First Paper

The first paper, due in week three of the quarter, will ask you to use our early readings to theorize a social problem or situation, large or small. You can use an example from you your own life or from the news. This paper should be between 800 and 1200 words. Grading will be based on how well you have shown your knowledge of the ideas in question and the plausibility of the application, in addition to standard concerns about style, grammar, and form (see rubric below).

This doesn’t have to be a super intense paper. All I really want you to do is apply a theory we read to either something in your own life or something in the news. You’re also entirely free to criticize the thinkers in your papers, talking about what you think they get wrong! Just make sure you turn these into arguments that show either their problems of bad reasoning or their problems of datarather than simply statements. First-person pronouns are fine! In fact, if you’re talking about your life, first-person pronouns make the most sense. The primary purpose of this paper is for you to show how theory is applicable to your life or something in the world. That’s it. All I want you to do is show you can apply a theory to a social phenomenon, like your life in school or your experience growing up. This should be a standard essay, which means you’ll have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Be sure that you have a quote from the text in each body paragraph.