SYG4060 SOCIOLOGY

The final research paper or project represents the cumulative effort of your work this semester. It should be 1200 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, standard 1 inch margins on all sides. There should be a cover sheet that is NOT part of the page count and page numbers should start on the second page and be located in the lower right hand corner of the paper. This final paper will demonstrate your proficiency in applying concepts relevant to the theories we have been studying to a topic of your choice pertaining to sexual and gender identities.

Your project should reference a minimum of one (1) course readings in an application of one or more theoretical concepts we have explored this semester to a text, issue, or cultural production of your choice. You should include a minimum of two (2) outside sources on the topic, which can be original data collection or other sources you have found in your own research. Therefore, the paper will have a total of three (3) sources. Proper research methods using the FIU library website will be discussed in class.

Examples of possible concepts to consider/integrate:

the sex/gender binary

birth of the “homosexual”

discursive constructions of sexuality

regulation, power, and knowledge

diagnosis, confession, and “truth”

medical science and sexuality – the construction of “normal”

historical context and its role in definition

passing and trans narratives

intersectionality – race/class/gender/sexuality

recognition/visibility of sexual and gender identities (bisexuality & the closet)

queer politics and the policing of “deviant” bodies and sexualities

pedophilia, psychosexual development, and polymorphous perversity

stereotypes and cultural representation

performativity, drag, and gender identity

Stonewall and gay liberation

queer and trans challenges to the legal system

sodomy and marriage laws

lesbian feminism, separatism, and trans identities

materiality of the body

cyberidentities (sexual and gender)