Assignments

Soc 20000 Assignments

The main assignments for this class are part of a cumulative assignment that takes you through the process of becoming a sophisticated reader and critic of sociological arguments.

You start by identifying a persuasive argument by a sociologist in the popular journalistic world, taking from a bank of Op-Eds that we have compiled.  You then learn how to use existing search engines to zero in on a relevant sociological literature of reliable research results.  (And you’ll learn why this isn’t the same thing as valid results!)  You’ll also learn how to digest a book—which isn’t the same thing as speed reading or skimming.

You’ll identify the relevant literature and determine whether it this is a “solved” problem, meaning that there is consensus in the field (which doesn’t mean that they are right), whether this is a progressing field (in that there is a shared sense that at least some problems are being turned into solutions), whether it is an impossible question, a “stuck” field (in that people know what it would take to go further, but they can’t get the data), or one that is riven by political dispute and not functioning scientifically.

You’ll identify the different methods that are used in this field, as well as the different data sources—and see if that might lead participants in different directions, as it turns out that many methods can, if used uncritically, impart a certain “spin” to our findings.  You’ll figure out where (at least some of) the data originally came from—and how trustworthy they are.  You’ll also critically analyze not only the methods and the data that are used, but some of the most important tools we have—the concepts used to shape these data.

At the end, you’ll return to the opinion—and you’ll give what might once have been your own opinion…but now you’ll be taking into account the results of rigorous and reflexive social science.  If there was any.