Sociology 101
Introduction to Sociology
Spring 2002
Dr. Scott SchafferFirst Midterm Examination - Essay Assignment
Due Date: This essay is due, along with your portfolio, on Mon Feb 25/2002 at the start of class. It should be presented separately from your portfolio. If you choose to respond to these questions, they will constitute 40% of your exam grade; if not, then the multiple choice exam will be 100% of your grade.
Rules of the Game: Below, you will find five short essay questions. You are to choose three (3) of the five (as listed below) and write responses that are at minimum one (1) full and complete page for each essay question (meaning the entire thing should be three full and complete pages). Your submissions need to be typed, double-spaced, in 10- or 12-point font, on 8 1/2" by 11" white paper. Please leave 1 1/4" margins on the left and right, and 1" margins at the top and bottom.
Your paper must be spell- and grammar-checked; papers that have copious errors will automatically lose one full letter grade. Receiving two "spelling and grammar" deductions during the course will translate into a zero (0) on the second assignment and any further assignments after that. You should ensure that your responses are full and complete. And finally, no direct quotations are permitted in this paper; any materials you use to support your argument must be paraphrased and cited following to guidelines in the paper-writing handout.
The Questions: Please choose three of the following five questions (as broken down below) and write full and complete responses that are at least one full page in length.
You must answer Question 1.
1. Discuss briefly the key elements of and reasons for developing the sociological imagination. Given what you know of it, analyze one social action you engage in, why you think you should change it (or not), and how you would change it.
Choose one of Questions 2 or 3 for your response.
2. Explain how pain, time, and sexuality can be socially constructed. How might culture affect an individual's experiences of these aspects of social life?
3. Explain the following statement: "A society is more than just the sum of its parts."
Choose one of Questions 4 or 5 for your response.
4. Discuss briefly how each school of sociological thought would explain the differential socialization girls and boys receive in schools, the media, and other institutions. Which school of thought do you think is more persuasive, and why?
5. Discuss briefly how each school of sociological thought would explain the predominance of "clock time" in our society. Which school of thought do you think is more persuasive, and why?