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Bunker Hill Community College – SOC101 Principles of Sociology

Professor: E.K. Healy

Mailbox: 515 in B336

Final Paper Instructions

Purpose

The purpose of the final paper is to enable you to explore the sociological experiences of individuals who are

different from you historically and/or in their social categories of sex/gender, race, social class, or sexual

orientation. We also aim to challenge you to make connections between real lives and the social trends and

dynamics that we are learning about in class. This paper is also designed to help you develop your

interpersonal skills and writing abilities.

Paper heading Please use the format below to add a heading to your paper. Headings should be in the upper left-hand side of your paper, single spaced. I would like you to include the information below in your heading. Name: (Your name here) Student ID: (Your student ID number here) Course: SOC101-__ (your section) Professor Healy (mailbox 515, room B336) Final Paper: (Title your paper)

Paper formatting The rest of your paper may be double-spaced. Please indent each paragraph, but do not use an extra space between paragraphs (as this is unnecessary). Please also use page numbers at the bottom of each page. Papers should be typed in 12-point serif fonts (such as Garamond or Times New Roman). Your paper must be turned in in-class, typed, on printed paper, and stapled in the upper left-hand corner.

Please print the grading rubric and attach it to the front of your paper with your name on it.

Overview

The final paper is designed at the comprehension and application level of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives. (If you do a Google search on Bloom’s Taxonomy, you will see that comprehension and

application are on the lower middle level in the hierarchy of learning objectives.) To do well, you will need to

interview your chosen informant in a timely fashion, drawing from the suggested questions for your project

option. In addition, you should comprehend the readings, lectures, and any course films well enough to

connect and apply them to your interview findings. You will need to cite course sources as instructed below.

It will be important to boil down the pertinent interview information in a focused and concise way, following

the directions closely. Do your best to present information in an organized way and in your own words.

These tasks, combined, create a challenging assignment, but there should be a lot of personal relevance to the

work. In addition, the skills you can develop from these types of projects (such as knowledge,

comprehension, organization, clear writing, application of ideas) are the types of skills that employers are

looking for in our global information society, so hopefully you will see their value! For guidance before your

paper is due, come to see me.

Getting Started

Read these instructions completely before beginning this assignment. You will have five different options to

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choose from, and you are expected to choose one. Consider who in your social network might fit the

interview criteria for the option you chose, and request participation from the person who you will interview.

OPTION 1: Gender and Historical Change

Option 1 focuses on gender relations and historical change. For this option, we would like you to interview a

grandparent (either male or female). Alternatively, you could interview someone around your grandparents’

ages but who is of a different sex/gender than you.

Sample questions:

What were you taught when you were younger about appropriate behavior for men and women? How did

men and women typically divide up paid work, housework and child care when you were young? What

attitudes and behavior did you notice about sexual activity outside of marriage? Did attitudes in these areas

differ for men and women? Did you observe people living together without being married? If cohabitation

was not accepted, what was the reason? What contraceptive choices were available and used, and was there

typical behavior that was different for men and for women in this area? How was unwed pregnancy seen, and

how were unwed mothers told to solve their situations? What changes in these areas have you noticed across

your lifetime?

(Drawing on course materials and outside sources, you may modify or create other questions related to your

topic. Also, don’t forget to get the full name, age, and birthdate of the person you interviewed.)

OPTION 2: Race

Option 2 focuses on race relations and historical change. For this option, we would like you to interview a

grandparent (either male or female). Alternatively, you could interview someone around your grandparents’

ages but who would identify with a different racial group than you.

Sample questions:

What were you taught when you were young about people of other racial backgrounds? How racially

integrated (or segregated) were the neighborhoods, schools, and friendship circles when you were growing

up? What did you see in the society regarding appropriate behavior for whites and non-whites? How were

attitudes different toward African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and European

Americans? What were the common norms of partnership/marriage in your particular racial group (was it

typical to get married, for spouses to share in the decisionmaking)? What was the common thinking when you

were young about interracial marriage and children? Did you see many interracial couples or children around

you? How did your actions and experiences relate to what you had been taught and what you had seen? What

changes in these areas have you noticed across your lifetime?

(Drawing on course materials and outside sources, you may modify or create other questions related to your

topic. Also, don’t forget to get the full name, age, and birthdate of the person you interviewed.)

OPTION 3: Social Class

Option 3 focuses on social class in contemporary family life. For this option we would like you to interview

an adult (at least 18 years old or older) who has had a very different social class status from you. (If you grew

up low-income, we’d like you to interview someone of a much higher income or education level than your

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family. If you grew up wealthy or middle class, we’d like you to interview someone from a lower income or

education background.)

