcomes for different ethnicities
Ethnicity, as a cultural construct, cannot be separated from institutional and structural factors, particularly social class, the economy and immigration/nationalism
Critically evaluate the impact of ethnicity and social class upon the 2011 English riots.
Health, illness and society
Despite overall health quality rising, divisions in health outcomes for different groups are rising
How we socially construct health has a significant affect on our biological health
There are substantial differences between ethnicities and across social classes
Health is often considered highly gendered issue, although men fare worst on most measures
Critically discuss the structural influences on health outcomes in Britain. To what extent does individual agency play a role in these patterns?
Immigration and exclusion
Both London and the UK have experienced substantial migration after WWII, which has produced significant unrest
Immigrants, particularly those who don’t seem to be like ‘us’, are positioned as a threat to our sense of ‘us’ and our way of life
Despite attempts to avoid segregation and integrate migrants, governments have recently turned away from multi-culturalism because ‘extremists’ don’t accept ‘our values
Critically evaluate the impact of migration upon community identification in contemporary London.
To what extent has migration affected conceptions of social class in contemporary Britain?
Ideology
Ideology is the socially constructed ‘common sense’ through which we view the world
One of the primary means through which power is maintained is by having the common sense ideology of the elite be the common sense of the masses
Ideology, and our identities, are also secured by the identification of something they are not – often through the exclusion of the immigrant or outsider
Using examples from contemporary Britain, critically discuss the role of ideology in maintaining elite privilege.
Religion as community 
Communities provide a strong point of identification for many people
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This identification can help to increase social solidarity within society or it can produce social segregation between communities
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Religious communities are social differences that often leads to enduring and passionate social divisions
Social protest 
Resistance, a form of transformative agency, is part of everyday life, but some forms are more powerful than others
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Both democracy and capitalism allow for resistance and conflict within certain boundaries, but democratic participation appears to be becoming increasingly ineffective
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As a response, direct action is becoming more prevalent, particularly through social media
Using the case studies discussed in the module, critically examine the relationship between communication technology and social protest.
To what extent are technological advances in medical technology likely to increase social divisions in Britain?
Finally
Please complete the course evaluation
I’ll be away from December 20th to December 27th , but will happily reply to your queries after that
My office hours are now by appointment only
Thanks!