Sociological Imagination
The final project consists of a written paper AND a verbal presentation to the class. Each student can earn up to 50 points for the written paper and up to 20 points for the virtual presentation of your paper (you can create a PowerPoint presentation, play a video clip, or share another appropriate audio-visual aide). You will use one term, concept, or theory per chapter from ten chapters in the textbook (there are 20 chapters total to choose from) to tell your life story sociologically. You may use first person language/personal pronouns for this assignment, e.g., “I”, “me”, “my”, “us”, “we”. For example, in Chapter One, you might choose the concept of “sociological imagination”, which is defined as “the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society”. You might talk about how an experience you have gone through helped you to understand the broader context of that issue or experience in our society. Your book gives examples such as being unemployed or feeling suicidal. Each concept/term/theory you relate to an experience in your life must be a minimum of five sentences long. You will need to explain how this concept/term/theory specifically relates to something that has occurred or is currently occurring in your life. Please do not be vague or general. This assignment is meant to walk us through aspects of your life, so it should be specific to your experiences, perceptions, and other things that have contributed to who you are. From your paper, I need to be able to tell that you understand each concept/term/theory based on the way you refer to and describe it. Please do not simply provide the definition of each concept/term/theory, as I already know it! This assignment is simply an autobiographical paper using sociological terms. Please do not overthink it! It should be fun and fulfilling! Please do not share anything with me or with the class that you do not feel comfortable sharing; you do not need to disclose highly personal information for this assignment. Rubric Final Paper Paper requirements 10 terms, concepts, or theories from 10 chapters of your choice 5 points per chapter term/concept/theory 50 points Paper length Minimum of five sentences per paragraph for each chapter (ten paragraphs) Final Paper Subtotal 50 points Virtual Presentation Presentation component Presenting the overview of your paper virtually (or, alternatively, recording it and sending it to me) 10 points Audio-visual component PowerPoint presentation, play a video clip, etc. 10 points Virtual Presentation Subtotal 20 points Total 70 points
