• Part I: Library Assignment -- Due November 21, 1997
• Part II: Autobiographical Assignment -- Due November 21, 1997

The following assignment is designed to help students become acquainted with the St. Olaf College library and its specific use in sociological research. It will be used in conjunction with the preparation of the autobiographical paper. (Consult a reference librarian if you experience difficulty in locating sources related to the library portion of this assignment. I will place old papers on reserve to give you an idea as to how this project might be completed).

1. Choose a sociological concept related to marriage and family issues (i.e. gender roles, the influence of social status and status mobility upon the nuclear family, the two career family, adoption as a sociological idea, divorce and reconstituted families, mate selection, etc.--the one you will use in the Autobiographical Paper).
2. Find a relevant article in the Encyclopedia of Sociology. (Use the Index in Volume 4 for access to an article related to your concept.) Give a one paragraph summary of the article. Also give the name of the author of the article.
3. Give three references on this concept from the Encyclopedia of Sociology article.
4. Using the library's on-line catalog (PALS), find one book which relates to the concept.
5. Using the Expanded Academic Index available through PALS, find three references on this concept and list them in proper form.
6. Find three references on this concept in the Sociofile and list them in proper form.
7. List three references found in the bibliography of one of the articles found in tasks three, five, or six.
8. List three print or electronic resource (book, article, pamphlet, journal, etc.) found on the Internet (World Wide Web) which is relevant to your topic. At the end of your resource add the URL (World Wide Web address beginning with http://www.) of this listing.
9. Check out the following World Wide Web URL:
   http://wwww.trinity.edu/~mkearl/family.html
   Now give me three more URL addresses or print three pages and attach.

You will generate nineteen resources in this assignment. Use the following format in listing your references:

	Book:	Author's Name (Last, First) 
		Year  Title.  Where Published: Publisher

	Example: Berger, Peter
		 1967 The Sacred Canopy.  New York:  Doubleday and Company.

	Article: Author's Name (Last, First)
	   	 Year "Title."  Journal Name. Vol #, No #, (Month): Pages.   

	Example: Wuthnow, Robert
		 1976 "Recent patterns of secularization: A problem of
		 generations?" American Sociological Review, 41, 9 
		 (October): 850-867.

Grading: Each student will be awarded up to 15 points for this part of the assignment.

The goal of this paper is to foster in each of you a level of sociological self-consciousness--to understand the society in you.

1. Select a sociological concept which best helps you to understand some facet of your own FAMILY biography. The list of possibilities is numerous. Perhaps during your reading (see text glossary) or in class some particular idea stood out as particularly interesting and relevant to your own experience. Examples might be social class, ethnicity, stratification, social mobility, gender role, socialization, divorce, reconstituted family, etc. to name a few.
2. Research this concept and narrow it down to something more specific. You can consult your text book or any other source. There are numerous other marriage and family textbooks in the library. You might decide to narrow down your topic to gender role, gender socialization, status and social mobility and its influence upon family functioning, social class influences upon family socialization, ethnic families, a sociological analysis of child and family adoption, and socialization toward work and family roles. Here again there are numerous possibilities, and your selection may depend to some extent on your own creativity.
3. Spend the first part of your paper discussing the concept and what it means sociologically.
4. Analyze an experience in your life or a portion of your family life from the perspective of this concept. For example, if you had chosen the sociological concept of gender role, you might try to analyze differential parental expectations of you and your siblings based upon your respective sexes.
5. Length of the paper may vary from 5 to 7 pages, typed, double-spaced (12 point).
6. The paper will be graded according to the following criteria:
1. Appropriateness of the concept to the experience. (N.B. The concept should be specifically sociological): 20 Points
2. Your analysis and understanding of the concept: 20 Points
3. Application of the concept to your life experience: 30 Points
4. Rhetorical style and format: 15 Points


TOTAL 85 Points

Go back to SOCIOLOGY 260 -- Sociology of Marriage and the Family Page

If you have any questions or comments please email:

leming@stolaf.edu

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