The textbook used for this course is Contemporary Sociological Theory – Expanding the Classical Tradition – Sixth Edition

You are encouraged to write in first person provided your tone remains professional.

Revisit your textbook and the Lessons to refresh in your mind the main points of the major sociological theories (functionalism, conflict symbolic interaction, and feminist) as well as the information in applicable chapters from your text.

You’ll be writing an essay for this assignment which accomplishes a few different goals:

First, your essay needs to include at least one well-developed paragraph about why YOU find it important to use sociological theory to understand society (note that this is NOT the same question or focus as your first essay!)

Next, your essay will incorporate one current event and will examine that event through the lens of each of the major historical theories. The events you may select are limited to the following (choose one):

The Current Economic Crisis (the shrinking of the middle class, unemployment/underemployment, working wages, problems with Wall Street/banking/the stock markets, insider trading, etc.)

Prison Overcrowding (three-strikes laws, criminalization of minor offenses, racism within the criminal justice system, the prison-industrial complex, and so on)

Poverty in the United States (stratification, food scarcity/hunger, lack of adequate social services/health care/access to educational, race and gender, life chances and choices, and so on)

Follow the guidelines located in your syllabus regarding formatting and appropriate use of reference material. Should you have questions about the assignment, I am happy to assist you however, if you wait until too close to the submission deadline there may not be time for me to assist you.

For this assignment, you are required to use AT LEAST ten credible, reliable, academically-oriented references. One must be your textbook. DO NOT rely on popular (.com) websites–instead, find academically oriented articles and sites to support your work. Note that to score maximum points in this category, you will need to use more than the required number of sources (see the rubric below).

Examples and references are two different things. Examples illustrate a point which you might be trying to make (perhaps telling me something about your life which relates to the subject of your essay). References back up your opinions or thoughts, and give credit to your source—EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT DIRECTLY QUOTING! You need to include references to give credibility to your writing.