Institutions are social arrangements that channel behavior in
prescribed ways in the important areas of social life. The five
most basic institutions in American society are the family,
education, religion, politics, and the economy. There are other
social institutions on the institutions chart. The 3
identifying points about social institutions are: 1. Common
norms and values; 2. A system of relationships; and 3. Common
procedures. Using a Sociological perspective, you will explain
the influences of various social institutions in this
assignment.
The Creation of Institutions Exercise
In 2022, a group of concerned scientists from many fields
concluded that within 10 years the earth would be destroyed by
nuclear war. They agreed that they wanted the human race to
continue, and so they identified a planet 300 light years away
as a suitable home for a colony.
The physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and chemists
went to work designing a space vessel to carry the colony to its
new home. The physiologists, biologists, geneticists,
psychologists, and Sociologists selected 2,500 human children
(50% male, 50% female) from all over the world. The children
were tested to determine that they were healthy, of average
intelligence, and showed no personality abnormalities or
antisocial tendencies.
In order to maintain flexibility in the colonys social
organization, the scientists had the children raised in a fairly
neutral environment. They were well educated but not socialized
to believe strongly in any particular value system or ideology.
They should not be thought of as blank slates or robots, but
rather as people aware of many different forms of human social
institutions. The colonists were placed in life support
capsules on the spaceship. These capsules were designed to slow
body processes so that at the end of the journey, they were
still only 20 to 30 years old.
Since the scientists back on Earth were from many different
cultures, they could not agree on what form the social
institutions in the new colony should take. Therefore, they
decided to leave it up to the colonists themselves. Seven of
the capsules were designed to awaken their occupants as soon as
the ship landed. These seven individuals would be responsible
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for outlining a social system and incorporating all of the other
colonists into the new society.
The ship landed on a portion of the planet which looked
very much like Western Oregon. It was green, slightly wet, and
had an abundance of natural resources. Food supplies on the
ship were adequate for about a 12-month period and the storage
compartments contained many products of human culture, including
tools and books.
Your assignment is to set up a society with any form of
social institutions you can devise. You are among the seven
individuals awoken first. The prime criterion is that your
institutions should be functional and result in a permanent
colony. Remember the idea that institutions will emerge if you
begin with the basic problem of social needs and search for ways
of fulfilling those needs. Use the basic needs lines on the
social institutions chart.
You need only to create the social institutions you think are essential for the survival of the colony, however, you must create at least 3 social institutions. Name each (3) institution you have created then describe it briefly. (The social institutions you create could be from the chart or not.)
Write up a 20-line description of ALL of the social
institutions you have formed. (Your paper can be more than 20-
lines in length the minimum equals 20-lines.) You will lose
points if it is not 20-lines. 1-inch margins: left, right and
top. Little extra white space (no extra blank lines).
Not all CAPS! Be organized. Plan ahead. Look at the lecture document: Institutions Chart.
Required Instructions:
At least 20-lines.
11 or 12 Size Font
1-inch margins: top, left, right (I measure with a ruler.) Double-spaced
No extra white spaces between lines or paragraphs
No title
No title-page
Across top of page: Your Name, This Class, Then start your paper.
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