Families and society application project

Families and society application project

Cherlin, Andrew J. Public & Private Families: An Introduction. McGraw-Hill, 2013.

FAMILIES AND SOCIETY APPLICATION PROJECT

In order to make connections between everyday life and the material we are learning in class, students will complete an Application Project over the course of the semester. The completed project will have five (5) entries that include real world examples of five (5) different concepts discussed in the course. These concepts must come from at least three (3) different modules. In each entry, you will use class materials (lectures, textbook, and readings) to analyze ‘real world’ popular media examples of what we are talking about in class. The media examples can come from newspaper articles, magazine articles, song lyrics, music videos, TV shows, movies, etc. Academic journal articles are not eligible for this assignment. You must vary the type of popular media you use—i.e., do not make each entry about news articles or TV shows. The connections made through each entry will help facilitate comprehension of the material and encourage critical analysis of everyday events.

Formatting: See below

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Collect a Media Example of a Sociological Concept

Collect a popular media example (newspaper/magazine articles, song lyrics, music videos, TV show clips, TV commercials, movie clips, etc.) that illustrates sociological concepts discussed in the course. Remember, at the end you must have five (5) entries that reflect five (5) different concepts from at least three (3) modules. You must vary the type of popular media selections you use and are required to have at least 3 different types.

• For news articles, use ones that are relatively recent, from the last 3 years.

Some potential suggestions of places to look (online or in print): New York Times; Washington Post; USA Today; local papers (Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha World-Herald, your hometown newspaper); news magazines such as Time, Newsweek, etc. Blog entries or partisan news sources are not acceptable.

Do not use any articles or pieces of media already linked in the lectures or assigned as class readings. These can be used as a source of class materials in the Making Connections application portion, but cannot be used as the example of media you are analyzing in the first place in your entries.

b) For other types of popular media (i.e., song lyrics, music videos, TV shows, movies) these can be from any date but must be in the public domain (something that anyone can access).

At the top of the page list the name/title of your popular media selection and indicate the type of media it is.

Step 2: Make Connections to the Course Material

Below the name of your popular media selection, you will make connections between your media selection and the course material. There are two components to this step:

a. Brief Summary– Briefly summarize the main points of your popular media selection in a single paragraph. This should be the shortest part of each entry; provide enough information to set the context of your analysis by focusing on the key aspects that are relevant to the course ideas/concepts/research findings/to be analyzed.

b. Analysis—Analyze your popular media selection using the course materials. You must apply at least 2 ideas/concepts/research findings to your piece of media. Discuss how the popular media piece you have selected relates to the sociological concepts/information that you have applied to that particular piece. In this discussion, you should include:

How this piece of popular media relates to the course materials/information that we have covered throughout the semester —be sure to be specific. It should be obvious of how your analysis applies to our study of families!

Apply academic/course information in your own words and cite your sources that you use in your entries using an in-text citation (see the Citation Guide for details). Explain the course information in an accurate and detailed manner. Do not use direct quotations unless absolutely necessary.

You must use course materials as the sources of your analyses. This means that you should be citing your text, course notes, lectures, any other course materials as the sources of your information to apply to your pieces of media. Cite more than just the textbook; engage with our other course materials as well.

This section should be several paragraphs in length. In the very first paragraph of your analysis provide an overview of the ideas/concepts/research findings that you believe relate to your selection; underline these in the paragraph so they are easy to identify (and then double check that your brief summary is consistent). In the subsequent paragraphs expand on your analysis.

Step 3: Create Additional Entries

Repeat Steps 1 & 2 until you have five (5) different entries that reflect five (5) different ideas/concepts/research findings from at least three (3) different modules. You must vary the type of popular media selections you use and are required to have at least three (3) different types.

Each Entry should be at least 1 and no more than 2 full pages in length.

Each Entry must begin on a new page.

Step 4: Write a Concluding Reflection

After all five entries, you will compose a brief (1-2 page) reflection on the entire project and what you learned through your entries. What are your thoughts about the pieces that you have selected overall? What do the popular media pieces you have tell us about about how society views some component of family life or families overall? Label this “Conclusion.”

Step 5: Create a Reference Page

At the end of your project on a separate page provide citations for all of the sources you referenced in your project. This includes a full citation for each of the popular media selections you used in your entries and all of the class materials you cited for your analyses. If you cite anything from a reputable online source (e.g., nytimes.com), be sure to include the complete web address linking directly to your selected content. Please see the section Citation Guide for more information.

OVERALL FORMATTING

Each of the five entries should be 1-2 pages in length. A page means a full page (i.e., if text only covers ¾ of a page, your entry is too short).

All project entries are to be typed and must adhere to the following formatting requirements:

• Double-spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman, Calibri, or similar font.
• Text left-aligned (not fully justified, like you would see in a newspaper)
• 1” margins on all sides
• In each entry use a bold in-line heading for each section (Entry #, Brief Summary, Analysis)— Use a heading for your Conclusion as well.
• No additional spacing between paragraphs (but you should have space between sections).
• Page numbers in the bottom right corner.
• No cover page