Social Problems: End-of-term paper (50%)
What: 2 to 3 page (single-spaced) paper (excluding reference page)
When: Due Sat May 22
How: Uploaded to Blackboard
Assignment: You are advising activists and the community/people most impacted by a particular social problem. What 3 strategies or pieces of advice would you give and why on how best to solve it? You are free to make these in any broad areas you like (e.g. how the community should best understand the problem, how activists can organize or build their base of support, whom to target, what messaging should look like, etc.). However, while the advice can be broad, it must not be vague and should be i) sociological and ii) supported with concrete evidence and arguments from the readings.
Choosing a problem: Focus on any one of the 5 social problems in the last section of the course (Apr 12 to May 3). You can look at an issue at large (e.g. ending mass incarceration) or hone in on one specific area/campaign of the larger problem (e.g. ending solitary confinement in the U.S. or eliminating racism in drug sentencing in NYC). You are also free to choose a specific aspect of the broader problem that is more recent and therefore not included in the readings (e.g. ending deportations under the Biden administration). However, regardless of the specific problem, be sure it connects directly to one of the 5 broader problems and to engage with the material in the relevant chapter. That is, demonstrate that you know the various dimensions of the larger struggle to solve the problem in that area.
Applying sociological thinking: Your advice needs to be sociological and demonstrate that you are using the tools we have talked about in class. There are two ways to explore this: First, start with the basics of what it means to understand a problem sociologically (as seen in section 1 of the syllabus). This means, e.g., knowing how taking a “Sociological Imagination” shapes how we understand a problem, understanding “The Social Nature of Personal Choices,” seeing ”Social Problems as Collective Behavior,” and exploring the “Barriers, Possibilities, and How Sociology Can Help.” The readings in that section are not specific to a particular problem, but rather provide a framework for how to think of a social issue (i.e. what to look for in understanding it and how to solve it). Second, for each of the upcoming 5 weeks, in addition to looking at a broad problem, we will also explore a number of main themes. These connect to the themes in section 1, and will be organized as follows:
A good way to understand this is that for the upcoming weeks, we will use each of the 5 problems to understand the themes of how to understand legitimacy, power, and vested interests. So, see these remaining weeks as practice and giving you ideas for how you will write your paper.
Your paper: Apply your sociological understanding of how to look at social problems to the specific case you are exploring. Draw out 3 strategies or pieces of advice that come out of your sociological understanding. Then, use the specifics of your case/problem to illustrate your argument: i.e., how and why people should follow your advice. Finally, connect the 3 pieces of advice. That means, see that the 3 strategies build up together to a broader framework for social change. That means the strategies should connect in some coherent way, so you can tell the activists and people in the community that you are advising: “My main advice is this… And you can see it in 3 ways: x, y, z.”
Recommendations for good papers:
Don’t wait until the last minute, start early. The single biggest weakness that professors identify on papers is that it’s clear when students have written them in the last few days before they’re due. Even if you are comfortable with the material and feel you’re a strong writer, if you write it at the last minute…we know! Last-minute papers tend to be more superficial and repetitive, and less well organized (even if they read nicely on the surface). As a result, last-minute papers simply do not do as well as those that are planned out over a few weeks.
Organize by ideas: Don’t try to sit and just “write a paper.” Instead, think in terms of clear and simple ideas and how best to organize them. Only start writing when you have a clear, logical outline. Spend more time organizing and reorganizing your outline, changing the main points and re-naming then till you come to the clearest, most logical set of main and sub-points for your ideas.
Run your outlines by me early for feedback (see below).
Proofread your paper. I don’t want to read mistakes that indicate time was not spent on it. Use spell-check in Word, share your paper with John Jay’s writing center, and any other resources you know of.
Edit it down so you are concise and precise in your writing. If something can be said in 10 words instead of 20, use 10. Don’t fill up your paper with place-holders that ‘sound good’ but are only filling up space. And finally, don’t be repetitive. I will be reading only for your concrete ideas and evidence. It will be helpful to go through your final paper at least 1-2 days before it is due with a fine eye to shorten it so that everything that is in there needs to be there. In my experience, most writing can easily be cut down by 1/3rd to half its length without losing any information.
Use quotations sparingly: While I want you to cite all examples or pieces of evidence, don’t simply include lengthy quotations from the readings. Use them sparingly and only when necessary. Instead, focus on synthesizing the reading/argument in your own words.
Organize your paper: use headings and sub-headings to show me (and you) how your arguments are organized. Use topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph and section: these are statements that summarize the main point of the paragraph or section. A good way to know if you’ve done this well is try reading the paper in two ways (first just read the 2-3 topic sentences that come from each main section, then read just the topic sentences of each paragraph): do you get a good understanding of the logic and arguments of the paper from just reading these? If not, your paper is either not well-organized or the topic sentences do not summarize the paragraph or section well.
Be creative and in charge. Yes, this is a term paper, it’s for a class, and you will be graded. But don’t let that become your ultimate motivation here. Instead, I want you to feel empowered to think. To think of ideas, big ideas, big ideas that matter and are important for social and racial justice. Black Lives Matter has both become the largest social movement in U.S. history (based on the protests of the summer of 2020). At the same time, it has a long and powerful history of the long struggle for racial justice. Be a part of that legacy. Think, write, and test out your ideas in ways that can shape your thinking about the world.
2. Outlines for Early Feedback
What: Outline of paper and/or extra credit (along with your availability for May 10-14)
When: Due Sat May 8
How: Emailed to me
I (strongly!) encourage you to send me your outline by Sat, May 8 alongside your availability for the following week (May 10-14). We will set up a meeting where I’ll give you verbal feedback (you’re welcome to record the meeting if you’d like).
But please note: I will put as much thought into my feedback as you put in to working on your outline. So, if you throw something together last minute, I will still tell you what I think, but I won’t do the extra work for you of making sense of an unfinished outline.
3. Optional extra credit (for up to 5% more on the final grade)
What: Group write-up (2-4 paragraphs) or another format (as agreed on beforehand)
When: Due Sat May 29
Date to indicate intent to participate: Weds Apr 28
How: Uploaded to Blackboard or another format (as agreed on beforehand)
Focus group on improving class: The extra-credit assignment is to participate in a focus group of 3-4 of your classmates on ways to improve this class in the future. That will involve thinking of specifics of this class but it may also be about general issues of taking classes online today. To that end, I’ll ask you to do 3 things:
Meet amongst yourselves twice (in a group of 3-4) to discuss issues/problems/concerns that you (or others) may have with the class.
Meet with me as a group once to discuss any things that come up.
Make recommendations as a group on how any issues can be addressed to improve this class in the future. The recommendations will be put by your group as a whole, without anyone’s name being attached to any specific issues/ideas.
Intent to participate: Confirm your intent to participate in this no later than Weds Apr 28 so that you have 3 weeks with the other members of your focus group to talk through issues/ideas.
Format of meetings and output: Most important is that you/others feel free to think of issues or ideas freely. So, any of the format (when/how we meet and what/how you submit your thoughts) can be modified to make sure everyone in your focus group is comfortable.
