The ‘paper’ is actually two assignments, but I want you to bundle it into one document. It’s not a research paper but an ‘idea’ paper. I would like you to do two things in this document.

Give me five ideas for discussion. I am looking to overhaul the discussion part of this course since we have a new textbook. I would like you to come up with five discussion questions/or topics that I could use in the discussion board. Make these items something that you think you would enjoy discussing yourself or things you think your classmates would relate to. For example, don’t just list Abortion as a topic. You might say:

Doctors who work in abortion clinics have been the target of hate crimes in recent years. How could these crimes be eliminated? Why does there seem to be support for these kinds of actions?

I want you to find five current websites that explore anything we discuss. These can be related to your ‘new’ topics or to anything on the current discussion board. These also could be current ‘event’ sort of websites. As you list the actual link of each website, give me a line or two that tells me about why you think the website is ‘sociological’. What kinds of discussion would these websites prompt?

Your paper format would look like this:

Please NAME your paper: Your Name SOC1040, you can submit it as a .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

If at all possible, attach your paper as one of these documents AND cut and paste it right into the comments section of this dropbox. This will allow me to see your submission quickly and get it graded. I will only have to open your document if I cannot read it in the comment box.

Name

Course

Section

Topics for Discussion

1 Describe your topic.

2 Describe your topic.

3 Describe your topic.

4 Describe your topic.

5 Describe your topic.

Websites

1 link, description

2 link, description

3 link, description

4 link, description

5 link, description

Each item on this list would be worth 10 points which makes the total assignment worth 100 points. This will help me to gather input for future versions of this course. Thanks!

By submitting this assignment, you are agreeing that I may use your topic within any sociology course I teach or website I design for student use. Let me know if you object? I will not use your name.

Instead of this paper, if you choose you can create another kind of assignment that you think would be an appropriate substitute. Email me for details or make suggestions on this.

Personal Experience Paper

Choose five topics in Sociology. Typically, you choose topics similar to your chapter titles, but you could choose something more specific like bullying. List some personal examples from YOUR life to illustrate these topics.

Your paper would be set up like this:

Topic 1

Two or three paragraphs discussing how this topic is demonstrated by your own life.

Topic 2

Topic 3

Topic 4

Topic 5

For each topic, explain how your life is related to the topic. If you are not sure about how to approach this, you can email me. If a topic is TOO personal (something you don’t want to share) then choose another topic? Or choose the websites/discussion paper instead.

This is your chance to apply sociology to your own life.