Instructions:
Paper assignment: analyzing sociologically a significant event or experience
We began this course by talking about sociology as a distinctive way of thinking. This
assignment asks you to analyze sociologically a significant event or experience in your life or in
the life of somebody you know well. (Since we discussed unemployment in some detail in class,
this event or experience should not involve unemployment.)
The purpose of the paper is not to describe the event or experience in detail; it is for you to
analyze it in sociological terms. The paper should be an analysis, not simply a personal
narrative. It should make specific reference to at least two key elements of sociological thinking
that we have discussed, and it should also make specific reference to ideas from the assigned
readings that can help make sociological sense of the event or experience.(The assigned readings are included in the attached files below, please make at least one reference to ideas from them)
Papers will be evaluated based on the aptness, insightfulness, and clarity of the sociological
analysis.
This is not a research paper. No outside reading or research is required or expected; no
outside works should be cited. No formal bibliography is required; specific references to ideas
from the assigned readings can be made through parenthetical citations giving the author’s last
name and page number (e.g. De Swaan, 35).
The paper should be written in clear, grammatically correct English.
The paper should be 4-5 pages, double spaced (1000-1200 words).
Key elements of sociological thinking: (Choose at least 2 of them as reference)
1. Connecting biography and history, private troubles and public issues, personal
experience and large-scale social processes and structures : the “sociological
imagination” (Mills)
2. Specifying the social and cultural “forces” that constrain individuals – yet without
treating individuals as powerless “puppets” of such forces
– These “forces” are not like unchangeable forces
of nature; they are products of human action, and can and do change over time
– Sociology emphasizes both structural constraint and human agency, both reproduction
and change
3. Integrating the views from inside and outside, the views of participant and observer, the subjective and objective points of view
4. Focusing on interconnections and interdependencies, rather than single actions or isolated individuals (de Swaan)
– studying the structure of social ties or networks
– being alert to the unintended consequences of action
5. Identifying patterns and tendencies rather than unique situations or particular events.
– This is often done through comparisons between different times, places, and groups
6. De-familiarizing the familiar, the seemingly natural, the taken-for-granted; showing how
apparently natural arrangements are in fact socially constructed.
– Debunking or unmasking: looking behind the
facade, getting beneath the “official,” often self- serving or ideological, version of reality
Content:
Topic: Domestic Violence Student’s Name: Name of Institution: Due Date: In life situations, we face several problems that affect us in different ways. However, if we need to survive, first we need to understand what these problems entail so that to learn how to cope with them. Domestic violence is one of such difficulties we face in life. Domestic violence in families was seen in earlier societies, which gave the patriarch (father) of the family the right to utilize physical force to punish women and children of the family. By applying sensibilities which constitute the sociological imagination that include critical, cultural, and historical sensibilities, the society can start to comprehend the radical changes in how the society thinks we should behave towards each other particularly in the family unit based on acceptable social norms and societies expectations. I chose to analyze the topic of domestic violence because I experienced a case in which a nearby family was affected by such patriarchal attitude. Domestic violence can be examined using the concept of Mills’ sociological imagination to enables us to understand biography and history and the connection between the two in the society. Mills’ concept of sociological imagination is the
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