Sociologyspeaking topic
The more 'useless' and expensive a gift is, the more it is appreciated; a useful but cheap gift is looked down on. Why does inefficiency itself sometimes become proof of love?
— the signaling value of waste / gift economies
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- Ferdinand Tönnies's distinction between Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society): the shift from warm communal bonds to relationships of personal interest.
- Mead's distinction between the 'I' and the 'me': is the self born from the gaze of others? Do we only come to know ourselves the way others see us?
- Should parents encourage gaming as a hobby or fear it as an addiction?
- Adoptive parents must prove they have income, housing, and a clean record. Should society expect anything similar from biological parents, and why does the question make us uncomfortable?
- Cohen's concept of moral panic: when the media inflates an event, why does society spiral into disproportionate fear? Why does the size of the panic never match the size of the actual danger?