Writing Assignment 1 – Week 2 – Final Paper Topic Proposal – 50 Points
You will be completing four writing assignments for this term which you will then combine to create your final term paper. Keep in mind, as you are completing these assignments, that you will need to write them out in paragraph form rather than merely listing answers to the questions in each assignment. For this first assignment, you are selecting the topic of your final paper, and you will also be using this topic in the remaining writing assignments as you relate what you have learned to this central topic. (For example, if you were to chose the topic of healthcare, you would then write in each of your writing assignments about how the things you have learned relate to healthcare. Note: Healthcare is just an example and you do not have to choose healthcare as your overall topic.)
For this first writing assignment, address the following in 1-2 paragraphs:
What topic will you be exploring this term in sociology? You may choose a topic from the list of suggested topics (listed below) or choose any other topic that you can explore and develop into a final paper at the end of the quarter. (1-2 sentences)
What made you choose this topic? Why does this topic matter sociologically? How does this topic relate to social interactions and relationships that people share? (3-4 sentences) (Be sure to refer to chapter one of your text to help with your understanding of the science of sociology in answering this question.)
What sociological perspective (sociological theory) will work best to understand or describe your chosen topic? Why does this perspective work for your topic? (2-3 sentences) (Sociological perspectives can be found in module 1.3 of your text.)
Note: you will be using your textbook as your reference for your writing assignments and in your final paper this term. The in-text citation for your textbook should look like this: (Conerly et al., 2021) for paraphrased information you get from your text. Your full reference citation at the end of your work (and on the reference page on your final paper) is formatted like this:
Conerly, T.R, Holmes, K, & Tamang, A.L. (2021). Introduction to sociology (3rd edition). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/introduction-sociology-3eLinks to an external site.
For more information on APA format and an APA template that you may use, look in the “APA Resources – 7th Edition” module in Canvas.
Suggested Topics:
The Sociology of Health (or Mental Health)
Health disparity due to socioeconomic status (wealth or poverty), race, gender, ethnicity
Social attitudes towards mental illness (stigma, shame, etc)
COVID 19 Health Disparities based on cultural (or sub-cultural) identity (ethnicity, race, gender)
Drug use (Opiates or others) in the US.
Legalization of drugs
Racial disparities in perceptions of drug use in society
The Social Construct of Race (or Gender, or Ethnicity)
Government and Sociology
A sociological view of the practice of law enforcement
Sociology and politics (national, state, or local)
Mass Incarceration
Housing
Housing discrimination
The process of neighborhood gentrification
Families
Traditional and non-traditional families
How the structure of the family has changed over time.
Education
The experience of education based on group status (socioeconomic, race, gender)
How education has changed over time and how might it change in the future.