Sample questions:

Would you share a little bit about your family history? (If older: Will you share some details about your

marital and parenting history?) Were the cost of marriage, having children, or childrearing obstacles for you

(or, if younger, for your parents)? If so, how? How do you think your income and education levels have

affected your partnership and parenting experiences? What kinds of financial and/or job challenges have you

had and how have they affected your family life? What activities were typical for your children (or, if younger,

for you), outside of school? What types of things have been stressful for you and your family? Have your kids

(or siblings) attended college, or if they are not yet old enough, do you expect them to attend college? Why or

why not? Have income and relationship stability affected the extent to which you see your

children/siblings/parents regularly? Explain.

(Drawing on course materials and outside sources, you may modify or create other questions related to your

topic. Also, don’t forget to get the full name, age, and birthdate of the person you interviewed.)

OPTION 4: Gender Relations in Contemporary Life

Option 4 focuses on gender relations in contemporary family life. For this option we would like you to

interview an adult (at least 18 years old or older) who is a different sex/gender than you. (For most of you,

this will be straightforward—if you’re female, you’ll interview an adult male; if you are male, you’ll interview

an adult female. It may make this assignment more interesting to interview someone quite a bit older than

you, but that can be your choice. Because you are likely so used to your own family, we recommend for this

option that you interview someone you did not live with while growing up.)

Sample questions:

When you were young, what kinds of expectations did you notice about appropriate behavior for boys and

girls, young men and young women? Did you feel pressured to behave in certain ways? Do you see any of

those same pressures in the environment today, and how might they or do they affect your own kids (or your

peers)? How did your parents/guardians divide up paid work and family responsibilities? How do you balance

these things in your own family, with your own kids or other relatives and with your partner (if any)? How

flexible were the arrangements you grew up with (regarding “women’s work” and “men’s work”) and how

flexible are the arrangements you have adopted (or plan to adopt)? What is your attitude toward the idea of

gender equality? What do you think about fathers who stay home to take care of children?

(Drawing on course materials and outside sources, you may modify or create other questions related to your

topic. Also, don’t forget to get the full name, age, and birthdate of the person you interviewed.)

OPTION 5: Sexual Orientation

Option 5 focuses on sexual orientation differences in contemporary family life. For this option we would like

you to interview an adult (at least 18 years old or older) who is of a different sexual orientation than you. (So,

if you identify as primarily heterosexual, you’ll interview someone who identifies as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. If

you identify as gay or lesbian, you’ll interview someone who identifies as heterosexual. If you identify as

bisexual, pansexual, or some other in-between category, we’d like you to interview someone you consider to

be very different from you in sexual orientation.)

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Sample questions:

What have you seen in the society regarding appropriate behavior related to sexual orientation? How were

societal attitudes reinforced by your parents, friends, teachers? Do you believe that allowing same sex

marriage in the U.S. will have an effect on heterosexual marriages? How so? In what ways do you see same-

sex couples and heterosexual couples as similar and different? Have you experienced prejudice or

discrimination based upon your sexual orientation? If so, would you explain how that played out? Have you

seen others being disparaged or discriminated against based on their sexual orientation? What are your

thoughts about legal marriage for same sex partners? How important is monogamy to you? What ways do or

would you prefer to balance work and family roles between relationship partners? Do you feel supported by

your family regarding your relationship decisions? Your childbearing and childrearing decisions or intentions?

How do you (or do you intend to) balance paid work and household tasks with your spouse/partner?

Explain. How does the recent Supreme Court decision about DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) affect

you, if at all? (Educate about what that is, if the person is unfamiliar.)

(Drawing on course materials and outside sources, you may modify or create other questions related to your

topic. Also, don’t forget to get the full name, age, and birthdate of the person you interviewed.)

Format

Your finished paper should consist of 10 paragraphs across 3 – 4 double spaced pages in a 12-point serif font

(such as Garamond or Times New Roman) with 1 inch margins, plus a reference page. Staple all parts

together ahead of time, and place the staple in the upper left-hand corner. The body of the paper should

contain at least 5 citations, including connections to the course material as well as other sources you find on

your own. Here’s how you should structure the paragraphs of your paper:

1. Brief introduction introducing your name, the option number and topic of your paper, the full name, age,

birthday, and relation to you of the person you interviewed, date(s) and manner interviewed (in-person,

phone, e-mail, etc.), why you picked this person and how he/she fits the selection criteria. Give pertinent

information about yourself to establish that your interviewee is appropriate. (For example, for Option 1, state

your sex/gender. For Option 2, state the racial group(s) you most identify with. For Option 3, describe your

social class in contrast to your interviewee. For Option 4, state your sex/gender in contrast to your

interviewee. For Option 5, state your sexual orientation in contrast to your interviewee.)

2. Present the most important questions that you asked in the interview (i.e., those which yielded the most

insights).

3. – 8. For each of these paragraphs, make a distinct connection between the interviewee’s life and course

materials and outside sources, emphasizing similarities or differences with larger societal trends. Cite readings,

films, presentations in class, websites, and/or media clips as appropriate.

9. Compare and contrast your experiences and expectations to those of your interviewee. Cite course sources

as appropriate.

10. Provide a concluding paragraph reflecting on what you have learned about diversity, change, and identity

as they pertain to family life in a larger societal context.

