SOCI 2300 - Social Problems Paper/Presentation

SOCI 2300 - Social Problems Paper/Presentation

Paper and presentation are Worth 100 points

This assignment involves identifying a particular social issue of interest that you consider to be a social problem.

1. Identify a social problem (objectivist aspect):

The problem can be a local, state, or national problem. You can provide evidence or statistics on the problem itself. Provide sociological research on its causes. Search the web, textbooks, and academic journals for recent and historical information on a variety of social issues (e.g. unemployment, wages, divorce, crime, drug use, domestic violence, human trafficking, environmental pollution, terrorism, etc, etc. To assist you identify a problem, think about something that you are passionate about, or something that appears to be affecting your own neighborhood/community. The textbook for this course can also be a good resource for topics. Bear in mind that whatever topic you select, part of you grade will be based on the quality of the empirical evidence you provide to support your argument.

1. How to raise awareness about the problem (subjectivist aspect):  

Discuss activities that can help raise awareness of the issue to a broader audience. Typify the problem for others. That is, how do you feel the problem should be characterized – is it a problem that is caused by individuals, the larger social structure, or both (or something else)? You need to convince the broader audience that this is a social problem and influence how they see it.

1. Identify the impact of the social issue on the neighborhood/community: Discuss some of the effects of the problem on the community, if possible with data/evidence.

1. Identify solutions:

Present some solutions to the problem.  These solutions must be relevant to and/or grounded in sociological research. The solutions must be viable, i.e. possible to achieve and potentially effective. You can research peer-reviewed journals, and other library sources for how similar problems have been addressed in other communities or societies.

1. PowerPoint Presentation:

The PowerPoint presentation should cover at least the four segments of your essay described above.

Please note:

The essay component should be between 3 – 5 pages in length including title page and references.

Assignment due date is Monday, November 26, 2018

All essays must be deposited in digital DropBox in eLearn.

Dates for PowerPoint presentations will be announced as the course progresses.

Source: http://cameron.edu/~rbausch/Soc2023/SocialProblemsResearchProject-Presentation.pdf