Sociology

Principles of Sociology

Fall, 2020

Writing assignment #1 and #2. Due Tuesday, September 22 and Thursday, October 22.

This exercise emphasizes thinking about and evaluating current information sources, particularly non-scholarly, news based sources (e.g., NY Times; Wall St Journal), becoming more aware of the connection between the Presidential election and sociology, and synthesizing the sociological ideas from these sources as they relate to the 2020 Presidential election. Please focus on the Presidential/Vice Presidential campaign. Congress, state and local elections are critically important but, for this assignment, focusing on one office facilitates the application of the sociological concepts.

Each student should find three information sources on which to base their essay. The three sources can be non-scholarly and should be current (2020) and credible. To determine credible, good quality information sources, Laura Kohl, Director of Library Services will work with us next Tuesday (9/15) on establishing critical skills for the intellectual process of determining good information sources. The sources should all help to establish the information foundation for the issues that you are developing and the sources should be connected. The connections can be based on the sociological concepts, the candidates, or on the issues. You can also do a “compare and contrast” but that is harder to keep organized while also developing the sociological concepts.

For example: all three sources can help you understand President Trump/VP Pence’s position on racism in the US.

All three sources can help you understand former VP Biden/Senator Harris’ position on racism in the US.

All three sources can help you understand the hierarchies that the one or the other tickets emphasize.

Each student must write a three page essay on the main issue or issues about the Presidential campaign (either the candidates, the VP candidates, or their positions on issues) that are described in the three sources, the connection between the issue(s) and sociology, and why the issue(s) is important to you. The main component of the essay is your description of the connections between sociology and the Presidential candidates and/or their issues, using the information sources as the basis for the connection. You do not have to take a position on the candidate but, if you do, please include it in the conclusion and connect it to your essay.

During the interactive workshop, Laura Kohl and I will provide guidance on this exercise. Come prepared with your text, your laptop, and some ideas for news stories. If you have news stories already, please bring them with you in electronic form. You can assess the actual sources during the workshop.

All essays must be documented properly and thoroughly using APA format. If you are unaware of the APA format or if you need a refresher on the guidelines, please consults the Library Resources link on Blackboard. When you open the Library Resources page, there is a link to Citation Help. Once there, click the APA link. Include a Works Cited page with your essay with all sources listed correctly in APA format.

You will be graded as follows:

Content: 75% (show that you understand and can apply sociology and use the information sources appropriately);

15% Writing quality;

10% Documentation (both in-text and listing the sources properly on the Works Cited page).