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Conducting the interviews

Before interviewing your chosen person, it will be helpful to look over the course readings that relate to the

specific topic for your paper. Decide what questions you want to ask, drawing on the suggested questions and

your own modifications based on the readings. Be careful to be sensitive in approaching your potential

interviewee. Explain the purpose of the project and the topic areas that you would like to know about. Some

people will not be comfortable answering the kind of personal questions that we are interested in, and if you

sense that your potential interviewee will be too uncomfortable, try to select someone else. It is important

that you be professional and respectful. Arrange a time to talk that works well for you and your interviewee.

Prepare your list of questions ahead of time, in an order that makes sense. Ideally, meet in person when

others are not in the room and when you will not be interrupted. It is likely that you will gather more

information than you can use in your paper, and that is to be expected. If an in-person interview is not

possible, you may interview by phone. Once you sit down to do the interview, let your interviewee know that

s/he can pass on any question at any time. Take notes during your interview. You may want to ask your

interviewee if you can audiotape or videotape the conversation. Be mindful, though, that your interview

participant may not wish to have certain things recorded.

Interview findings

While I recognize that you could probably write a 20 page paper for this assignment, in this class it is

important that you concisely identify essential and relevant information that relates to topics that we are

discussing in the course. Once you’ve completed your interview(s) with your selected person, take time to

look through your interview notes and write some summary sentences that you can include in your paper. For

instance, Rachel might have spent half an hour telling you the history of her early years of marriage and

raising her children. You might summarize her story into a sentence such as: “Although she was reluctant

about it, Rachel resigned herself to being a housewife while her children were young,” or, “Bob felt bad that

he could not support his children financially, and after the breakup with his girlfriend, he was sick a lot and

didn’t see the children very often.”

Connecting your interviews to other sources

You are encouraged to connect your interview findings and your own similar/different experiences with

content from our course, noting page numbers from readings, topics/dates of lectures, and names of films.

You are also encouraged to bring in additional scholarly or academic sources to support your findings. For

instance, if you wrote about Rachel as a reluctant housewife, you might follow it with a sentence like: “Rachel

got married during the 1950s, when middle class women were discouraged from pursuing careers and

encouraged to focus primarily on the wellbeing of their husbands, children, and households (in-class lecture

about the feminine mystique, Feb. 6, 2014)” or “Bob’s situation is similar to other low income families, in

which personal struggles interfere with the stable functioning of family life" (Furstenberg, 2010, p. 289).

Writing up results, and how to cite course material

You should hand in a 3-4 page paper plus an additional references page. Be concise and intentional with your

sentences, so that you can say a lot in a few pages. When you draw upon the readings, we would like you to

cite the book(s) directly, rather than citing in-class reinforcement of the readings. Avoid quotes; writing in your

own words helps us to see what you understand. To cite the reading within the paper, put the author’s last name, year

of publication, and page number. For example: (Sullivan, 2010, p. 393), or (Green, 2010, p. 205). Cite the

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specific author(s) of the chapter you are citing, not the editor of the entire book. You should cite your sources

even when you are not quoting the material verbatim. For this paper, strive to have at least 5 citations to course

materials and other sources throughout your paper. You can have more than one citation from the same

chapter if you’re drawing upon a different point. Draw as well from class lectures and films that pertain to

your paper topic. To cite a class presentation by me within the paper, write the name of the topic and the date

presented. For example: (In-class presentation by Emily about the feminine mystique, 2/6/14). To cite a film

that we watched in class, write the last name of producer and director and the year. For example, the film

Normal would be cited within your paper as: (Anderson, 2003). Citations within your paper should be

expressed in parentheses, like the examples above.

Include a reference page at the end with full APA-style citation of each reading you used, and the films,

lectures, web sites, and media clips you used (see below). You may want to look up the proper way to cite

using APA citation style. Useful web sites to use are the Purdue Online Writing Lab web site at

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ and the BibMe web site at

http://www.bibme.org/citation-guide/ . The following formats will cover most of the ways you’ll need, and

you can go to the web sites above to see examples.

Citing a chapter from the book:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book

(pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.

Citing an episode of a TV series:

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of episode [Television series episode].

In P. Producer (Producer), Series title. City, state of origin: Studio or distributor.

Citing a film:

Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Motion picture].

Country of origin: Studio or distributor.

Citing a web page:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://Web address

Citing a radio program:

Last Name, F. (Producer). (Date Broadcast). Program [Program Type broadcast]. Network City: Network.

Citing a lecture:

Last Name, F. (Date Conducted). Lecture Title. Event. Lecture conducted from Sponsor, City.

Citing your interviewee

Cite your conversation with your interviewee in the main text, and not in the final reference list, as is done in APA style.

Instructions for your first paragraph will serve as the in-text citation of your interview.

Grading

Grading will be based upon following directions, writing clearly, demonstrating understanding of course

material, and making quality connections between course material and the lives of your interviewee and

yourself. Please see the grading rubric for more information.