Sociology research paper

**RUBRIC FOR GRADING** The paper will be graded on a combination of three elements:

• Content.  First, does the paper follow the directions of the assignment as written above? And second, does it demonstrate strong understanding of key concepts from the readings, both of the lecturer(s) and additional sources? This can be demonstrated by identifying what the key concepts are, by choosing good quotes to illustrate them, and by paraphrasing and applying these concepts appropriately and effectively.

• Creativity. Does the paper display originality and thoughtfulness of argumentation and engagement with texts? This might be shown by making novel connections between texts or ideas, by associating them with interesting examples, by critiquing or questioning aspects of them, etc,

• Technique and style. Does the paper include good essay, paragraph and sentence structure; grammar; use of vocabulary; and references to/citations of texts, etc? In other words, is it clearly, properly, and effectively written?  Please remember: a proper bibliography should be included at the end (as an extra page not counting towards the page number) together with in-text citations throughout the paper.

INSTRUCTION

For this final assignment, each student will write a paper that delves into one or two of our guests’ talks and into a substantive topic, issue, or problem that their talk raised, with an eye toward trying your own hand at illuminating some real world problem and considering possible points of intervention. You can do this by either:

1. Focusing on one of the guest lectures 2. Connecting ideas from two guest lectures 3. Connecting ideas from one or two of the guest lectures to one of the readings from our

first day of class, e.g. Michael Burawoy’s presidential address on “public sociology.”  

Whatever you choose, you will need to do two things in this paper: a) describe the lecturer(s)’s own research as conveyed in their talk (and possibly in the texts they assigned, if they assigned their own writing), and then b) use that as a way into your own discussion of the issues or problem(s) around which their work revolves. For that second aspect of the paper, you will need

to search, both online and in the library, for recent research—sociological or something related— that explores this issue, and then fold that additional research into your paper. That aspect of the paper requires you to read at least 5 additional scholarly articles or book chapters on the topic that you are drawing out from the guest lecture(s).

 

Some examples will give you an idea of what this paper requires. Let’s say you choose to write about Chris Benner’s lecture on equity, growth, and community in America’s metro areas. You would need to lay out key parts of Chris’s argument and then use his research, along with other sources you have tracked down, to write a paper that touches on something from his talk that sparks your interest, such as the idea that inequality hampers economic growth, or the policy suggestion of a universal basic income, or something else that Chris’s talk touches on and that you want to delve into in your paper.

 

Or you might choose to write about Veronica Terriquez’s lecture on youth civic engagement and political participation. You would need to lay out key aspects of Veronica arguments and then use her research, along with other sources you have tracked down, to think more about a related issue or problem, such as the issue of low voter turnout among youth, or the issue of youth

leadership development, or about any aspect of her talk that sparked some curiosity in you.

 

Or you may choose to compare two talks around a common theme or method.  This might be Craig Reinarman and Hiroshi Fukurai’s different approaches to the “war on drugs” through their research on U.S. drug policy and white collar crime, respectively. It might be Jessica Taft and Herman Gray’s work on the role of media in youth culture and social movements. You would also devote space in the paper to doing your own research on topical areas on which the speakers focus and/or issues that their work raises.

 

Finally, you may choose to bring in Michael Burawoy’s writing and definitions of the four kinds of sociology, how they interact, and the distinct ways sociology can be “publicly engaged.” Here you might focus on an individual lecture or compare two.  This might include any of the speakers in our class.  For example, you might focus on or compare the work of Veronica Terriquez, Steve

McKay, Lindsey Dillon, and/or Sylvanna Falcon, all of whom address different approaches to “public sociology” and uses different strategies to enable their work to reach and impact multiple publics.   Here again, you would do your own research on the topical, issue-specific areas on which the speakers focus.