In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course out

In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• Explain cultural beliefs and biases utilizing a sociological lens
• Explain the influences that shape the creation of roles within society utilizing real-world examples
• Draw basic connections between social inequalities and human behavior
• Identify the relationship between social change and contemporary social problems through the application of basic sociological concepts

Prompt

Here are the steps in defining your project subject matter:

Step One: Thinking About Your Issue
Sociologists begin with thinking in general about a social issue. Here are some suggested general subject areas:

• Bullying
• Violent Crime
• Discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, social class, gender identity, age, or nationality
• Substance abuse (drugs or alcohol)
• Income inequality
• Inequalities in social institutions: medicine, education, the justice system, or the economy
• Social media and its effects on mental health

Step Two: Narrowing Your Focus
To narrow your focus, start by reviewing research about your topic from SNHU’s Shapiro Library or the Pew Research Center. Here are some suggested topics:

• Bullying
  • Cyberbullying
  • Physical bullying
  • Workplace bullying
• Violent Crime
  • Index crimes (murder, sexual assault, battery, robbery)
  • Gang-related/organized crimes
  • Inequalities and disparities in sentencing
  • Hate crimes based on race, gender, sexuality
• Discrimination
  • Hiring discrimination based on race
  • Hiring discrimination based on gender
  • Discrimination and job promotions
  • Discrimination in allocation of medical information in doctor-patient exchanges
  • Discrimination in mortgage applications and redlining
  • Age-based discrimination
  • Discrimination based on sexuality in workplace and hiring processes
• Substance Abuse
  • The opioid epidemic
  • Prescription drug abuse
  • Legalization of marijuana
  • Racial disparities in drug law enforcement
  • Inequality in drug treatment resource allocation

Once you have chosen a specific subject, apply the sociological lens to your specific topic.

Specifically, you must address the critical elements listed below. Most of the critical elements align with a particular course outcome.

1. Topic Selection: Your final project will be completed in two parts: a written paper and a concept map in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. To begin this project, you will identify and summarize the contemporary social issue you selected, citing resources to strengthen your summary. Explain what is happening in the issue and provide a brief history of how the issue began.
2. Mapping the Issue: Now that you that you have selected your social issue, you will break the issue down into the following sociological concepts: cultural beliefs and biases, social roles, social inequalities, and the existing social conditions. These concepts will serve as categories through which you will examine the issue. You will write a paper and create a PowerPoint presentation using the provided PowerPoint template (linked in Module Seven of your online course) to connect the sociological concepts and their smaller pieces to the social issue.
   1. Identify the cultural beliefs and biases present in the social issue. For example, there may be prejudice or discrimination at play
   2. Identify the social roles played by the main individuals or groups in the social issue. For example, an individual may be a mother and/or teacher.
   3. Identify the social inequalities present in this social issue. For example, there may be racism or sexism at play.
   4. Identify the existing state or conditions that the social issue is challenging. For example, if your issue is that recycling does not lead to better environmental conditions, the existing condition may be perceived worsening environmental conditions which recycling aim to solve.
3. Creating Connections: Now that you have broken the social issue down into smaller pieces in the PowerPoint presentation (Cultural Beliefs and Biases, Social Roles, Social Inequalities, Existing Conditions, and Social Change), you will write a paper and use the PowerPoint that you created in Module Four to explain the connections you made and how these connections will help you better understand the issue, using your knowledge from the course and your research. You will describe the connections between the sociological concepts and the social issue and demonstrate the value of using a sociological view when examining social issues.
   1. Cultural
      1. Describe the relationship between the cultural beliefs and biases identified in PowerPoint and the social issue and provide specific examples to support your description. For example, you might describe how the relationship is positive, negative, or strained.
      2. Explain how the cultural beliefs and biases identified in PowerPoint help you better understand the social issue.
   2. Social Roles
      1. Describe the relationship between the social roles identified in PowerPoint and the social issue and provide specific examples to support your description. For example, you might describe how the relationship is positive, negative, or strained. In your response, you might consider what expectations are in place because of the social roles.
      2. Explain how the social roles identified in PowerPoint help you better understand the social issue.
         Social Inequalities
   3. Social Inequalities
      1. Describe the relationship between the social inequalities identified in PowerPoint and the social issue. How are the social inequalities present in the issue?
      2. Explain how the social inequalities identified in PowerPoint help you better understand the social issue.
   4. Impact of Social Change
      1. Describe how the social issue is challenging the existing state or conditions, providing specific examples.
      2. How might the social issue facilitate change for the existing state or conditions? Provide specific examples.

Milestones

Final Submission: Concept Map and Paper
In Module Seven, you will submit your final PowerPoint and paper. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing each of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course and for Milestones One through Three. This submission is graded using the Final Project Rubric.

What to Submit

You must submit your PowerPoint and a 3- to 4-page paper (plus a cover page and references). The PowerPoint will be submitted using the provided template. Your paper must be a Word document. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least four references cited in APA format.