Examining a Social Issue

According to Robert Brym (2018), thinking sociologically enables us to “analyze the social relations that lie beneath ordinary aspects of everyday life from basketball shows to homelessness, fame to racial discrimination, sex to religious zeal”. Moreover, developing our sociological imagination enables us to understand what needs to change for our collective future to be more loving, just and hopeful.  The purpose of this assignment is to reflect in a sociologically disciplined, critically hopeful way on a current social issue in Canada.   Carrying out this assignment will require that you: (i) take time to think about the countless social issues that are a part of your everyday life and then select one that interests you (ii) reflect on what makes your topic a SOCIAL issue, including:  (a) how different groups/categories of people think about the issue  (b) the different ways the issue affects different groups/categories of people (c) the sociological factors that contribute to different groups/categories of people experiencing and understanding the social issue differently. This paper has to be double-spaced and 4-5 page paper will be marked on its coherence as well as the clarity of your discussion and depth of your sociological analysis.  Suggested Outline for 2nd Assignment  1) Title page with project title, course title/number, your name(s), student ID(s) & date submitted 2) Roughly 1 introductory page that introduces your assignment and includes your definition of a social issue. Provide a brief description of your social issue and why you think it is important for us to think sociologically about it. Be sure to include a properly cited reference in a “List of References” on your last page if your definition is from the textbook or other published source.  3) Roughly 3 pages of detailed discussion about your social issue, including: (i) a clear description of the issue and the sociological factors that contributed to its’ emergence (ii) how it affects people in different ways according to sociological characteristics such as: age,  racial/ethnic background, social class, religious background, health status, education, etc. (iii) the sociological  characteristics of those that have attempted to point out why the issue is a problem, particularly in the lives of those that are negatively affected by it (iv) the sociological characteristics of those that benefit from the issue not being addressed, how and why they benefit, and how they may have sought to deflect attention from it 4) Roughly 1 concluding page in which you present a brief summary of your assignment that includes a final statement about why you think it important to reflect in a critically hopeful sociological way about your social issue.

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