In lesson 9, we learned about Garfinkel’s breaching experiments as part of ethnomethodology. Now you will complete your own. Review the article Making Something out of Nothing: Breaching Everyday Life by Standing Still in a Public Place. Using this as a model, create your own mini breaching experiment and write it up as a research paper using the article as a guide for both content and form.
Remember that as sociology students, our breaching experiments should have extremely mild repercussions. No one should be harmed emotionally, psychologically, or physically, and no laws should be broken.
For ideas, check out Breaching Experiment: Definition & Examples-https://study.com/academy/lesson/breaching-experiment-definition-examples.html
Your paper should contain the following sections:
Introduction (1 page)
Theory (1 page)
Description of Breaching Experiment in detail (2
pages)
Analysis (2 pages)
Conclusion (.5 pages)
References (1 page)
Your paper should be double-spaced and 6 written pages, not counting references. You should use between 5 and 7 references, 5 of which should be readings from class. Make sure to cite readings using the Chicago Manual of Style.
1. Introduction.
In the introduction, the topic being analyzed should be presented in a succinct and efficient manner. State the purpose of your essay and explain how you will be achieving that purpose. In sociological writing, there are no surprises. State what the main point/finding of your analysis is.
2. Theoretical Framework (about 2 pages)
This section is nothing more than a summary of the theory and the theoretical concepts you will be using to both conduct your breaching experiment and then analyze it. You will need to create a framework building on the introduction to which you can link the rest of your paper. Do not limit yourself to Garfinkel, but use other symbolic interactionists and any other theorists who may shed light on either the process or your analysis. Theory from Lessons 8 through 13 should be used.
3. Description of the Breaching Experiment
In detail. The details are where the heart of a breaching experiment lies.
4. Analysis
There should be 3 separate threads within this section of the paper. The first thread is the theory you set up in the theoretical framework. The second is the breaching experiment you conducted, and the third is the analysis of the breaching experiment, where you tie the theory and your experiment together and discuss what happened and why. Remember you are analyzing your experiment. I will specifically look for evidence that you are using the theory to both setup and analyze your experiment.
For these to be visible, you must cite the appropriate readings from class. The way this should look is state the thing you are talking about from your experiment, then state the theory you are using and cite the theorist, then explain what the relation between the two is. This last part is you and your analysis. How can you show the reader how we can use these theoretical pieces to understand or analyze the experimental event?
5. Conclusion
Tell me, the reader, what you have done and seen in your paper. What has the reader learned, and the big “so what”? Just like in the intro, tell the reader what sociological concepts have been addressed and how.
6. References
Use the Chicago Manual of Style (posted on Blackboard) or the American Sociological Association style. On a separate page.
How to write?
My writing philosophy is shaped by my training in public policy. I was taught in college to write to the point: say what you need to say as clearly as possible so that the reader understands, nothing more, nothing less. I often say writing is about re-writing. At its best, writing is thought made perfect. Don’t be afraid to say something of your own. Take a stand! Share your spicy take! Students often write in a vague way, as if they fear making a point (perhaps the wrong point) or saying the wrong thing. And they err towards saying nothing, which is the worst mistake to make. Remember, I want to read your thoughts. And it always helps if you make it fun for me to read!
My writing style is developed from the classic “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk, Jr. Earlier editions were co-written with E.B. White, the author of “Charlotte’s Web”. This is a web link to the 2011 edition of “The Elements” available on Project Gutenberg. I cannot recommend it enough. Good writing makes you stand out. Good writers are made, not born, and one only becomes a good writer by writing. This isn’t assigned to read but you’ll be better for it if you do.
As I grade your work throughout the course I will write more notes here on writing tips/guidance:
No contractions are allowed in formal writing. The following and anything like them should be written out. Can’t, I’d, Don’t, Won’t, Couldn’t, Wouldn’t, Didn’t, Weren’t, Wasn’t, Isn’t , etc.
As a rule of thumb each paragraph should have 1 to 2 citations minimum. Paragraphs consist of at least 3 sentences but are not generally an entire page long. Make sure to break the text up to flow naturally for the reader.
USE THE SITES BELOW FOR THE ESSAY
https://www.thoughtco.com/symbolic-interaction-theory-p2-3026645
https://www.everythingsociology.com/2014/03/socialization-george-herbert-meads-self.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-3026754
https://www.thoughtco.com/goffmans-front-stage-and-back-stage-behavior-4087971
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/718227789/all-the-worlds-a-stage-including-the-doctor-s-office
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038026120940616
