Description
Please identify and apply eight sociological concepts we’ve learned about this semester that you find especially helpful to understanding today’s social world. For each concept, first provide a thorough definition and explanation that cites the readings from class, including a page number indicating where the concept can be found in the textbook. Next, discuss how the concept is useful for interpreting and understanding your own personal life, popular culture, the larger social structure, and/or a hypothetical research project. Here are three options for integrating and applying the concepts into an overarching theme:
Option One: Discuss how eight sociological concepts apply to your own background, upbringing, and social life. Select the concepts that you found most helpful in understanding your own social location (such as socialization, social class, gender, race/ethnicity, education, religion, family roles, group membership, deviance, etc.).
Option Two: Discuss how eight sociological concepts apply to an example of popular culture such as movies, shows, music, books, sports, or festivals/celebrations. Contemporary social and political issues can be explored here too. Pick something you’re interested in or would like to learn more about.
Option Three: Develop a hypothetical proposal for a sociological research project that applies concepts from the semester. The proposal should address the following elements: Key question(s), hypothesis, or broad topic for investigation; an outline of the aims of the research; overview of important literature (what is already known on the topic); description of the topic and explanation of why further research in the area is important (what we need to know); details of how the research would be carried out; discussion of the limitations of the study. Feel free to get creative!
The Term Paper should be about 8 pages long, double-spaced, and must integrate reading materials from the course textbook. Please make sure the concepts are in bold when they’re introduced and include specific page numbers where the concept can be found in the textbook. The paper should be structured with an introduction, body and conclusion and saved in rich text format or Word Document to avoid problems related to uploading. If using sources from outside of class, be sure to include a properly formatted woks cited/references page at the end of your paper (any citation style is acceptable, as long as it’s consistent). If only using class readings, no works cited page is needed, but the textbook and page numbers should be cited within the body of the paper.
The assignment is worth 80 points and is due on Blackboard by the end of Week Seven at midnight.
Overview of Topics
As a reminder, here are the broad topics we’ve addressed this semester, but feel free to select more specific concepts from within the chapters:
The Sociological Perspective
Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
Doing Sociological Research
Culture (material and/or symbolic)
Socialization
Social Structure
Groups and Organizations
Deviance and Crime
Social Stratification (including inequality and social class)
Race and Ethnicity
Gender and Gender Inequality
The Family
Education
Religion
Grading Rubric
For each of the eight concepts:
Definition and description of each concept (5 points)
Application of concept to personal life/society (5 points)
8 concepts x 10 points each = 80 points
REMINDER: SOC 100 Policy on Academic Integrity and Use of Artificial Intelligence
Before writing the Term Paper, please carefully familiarize yourself with the university’s Academic Integrity Policy. In addition to plagiarism, this policy includes using artificial intelligence (AI) generators such as ChatGPT to complete assignments without acknowledging the use of AI software. Any assignment violating CMU’s Academic Integrity Policy, including those using AI, will receive a failing grade and a report of the incident may be submitted to the Office of Student Conduct.
