Sociology of Popular Culture Term Paper
The term paper is an opportunity for students to do in-depth research on a particular area of or specific item from popular culture while practicing your research and academic writing skills. This assignment is worth 20% of your total course mark.
A good research paper will be focused on a specific theory or theoretical concept, a sociological dimension and an item or area related to popular culture. You can use the following pattern to help you generate a topic for your research paper:
+ + = well-focused research paper!
Here’s another way to think of it. Choose one item from each column:
|
theory or concept
|
sociological dimension or issue |
item or area of pop culture |
| Marxism
feminism symbolic interactionism structural functionalism formal analysis (ex. micro, meso, macro or global) communities of practice social identity theory postcolonialism culture industries reflection theory etc. another theory or concept not listed here
|
race
gender class stereotypes religion social inequality ethnicity cultural values transmission social control identity sociopolitical economy etc. a sociological dimension not listed here |
Game of Thrones
zombies children’s toys magazines Star Wars rap music or hiphop culture martial arts soccer fans the fashion industry advertisements etc. an area or item of pop culture not listed here |
- Write your three key words here: (theory or concept) _______________________________________
and/of (sociological dimension or issue) ____________________________________
in (item or area of pop culture) ____________________________
Ex. A feminist analysis of female identity in Star Wars.
- Ask a question about your topic. Ex. Is Star Wars: The Last Jedi a feminist movie?
___________________________________________________________________________________
- Find library sources about your topic using your key words and their synonyms.
Briefly, what do your sources say about your topic?
(Ex. Source 1 : (Lee, 2016) article about gender identity in popular movies)
Source 1: ( )________________________________________________
Source 2: ( )________________________________________________
Source 3: ( )________________________________________________
4a). Write a brief answer to your question using information from the sources you found.
This is the main argument of your essay. Ex. Because of its central female character, focus on familial rather than romantic relationships, and representations of female diversity, this essay argues that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a feminist movie.
Thesis Statement: Divide your three parts of your topic you can write about:
- i) central female character ii) focus on familial rather than romantic relationships and iii) representations of female diversity
i.______________________________________________________________________________
ii._____________________________________________________________________________
iii._____________________________________________________________________________
You can use these parts to make a strong thesis statement. Write about them in more detail in your essay.
/15 Outline (use this as a guide to write your final paper)
/75 Final Paper (logical and interesting arguments, original sociological topic, good use of research sources)
/10 APA References
