Description
By now you have hopefully visited your field sites at least once and have begun to look into sources for background historical research. Here are some suggestions for what you should be working on during this module.
• Continue making worthwhile visits to your field sites.
? Jot down observation notes in your notebook (the more you have the easier your paper will be to write).
? Take photos and/or collect other graphic representations that will be good for your paper,
• During this time you could also be visiting a library and finding a good book or two related to the history of the area you are studying. There are probably many fascinating stories related to the places or people you are researching that you can learn about and share! You can use the Internet as well, but you must use valid sites (no Wikipedia or amateur/opinionated blogs).
• Creating an outline is highly recommended as it really does give structure and guidance while you put everything together and create a coherent product.
• Keep in mind the paper will be structured around addressing the three provided guiding questions that ask you to focus on symbolic interaction, social psychology, and how relevant historical events or ideas relate to current observations:
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1 How do symbols affect social behavior and interaction?
2 How do factors such as culture, lifestyle, age, education, occupation, mode of travel, or location affect how people imagine the city differently?
3 How do events from the past connect to current phenomena in these neighborhoods?
• You don’t have to worry about interviewing people this time around (though you can if you like, of course).
• Similar to the Midterm Project, your selected key terms from the word bank must be in bold print and explained clearly (using unique definitions that demonstrate clear understanding) to an imagined reader who has no understanding of sociological terms. These terms need to be relevant to your observations and should be integrated throughout the paper and not bunched up in the first paragraph or so. Definitions should be either in footnotes, text boxes or endnotes.
• In addition to twelve (12) key terms, your paper will incorporate the work of at least five (5) sociologists (Jacobs, Whyte, Lofland, Madanipour, Goffman, Lynch, Kunstler, Cooley, Mead, Durkheim, etc.) and clearly relate their ideas to your observations. Pull material from your class notes and assigned readings, or find more on the person through research. The names of these sociologists must also be in bold print.
• Your paper needs to include at least four (if not more) sources for your historical research. This material could be about the history of the groups you are observing, or the neighborhood, or anything else relevant to your observations. Be sure to provide in-text citations in the body of your work (MLA-style parenthetical citation) where you use researched data (this should match with a proper “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper). Do not use lengthy quotes from your sources; it is better to paraphrase (citations are still necessary).
• One of the major objectives for this paper is to provide a historical background to the neighborhoods and people you are observing (or any other relevant theory or occurrence from the past). And very importantly, you need to mention how this historical data is related to what you see going on today (how does the past connect to the present?).
• Your paper should be formatted as a coherent, engaging magazine article that is illustrated with photos you have taken at your field sites (you can also mix in historic photos taken from the Internet). If you like to draw, you may include sketches as well. Writing and grammar expectations should match those of an upper division college student. Blend academic formality with a personal, readable style. There is no required length, necessarily, but something like four to five (4-5) single spaced pages before adding photos or other graphics is recommended minimum base.
KEY TERMS: Choose and employ twelve (plus at least five sociological thinkers covered in class). You can use more if you like, but at least twelve must come from this list. Again, they must be used logically and explained in detail and in your own words.
• Structural Inequality • Social Institution • Socially transmitted
• Social contract • Socially constructed • Agency
• Social consensus • Social determinism • Social Darwinism
• Dramaturgical perspective • Culture of Poverty • Broken Glass Theory
• Looking glass self • Labeling • Social Control
• Ethnic enclave • Shadow economy • Mental Construct
• Use significance • Social stratification • Situational determinism
• Sympathetic Introspection • Deviance • Mixed-use space
• Social norms • Symbolic interaction • Exclusion
Sociological Thinkers (explain how their ideas fit into your observations or research): Jane Jacobs, William Whyte, Lynn Lofland, Ali Madanipour, Kelling & Wilson, Erving Goffman, Kevin Lynch, James Howard Kunstler, Charles Cooley, Blumer & Mead, Emile Durkheim
The paper must be submitted through TURNITIN in order to be graded.
Many students in past classes have absolutely loved doing the field work and research for this project and have gained new insight as a result. Bring a friend along during some of your adventures into your field sites to share in the fun. Pick some good spots to hang out and people watch (remember to take lots of notes and photos). Good luck and let me know if you have any questions (ask here on this thread).
Purpose
The Final Project will demonstrate cumulative learning of urban sociology. You will be able to reveal your understanding both academically (in written form) and artistically. By making multiple visits to your field sites for qualitative observations, taking photos, and recording of notes, you will compile a strong cache of data that will be useful for your final paper. Completing some historical background research enhances your findings and puts your observations into a larger context of the human social experience.
P.S- the paper will be submitted to turnitin, and only 8% can be unoriginal