Instructions: One of the central goals of this course is to encourage you to think sociologically and to help you develop the ability to use theories and concepts from sociology to engage and understand the world around you. Throughout the course, the paradigms, theories, and concepts that we covered in the first unit will continue to help us explore and understand material covered in Units 2 and 3. To reinforce both the goals and structure of this course, in this essay I am asking you to choose some aspect of your life at Ohio State, and use two of the three major theoretical paradigmsfunctionalism, the conflict perspective, and symbolic interactionto offer a theoretically informed interpretation of that aspect of your life on campus. Each of the major paradigms differ in how they address fairly basic questions having to do with the makeup of society, the dynamics of social behavior, and the overarching force that drives the interaction between individuals and society. As we have gone over in class, these paradigms can be used to offer different interpretations of the same phenomenon. For example, think back to our discussion of Chamblisss study of the Saints and the Roughnecks. In class, we used each of these paradigms as a lens to focus on different aspects of this study and offer distinct interpretations. For this essay, I would like you to do the same thing, but applying only TWO of these lenses to something you have experienced as a student at Ohio State. The successful essay will accomplish the following: – Describe some aspect of your experience as a student at Ohio State – Demonstrate your knowledge of two of the three major paradigms covered in class (i.e., their basic units of analysis, how they view the makeup of society, and how they differ from one another) – Demonstrate your ability to think critically about these paradigms by applying them to your experience as a student. In writing these essays, you are welcome to incorporate other concepts that we have covered in the course up to the time that the essay is due. For example, you could talk about culture, globalization, deviance, stratification, gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Incorporating these concepts is NOT required (i.e., you wont be graded on this aspect of the essay), but is absolutely allowed. Logistics: These essays must be 1000-1250 words, 12 pt Times New Roman font with 1 margins on all sides. The essays must be well written with correct grammar and spelling. For help with writing, please visit the Writing Center on campus (https://cstw.osu.edu/writing-center). Poorly written papers that do not meet the formatting requirements will not receive full credit. Please upload your essay to the appropriate drop box folder (found under Assignments in Carmen) BEFORE October 18 at 9:30am. Late submissions will be accepted until 9:30am on October 19. Late submissions will receive an automatic deduction of 2 points. After 9:30am on October 19, essays will no longer be accepted.
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