INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY

Sociological Explanations of Inequality

OVERVIEW

Studying social inequality is a primary focus of much sociological research. Understanding why inequality exists, how it is perpetuated from generation to generation, and how various social movements have attempted to address inequality forms the core of sociology as a discipline.

Traditionally, sociologists have studied four areas where inequality is most visible-social class, gender, race, and sexuality. In this assignment, you will explore one type of inequality by using course materials and connecting it to a social issue/topic of your choice.

DETAILS

Your goal in this essay is to fully explain a type of inequality by drawing on course lectures and readings, discussing the associated social movement, and applying a sociological lens to a current event/social issue.

• Explaining Inequality: Select one of the four areas of inequality we covered in class (social class, gender, race, or sexuality) and discuss it in detail, making sure to explain the important concepts, ideas, or history associated with it. In this section, you should display your knowledge about how and why this area is a factor in inequality, relying on information from course lectures and readings.

• Addressing Inequality: Using the area of inequality you explained, discuss the social movement that has attempted to address this inequality in U.S. society. When and why did it start? Who was involved? What did it accomplish? Your goal in this section is to accurately discuss the social movement associated with the area of inequality.

• Applying to Current Event(s): Using the type of inequality you explained, connect it to a current event, issue, or topic you are interested in analyzing. This may be something we touched on in the course that sparked your interest (i.e., body image and media), or it may be something happening in society currently (i.e., Black Lives Matter movement).

It may be a contemporary controversy or debate, (i.e., same-sex marriage, gender wage gap), a recent media or political event (i.e., post- election protests), or even a scandal in popular culture (i.e., celebrity nude photo hacks). Your goal in this section is not to summarize these events, but to analyze and explain them through a sociological lens.

NOTE: Although you should not use outside scholarly sources (i.e., published studies) in this essay, you may use print/online news stories, magazine articles, or blog posts to explain details of your topic/event/social issue. However, these citations do not count toward your two course readings minimum requirement.

CITATIONS

You must cite a minimum of two course readings in your paper. You may not use outside scholarly sources for this assignment-only readings from our class. If necessary, you may use print/online news stories, magazine articles, or blog posts to support your analysis of the topic/social issue; however, these citations do not count toward your two course readings minimum.

Also, you should cite lecture notes when discussing specific concepts or ideas in your essay. The citation style you use may be any widely accepted style (ASA, APA, Chicago, MLA), but your use of this style should be consistent throughout the essay.

FORMATTING

Formatting details should be followed precisely, and points will be deducted for papers that do not adhere to the following guidelines:

• 4 to 5 pages in length: your essay must be a minimum of 4 full pages long. If you are concerned that your paper is not long enough, simply write more.

• No Title Page

• Minimal Header: on the first page at the top, please include your name, the class, the semester, the date, and the title of your paper.

Your header should not take up too much "white space" at the top of the first page.

• Double-spacing (2.0) within the essay body itself

• 1" margins on all sides

• 12-point, Times New Roman font for all parts of the paper.

• Avoid very long quotes from course readings. If you do include one, they should be treated as block quotes-block quotes are indented within the paragraph itself, single-spaced, and in 10-point font.

• Page numbers included on all pages

• References list on separate page at the end of the essay (does not count toward minimum page requirement)

• Use a consistent in-text citation style throughout your essay (i.e., footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations)

• Printed on white paper using black ink

• Stapled