Below are the guidelines for the application paper (Sociological Autobiography).
PAPER FORMAT
Length: 1200-1800 words
Spacing: Double
Early papers are welcome!
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated.
HOW TO WRITE YOUR PAPER
“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both…. No social study that does not come back to the problems of biography, of history and of their intersections within a society has completed its intellectual journey…. The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society…. For that imagination is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another— from the political to the psychological; from examination of a single family to comparative assessments of the national budgets of the world; from the theological school to the military establishment; from considerations of an oil industry to studies of contemporary poetry. It is the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self— and to see the relations between the two.” — C. Wright Mills.
Write an autobiographical essay describing the intersection between your biography and history using your “sociological imagination” as discussed in C. Wright Mills’ essay “The Promise” (Links to an external site.) (see ch.1 of the textbook for reference to Mills’ essay). What sociological factors have shaped your life so far? Your goal is to demonstrate your sociological understanding and learn more about course concepts, and about yourself, by thinking about how the two intertwine. The key to showing a sociological understanding is to connect your personal experiences, behaviors, and attitudes to the larger social structure. For example, think about your cultural background, socialization, race, ethnicity, class, gender or sexual orientation. How have any of these factors or the intersection of any of them given you advantages or disadvantages throughout life? What factors have shaped your parents’ lives, and how have those impacted your life? Make sure to use sociological concepts (30-40) and theories throughout your paper, and underline or highlight them.
Some other things to keep in mind:
• If you have life experiences that do not seem to correspond with sociological concepts (in other words your life deviates from social facts/patterns), please feel free to write about those as well: discussing how the sociological perspective fails to adequately account for /explain your experience. As long as you show that you understand the concepts, you will successfully complete the assignment.
• As this is a creative writing assignment, feel free to play around with how to present your story. You might want to present several sections of your paper devoted to various sociological themes (e.g. one section on how gender socialization affected your life, another on how deviance has been a significant theme in your life).
The main factor I will look for in grading your paper is how well you use the sociological concepts required in your assignment, and how well your completed assignment shows your understanding of the sociological perspective. A fully developed use of the perspective will include using it to analyze a given situation, and following its logic to develop your own insights about why the sociological perspective on this issue is important, what implications this social phenomenon has for individuals and /or society, and /or how this issue is connected to other things in life. I will also look for consistency in thought processes as well as clear writing and correct grammar, which are necessary for you to effectively express your sociological ideas and insights to others.
Following are the basic guidelines to help you understand my grading criteria.
Excellent understanding of sociological concepts and the sociological perspective and it offers original, creative and insightful analysis.
and some, which you can use in your term paper, the sociological autobiography-
Sociology, Society, Beginner’s mind, Culture shock, sociological imagination, microsociology, macrosociology, positivism, paradigms, social Darwinism, theories, structural functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminist theory, Karl Marx, George Herbert Mead, Talcott Parsons, culture, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, material culture, symbolic culture, subculture, counter culture, real culture, ideal culture, cultural change, socialization, agents of socialization, nature vs. nurture debate, status roles, groups, networks, virtual communities, teamwork,,,,,, bureaucracy, crime and punishment race, ethnicity, white privilege, wealth, power, prejudice, discrimination…………………… feel free to add your own.
