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Sociology homework help\. Sociology 101: Introduction to Sociology
Professor LaBagnara
Sociological Imagination Paper assignment
 

  Writing exercise 1 April 16th, 4 PM 100 points

 
Objective: Practice thinking sociologically about your own life and the community around you.
Background:  Sociological imagination is a phrase from sociologist C. Wright (The Promise). Mills was interested in how an average American understood his or her everyday life.  He found that people’s understandings of the world are limited by the social situations they find themselves in, particularly their family, friends, schools, and workplaces.  It is hard to see the larger picture and how your life fits in.  Sociological imagination is a quality of mind that can be developed with conscientious practice, and that helps you understand the larger meanings of experiences.  In particular, it helps you connect private troubles or choices to public issues, and to understand the influence of culture, socialization, stratification on your life and lives of others.  To use the sociological imagination, it is important to pay attention to the social and historical context in which we find ourselves. This does not mean that the social context determines what happens to us entirely.  Rather, our choices are shaped by the society we live in and larger forces.
Writing Assignment 1
Write 3 pages in which you apply the sociological imagination to your own life, or to the life of someone close to you. First, write about the situation without sociological imagination.  Then, relate the situation to one or more concept, theory, or fact that we have covered in class so far. For example, you might write about how you perform gender in everyday life, how gender shapes your choices and options, or your first experience with racism. Or you might analyze assumptions about sexuality in how you were raised. Or you might think through what it means to have grown up poor, working, or middle class, etc.
Details:

  • Introduce the concept of sociological imagination in your own words, and provide an overview of how you will apply it to the situation in your paper
  • Describe the situation Include an explanation of what led up to the situation, specifics of the situation, how it has been resolved or how you think it might get resolved, who are the players involved, how you feel about the situation and why. Describe any choices that have been made or not made and why.
  • Provide psychological, moral, evolutionary, or personal explanation(s) for the situation. In other words, how would you explain the situation without sociological imagination? For example, you might talk about how your struggles with weight are due to lack of willpower
  • Use sociological imagination to explain the situation sociologically, connecting the personal to larger forces. Review class notes and readings to connect the situation to concepts or theories (week 3) we learned in class.  You do not need to do outside research, but if you do use other sources, you must cite the source.
    • IMPORTANT: Cite at least 1 concept or piece of information from the readings or lecture. See under Format below on how to do it.
  • Write a conclusion summarizing the major points you made in the paper.

Format: 3 pages double-spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font, 1 inch margins, indent your paragraphs instead of skipping lines. Use first person when writing (e.g. “The problems started when I left my parents’ house…”). Begin the paper with a title, your name, and date. Keep a copy saved on your drive or computer.  Edit carefully for spelling and grammar.
When you mention a concept or information from class material in the text, put it in your own words, then cite where you got it from. For example:
My mother’s struggle to make ends meet is an example of feminization of poverty (Sociology 101 Lecture, DATE). She also had to do the “second shift” when she got home from work (Conley 2014, p. 469).
Do not copy from the lecture or readings. Paraphrase (put into your own words).
At the end of the paper, include a list of your sources. For example:
Sociology 101 lecture, “Introduction to Theory”, September 17, 2019. Professor LaBagnara. University of Massachusetts Boston.
Cooky, Chryl and Nicole Lavoi. “Playing but Losing: Women’s Sports Under Title IX.” Contexts 11(1):42-46.
A word of caution: Most of us tend to rely on psychological and individual-centered explanations of situations, such as personality traits, emotions, stress, etc. You can include this (briefly) in the paragraph describing non-sociological explanations. But remember to move beyond these types of explanation for the main portion of the paper.
 
 
 
 
Grading Rubric
“-“ you didn’t do it or did it badly
“Ö” you did it ok
“+” you did it well

  Points per section
Sociological Imagination 10
You introduced sociological imagination in your own words.  
You provided an overview of how you will apply it to your paper.  
Situation 40
You provided a personal situation (yours or someone else’s).  
You described the situation clearly.  
You provided a personal explanation without sociological imagination.  
Sociological Imagination 40
You explained the situation sociologically, connecting the personal to larger forces, and using your sociological imagination.  
You appropriately used at least 1 concept or theory from class.  
You wrote a conclusion that summarized the major points  
Format 10
You had the right font, margins, paragraphs, and indentation.  
You had a title, date, name, and used first person writing.  
Your spelling and grammar was up to college writing standards.  
You cited your sources appropriately.  
Overall Grade ___
out of 100

 
 
 
 
 

Sociology homework help\