Paper Thesis

Please go into the paper selection thread below and comment to your post. In the comment box, I would like you to put your thesis statement. I would also like you to tell me a few things that you have found out about your topic and if you have any questions. 

Before you post, please check out the following link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

It will help you write the proper thesis statement!   



**Also, don't forget to go to http://turnitin.com/en_us/login to sign up for your paper. The class ID is 7552307 and password is NRSenior2014

Please see me if you have questions. 

Paper Topic Selection

Below put your topic that you are going to do for your paper. Once you pick, you can't change. It is first come, first serve!

Evaluations

I want to thank you for filling out the evaluations. I appreciate your suggestions and your honesty. I try to make each class as informative and entertaining as possible and in order to do that, I need to try to figure out what your likes/dislikes are. 

There were a few evaluation comments that I felt that I needed to address. 

1. "not a college class, just college credit"-I realize that I might stress this too much to the point that it is annoying and for that reason, I am sorry and I will stop it. However, this is a college class..the only component that isn't college is the location. I report to the Dean of Sociology at TU, we use a mandated TU textbook, you are given TU grades and I must follow the TU syllabus for this course. If I was teaching this class in a classroom at TU, I would be doing it the same way. 
2. "instructor has not treated everyone fairly"-This one shocked me...I'm sorry if you were one that I treated unfairly. I try to treat each student the same no matter what...I guess that I need to work a little harder.
3. "slow down"-I have from last year. This course is supposed to be 3 days at 50 minutes each. We have it for 5 days for 50 some minutes. This course is also supposed to be covered in a semester. We have a full year. This suggestion also came with "we have tests before we go over all the material" or "we need more time to study vocabulary"...to this I say, I'm not going to give you "all the material"...that is for you to read and ask questions about. In terms of vocabulary, that is recall on Bloom's Taxonomy and doesn't require class time....it requires you to study them on your own time. The projects we do are to ensure the slow down time for you to read the chapter and study before the test. 
4. "explain projects better in how they relate to chapter" & "projects don't cover the whole chapter"-I realized that I do poorly in explaining how they relate to the chapter and I will explain this better in the upcoming chapters. No project is going to encompass the whole chapter...I usually try to pick something that I think the class will enjoy doing and will do well at. 

RACE in the USA

This chapter discusses all issues surrounding race and ethnicity in the USA. However, I'm interested in what YOU think about the topic.

What should the role of race/ethnicity be in American society? Is it only an issue because we're still the dominant/majority group? What happens when we're not the dominant/majority group anymore? Will we ever be a "color-blind" society? Please be honest in your answer.

You need to comment on at least 2 questions that I have posed to you. Your answer should be in complete sentences and in paragraph format.

In addition, you must comment on at least 2 other comments posted by your classmates. These are comments/thoughts...not attacks.

Remember, we're not all going to agree, but I want us to be open enough to post how we really feel. Your post and your 2 additional  posts must be completed by Monday, December 9th by 8 am. You get 10 points for your post as long as you follow the format and you get 5 points for each additional post. Please see me if you have any questions!

"Can't Buy Me Love" Analysis

During the course of the week you watched "Can't Buy Me Love". You were to complete a character analysis and identify specific sociological themes that were addressed in the movie. For your blog, I would like you to select two characters (please, not everyone do Ronald and Cindy) and identify a sociological theme (1 for 1 character, 1 for another) that was evident with your character during the course of the movie.  

Please provide the definition of the theme, a scene (or scenes) where this theme is shown, and how that character fits into that theme. Each analysis is to be between 4-6 sentences in length, proper spelling/grammar and in paragraph format.  

 

Upon completion of the blog, please turn in your character analysis paper for credit. Failure to comply will result in loss of points. Blog possible points: 20 points (10+10); movie worksheet 10 points.

Blog is to be posted by 8am Monday, November 25th. 

Chapter 5: Socialization & Children's Books

Some books that you read when you were a child probably had a lasting impact on you. Your task is to analyze children’s books armed with your new sociological knowledge. Read a few children's books and answer the following questions in paragraph form. Your answer should be free from spelling & grammatical errors. Your paragraph should be no more than 10 sentences long. You do not have to comment on each others' posts, however, feel free to do so. Your blog is due on Friday, November 8th at 3pm and is worth 15 points.

a.     What was the socializing message of your books? What lesson(s) did your books teach? (please include the names of your books)

b.     Are there any values in your books? Do you agree or disagree with those values?

c.     What ethnic groups, if any, are portrayed in the books? How are they portrayed?

d.     Is there any violence in the books? What is YOUR definition of violence?

e.  Are there any other concepts from the chapter presented in the books (resocialization, anticipatory socialization, looking-glass self, and so forth)

f.        How are genders portrayed in your book? Do males and females take on traditional roles? (Does mom stay at home and dad work in an office?) Or are more modern (less traditional) roles portrayed? 

g. Would you read these books to your children in the future? Why or why not? 

h. Do you think that the messages in these books will still be relevant in 10-15 years? Why or why not? 

Social Structure & the 3 Perspectives

Read all three theoretical perspectives outlined on the chart on page 78. I would like you to write a two paragraph answer.

The first paragraph, I would like you to choose a theoretical perspective that you agree with. In your answer I would like you to provide a different, specific example from that in your book (from society) that relates to the main points of the perspective and explain how/why it relates. I would also like you to address why you felt this perspective was most aligned with your views. You must include YOUR answer to the bolded question for the perspective you chose from pg. 78. This paragraph should be between 5-7 sentences in length.

In the second paragraph, I would like you to choose a theoretical perspective that you disagree with. I would like you to address why you disagree with perspective and provide reasoning on why the argument presented on pg. 78 is weak or invalid. Please provide specific examples from society to prove your point. This paragraph should be between 5-7 sentences in length.

This post is due by 3 pm on Friday, October 18th. Be aware of spelling and grammatical errors in your answer. This should be written in complete sentence format. Please see me-prior to due date-if you have any questions. Points possible 20. Points will be awarded based on argument and logical thought process...not just the completion of the blog.