Imagination or Reality? The First Paper

There are at least 300 students out there directly and personally interested in this blog entry… and likely a multitude of others that indirectly can learn from it. The 300 are in my spring quarter SOC200 Social Life writing intensive courses. Members of the multitude might include you, someone not in my classes (but who might have journalistic interest or general inquisitiveness).

For nearly 2 decades I have taught introductory sociology courses at a variety of schools (business colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities). And, no, I am not burned out on sociology. I am still convinced that it is not only interesting but can be very practical. The stuff covered is stuff seen in daily life, in personal lives. My version of Introductory Sociology is intended NOT to be one of those courses that gets shelved and forgotten once the term is over and the credit is earned. Social life surrounds and infuses us. We are not its hapless witnesses or passive bystanders, we are the actors living it 24/7 (remember Goffman’s dramaturgy and Meade’s game stage).

Within the next 10 days, students will be crafting their first (of two) writing assignment for my SOC200 – Social Life gen-ed course. I heartily appreciate the fact that nearly all of those students are NOT sociology majors. But, it is my duty to impart an appreciation for the method and content of that “systematic study of human social patterned behavior.” My goal is to get students to (at least for one academic quarter) wrap their heads around practical aspects that present themselves in their own lives in a sociological vein.

The first writing project this quarter involves definitions, examples, clarifications, MLA format, citations, and the 2000 US Census. At first blush, it might seem like a laundry list of sociological “stuff.” However, there are non-sadistic reasons for this project.

Delving into the definition of sociology frames the subject matter: human social behavior. Applying C. Wright Mills’ “sociological imagination” completes the picture: appreciation of the intersection/connection between individuals (biography) and their social contexts (societal structures and processes). This is the first chunk of the paper.

The next part forces students to split hairs and fine-tune a discussion of the differences between personal and social aspects of issues and problems. Using terms like “locus of control” and “personal efficacy” help the student to relegate behaviors to the personal realm or to elevate circumstances to social conditions.

That completes almost half of the total paper. With the basics groundwork covered, the student now shifts to a specific social issue or problem of her/his choice. To underscore how widespread it or its effects are, statistics are pulled from the Statistical Abstract of the United States. No, that is not busy work. It gets the student into census data and practice reading and interpreting tables and charts of demographic information.

With the selected social issue or problem in mind, the student then chooses one of the 4 sociological theories we discussed the first week of class (functionalism, social-conflict, feminist perspective, and SI) to come up with causes (independent, X variables) and consequences (dependent, Y variables). Students must explain and defend their choice of theory. The correct choice derives from the students explanation of its “fit” to the selected issue or problem. The paper concludes with lessons learned by doing this project.

When Pegah (the Teaching Assistant) or I evaluate these papers, we use a grading rubric that includes not only content, but mechanics, proper use of MLA format, readability, writing style, and clarity. A copy of the grading rubric is posted in the Course Studio.

I hope this further explains and clarifies not only the requirements for the paper, but also the practical reasons for it. One final reminder: Pegah and I will look over drafts to ensure that students are on target. But, please, bring a hardcopy to class or office hours for us to see and discuss the paper. Trying to discuss via email or fax is not effective.

Good luck. And please respond here or by email to let me know if this blog was helpful to you. Thank you for your time.