TOPIC DESCRIPTION

At the beginning of the quarter, I introduced the idea of a metaphorical "dinner party with social theorists."

In this paper, you will demonstrate your ability to apply concepts from classical social theory to the contemporary social world by putting several different theories into conversation with one another.

Your goal is to show how classical theory helps to explain and/or fails to explain the origin/operation of your social problem or feature of the social world (as you understand it). Here's how to proceed:

1. Choose either (A) a social problemthat you feel passionate about or (B) a feature of the social worldthat you find fascinating.

Examples of social problems could include things like racial tracking in education or the conservative attack on labor unions; examples of features of the social world could include behavior like internet trolling or trends in romantic relationships among college-age people.

The possibilities are quite endless. The easiest topic to work with will be specific and narrow, and also something that you are personally invested in (we will take Weber's advice about value-relevance here).

2. Analyze your topic through the lens of three different theorists that we have covered this quarter. Most of you will find it easiest to use Marx/Weber/Durkheim, but you are welcome to use others we have covered as well if you feel inclined to do so.

Length: No fewer than 6 pages or 2100 words (whichever is more); no more than 8 pages or 2800 words (whichever is less).

The paper should be double spaced with 11-pt or 12-pt font and 1-inch margins. Font should be Times or Palatino only. Do not include a title page.