Sociology and Legal Studies

Sociology and Legal Studies
SOC 202 – Classical Sociological Theory
Winter 2022 – Remote Asynchronous Online Delivery
FINAL ASSIGNMENT: ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION & DETAILS (20%)
DEADLINE: By end of day (11:59 pm) on Thursday, April 7, 2022 to appropriate LEARN dropbox.
DESCRIPTION: The goal with this final assignment is to give you an opportunity to showcase the
collective knowledge you have acquired in this course. In particular, you will be asked to apply our
discussion of classical sociological theory to a contemporary, popular culture context, by bringing together
elements from each of the three course sections.
TASK: Select one of the two following options for your assignment:
OPTION 1 – Written Submission OPTION 2 – Video Submission
Prepare a 3-page (max) single-spaced essay
[excluding reference/citation list]
Prepare an 8-10 minute video
For either of the above two options, follow these steps to work towards completing your assignment:
1. Find/select ONE piece of popular media content that relates to our course material in some way and that
provides you with enough relevant inspiration to thoughtfully bring together an effective discussion of
elements from each of the three course sections.
• Examples of media that I suggest: memes, political cartoons, short video clips, tweets, etc. → see
below in the ‘Example Media to Analyze’ section for some examples
• I recommend choosing a ‘limited’ form of media → something that is quick and easy to understand
and discuss → steer away from ‘larger’ forms of media (like films/documentaries, novels, etc.)
2. Engage in some brainstorming and analysis to ‘pick apart’ your chosen media and isolate the key
elements or features you can discuss, as they relate to each of the three course sections
• Aim to develop a guiding thesis statement that organizes your discussion around course concepts
from each of the three course sections → note how each thesis point in the following examples
corresponds to a different section of the course:
• Example thesis 1: “This tweet can be explored specifically through a unique ontological
perspective, in relation to the rise of the modern, critical, secular individual, and using the lens of
Weber’s theory of Rationalization.”
• Example thesis 2: “This meme can be investigated through the perspective of consensus theories,
as an outcome of the belief in mechanism, and as an example of Durkheim’s concept of a social
fact.”
• Example thesis 3: “This political cartoon emphasizes the nature of scientific, positivist work, it
shows features of post-classical liberal thought, and it expresses elements of Marx’s theory of
alienation.”
3. Based on your constructed thesis statement, organize the content for your submission according to these
sections:
• Section A (10 marks) – INTRODUCTION
o Identify and describe the media you have chosen to analyze and provide an explanation for
how you’ve interpreted it → what does the media mean to you? Explain.
o State your 3-point thesis statement → remember each thesis point should correspond to each
of the three sections of the course
• Section B (30 marks) – BODY → 10 marks X connection to 3 sections of the course
o Organize your body section discussion in the same order as your 3 thesis points