Assignment:
What is a social problem? How are social problems co-constructed? Which group of people is most impacted by social inequality? What are the consequences of increasing social problems? What role does agency and structure play in creating social problems? How do we solve social problems?
PAPER OBJECTIVES:
1) Investigate one social problem in depth; pick one to focus on.
2) Explore how one problem become a social problem (Part 1).
3) Demonstrate who is most affected by this social problem (Part 2).
4) Reveal possible solutions by researching at least one group that works to solve this social problem (Part 3).
5) Propose your own solutions to solve this social problem; both on the individual and structural level. This is where you should connect personal to public troubles (i.e. Mills) (Part 4).
In the past, students have written about the following social problems:
1) Education;
2) Gay Marriage;
3) Health Disparities;
4) Homelessness;
5) Immigration;
6) Juvenile Crime Justice;
7) Leadership and Gender;
8) Media and Girls;
9) Obesity; and
10) Pornography.
You can refer to this Gallup Poll that surveyed people's views towards some of the top social problems in America to help you pick one for your paper.
Most Important Problem | Gallup Historical Trends
The topic you choose is up to you. A word of caution: it is best to pick a social problem that allows you to demonstrate your understanding of course material and you can connect it to something personal.
PAPER STRUCTURE:
Your paper should have four parts:
1) Introduction: a short history of you social problem.
2) Describe AND explain how your social problem shapes women's, minorities' and lower class people's lives differently (if it does). You should describe how all gender, class, sexuality, race/ethnicity, (dis)ability, etc. make a difference in who is most affected by this social problem.
Use peer-reviewed research to provide some statistics on your social problem, theorizing what explains the patterns that you social problem creates.
3) Research in depth at least one social action group that works to solve your social problem.
Provide specifics about the group, how they come to be, their goals; how they work to solve the social problem, why they are successful; what kind of work do they do on the micro, mesa and macro levels, etc.
4) Propose your own critical solutions to the social problem by demonstrating your sociological imagination.
You should use peer-reviewed sociological literature throughout your paper to support your claims, both in regards the social problem itself and in your argument about what may or may not work in solving the social problem.
Your paper must do the following at the minimum:
1) Use at least 4 to 5 sociological concepts from class in the analysis of you social problem.
2) Refer to at least three different course readings class in the analysis of you social problem.
3) Include at least two outside the class peer-reviewed sociological sources in the analysis of you social problem (in addition to the three required course readings). Please consult with a CSU social science librarian if you are not clear on how to find peer-reviewed sources for your topic.
4) Discuss at least three assigned videos in length and how they highlight the complexity of your social problem
5) Describe at least one group that works to solve your social problem. Provide as many details as possible. This may be a local or a national social group.
6) Propose at least two individual and two structural solutions to solving your social problem.
Explain why you believe these solutions may work. What can you do yourself?
The goal of these papers is to demonstrate your understanding of how agency and structure work together to shape human experience. Your paper must show me you know what structure and agency means for solving your social problem.
PAPER FORMAT
1) Include your name, course name AND paper title
2) Use Times New Roman 12 points or less, 1 point margin
3) The paper should be 4 to 6 pages (double-spaced) in length, not including references. It can be longer, if you need the extra space.
4) The paper should include both in-text references and a separate bibliography. You must use ASA style citations for your references.
5) The papers must be well organized and clearly written. Please see a writing tutor if you have any doubts. The more people that read your paper before you turn it in, the better it will be.