Assignment
Race and Ethnic Minorities: Paper Guidelines
"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise."
- C. Wright Mills in The Sociological Imagination (1959)
The sociologist C. Wright Mills described the sociological imagination as the ability to understand one's own personal experiences within a broader social context. The sociological imagination allows us to understand how our personal circumstances are not just shaped by our individual behaviors but also by social forces. Developing a sociological imagination means being able to step out of an individualistic point of view to cast an analytic eye on our social surroundings. Early in the semester you wrote a personal reflection essay. Your task for the final paper is to revisit your personal reflection essay using a sociological perspective.
Instructions:
Using your personal essay as a starting point, and drawing on course materials as well as your own research summaries, reflect on the following:
i. What course content do you think can be applied to understanding your personal circumstances and experiences? Why are they relevant? Be sure to make specific references to materials from class and research summaries.
ii. What course content do you think can be applied to understanding racial and ethnic minorities' circumstances and experiences that you had not previously considered? Be sure to make specific references to materials from class and research summaries.
iii. Has your initial understanding of race and ethnicity or racial and ethnic relations in the U.S. changed as a result of the class? Why or why not? Be sure to support your responses with materials from class and research summaries.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.