Paper One will consist of two parts. PART I should be a contrast/comparison of each of the three major sociological perspectives discussed in class. Please compare/contrast each of the three on the basis of the image of society offered by each, the image of social change, the fundamental elements and questions asked by sociologists within each perspective. Also mention the major classic theorists and some of their contributions. Please discuss how each of the perspectives reflects the time and place in which the theorists were writing, putting their ideas into a social and historical context.
PART II will consist of the APPLICATION part of the paper. Choose some social phenomena (marriage, homelessness, crime, video games--could be ANYTHING that relates to human behavior) and then describe how a sociologist from each of the three perspectives would go about studying the phenomena from that particular perspective. What sorts of questions might he or she ask? How would the phenomena be viewed, what aspects would the sociologist be interested in?. You should refer to portions of the text, readings, and/or class notes when describing concepts (and be sure to include a reference page). Citation style may be APA, MLA, or any other format you are familiar with (or that is required for your particular major). Criteria for grading the papers are as follows
1. Paper must be well written and well organized--it may be helpful to break it down into sections.
2. Responsiveness--don't just strive to "fill pages"--make sure to respond to the requirements of the assignment, and you will easily have enough pages.
3. Creativity/originality--Expand your mind! Be creative in the examples you use, and/or in the way you apply the theories.
4. Use of text materials and class notes--Good papers will weave together the concepts in the books with "real life" examples. Again, have a reference page