Write a 5-page paper using what you’ve learned in this course to critique the article from a sociological perspective.
1) First, give an overview of the article (be sure to use examples from the article, but direct quotes should be no
longer than one or two sentences; that is, use your own words to retell the articles arguments!):
a. What is the author trying to explain?
b. How does the author explain it?
i. cause(s)
ii. contributing factors
iii. historical background
c. What conclusions does the author draw about the phenomenon?
The article overview section of your paper should be about 1 page in length.
2) In the remaining 4 pages, analyze the article using the following questions as guidelines (again, be sure to illustrate
using examples from the article but relying primarily on your own words):
d. Does this article present a sociological analysis? Why or why not? Does it use social research? Is it looking
at social forces that influence a phenomenon?
e. Does it reflect what C. Wright Mills calls “sociological imagination”? Explain your response.
f. Which of the three theoretical paradigms we’ve studied – Conflict Theory, Functionalism Theory, Social
Interactionism – seems to be the most influential in the author’s thinking?
g. What assumptions is the author making about the way the social world operates? Is it more conflict driven or more evolutionary? Who are the main social actors and who has power?
h. From a sociological perspective, what’s missing from the author’s analysis?
i. How might sociological methods and concepts help improve the author’s analysis and conclusions?