Essay
Answer ONEof the following essay questions in 1200 words.

Essay Requirements:You must consult at least five (5) scholarly texts (academic sources) in researching this essay, and reference them in a reference list. At least four (4) of the five (5) scholarly texts must be from outside the essential (weekly) readings (Sociologictextbook). You are expected to engage in independent scholarly research.Scholarly texts include books, an essay from a collection or an article from an academic journal. Please do not use general websites, including Wikipedia, or any dictionary definitions. Any scholarly texts from the Internet MUST be from a reputable academic or university website. If you are not sure, choose only university-based websites for your sources. You must not use any other Internet-based material in your essay unless it is directly related to answering your question and relevant.

Referencing: All quotations MUST be in quotation marks with page number references using the referencing system specified in this unit's student learning guide, which is Chicago. All material that is not your own MUST be referenced. Students are required to follow the UWSstyle guidelines in relation to references, quotations and bibliographies. The University of Western Sydney has proactive plagiarism rules in place and all essays must be submittedto Turnitin.

Presentation: You are expected to submit a clearly-written document. You must edit and proofread your work.

Submit your assignment onlineby Tuesday, March29(in Week 6) before midnight.Late submission penalties apply.

Essay Writing: An essay is an extended intellectual engagement with a particular question. A written essay must demonstrate not only an ability to write to an acceptable university standard but, just as importantly, an ability to think to a university standard. Students are required to research the question, and to show evidence of that research in the form of appropriate reference and bibliographic material being used in the essay. As students,you are asked to query and evaluate all material that you read, or notes and recordings you have accumulated from lectures and tutorials and, through a critical engagement with this information, express your own ideas and concepts in the essay. These ideas and concepts must be argued and substantiated by rational means, and presented in a logical, cohesive order that develops your essay's argument or position.

This essay will be assessed on:A clear response that demonstrates an understanding of the essay question chosen.Correct use of concepts from the course.Theappropriate use of examples and evidence to support your argument/s.
Your facility to undertake independent scholarly research and correctly reference that research. Your ability to write clearly and concisely.
Also, see your learning guide for more specific marking criteria.

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. Compare and contrast religion with science from a sociological viewpoint.Is science just another form of religion, with people like physicist Stephen Hawking among its high priests or mullah?Are science and religions simply both similar social constructions? In your response to this question, specifically consider both how irrational social factors influence everything, and the relationship between faith and proof.

2.What are the issues and challenges of studying something we are part of?Is sociology an appropriate discipline to undertake this process or would another approach be more productive? Compare and contrast the sociological approach with the scientific method of analysis, when used to study something that we are part of.

3.Compare and contrast food taboos from a religious context with those from a class context.In other words, Social taboos have less to do with processes of logicor threats to societyand more to do with the control of subjects within an ideological structure, orthe exercise of power. Answer this question using specific religious and class-based examples from contemporary society.

4.How does the myth of Australia being a classless society continue to circulate?Compare and contrast Karl Marx's theory with that of Erik Olin Wright's theory, exploring how this myth may allow a wealthy and privileged minority of Australians to reinforce ongoing inequality while making their exercise of power all but invisible? Some aspects to consider more closely in your analysis should include exploitation, symbolic capital, and social stratification.

5.In La Sociologie est un sport du combat, a 2001 documentary about the life of Pierre Bourdieu, directed by Pierre Carles, Bordieu said:
"I often say sociology is a combat sport, a means of self-defence.
Basically,you use it to defendyourself, without having the right to use it for unfair attacks."
Compare and contrast this statement with James Arvanitakis's understanding of sociology explained in Chapters 1 & 2 of the textbook Sociologic.

6. In a Time article, Ayaan Hirsi Ali said: "The reality is that Islam is both a religion and a political ideology, and its latter form is anything but peaceful."
Compare and contrast the religious and political aspects of Islam within the context of modernity and modernisation.