Extra Credit Projects – Fall 2005
Sociology 1301
Overview of Requirements Concerning Extra Credit Projects:
Extra credit projects are designed to supplement regular assigned coursework in order to
help you raise a borderline grade. Extra credit is not designed to allow you to pass the
course if your grade is seriously deficient. Extra credit will not make up for a lack of
diligence throughout the semester. With this in mind, extra credit will be given using the
following guidelines: (1) You may earn up to a maximum of 10 points of extra credit. (2)
Extra credit points are added to your final exam grade not to your semester average. (3)
Extra credit, like any other assignment is accorded points based on its merit. This means
that you cannot do extra credit work that is worth 10 points in value but not 10 points in
quality. If you do a haphazard job of your extra credit, your work will be penalized
accordingly. You must type all extra credit work. Handwritten work will not be
accepted. Your work will be due on either Wednesday, November 29 or Wednesday,
November 30th.
5 Point Projects:
(1). Observe a small child at play for approximately 30 minutes. Using the criteria that
we discussed in class with Piaget, Freud, Erikson, etc. find examples of developmental activities at work. For example, if you can interact with the child, try rolling
the ball and seeing what the child does. Ask them about brothers and sisters to test
for understanding of relationships. Age of child will depend on what you can try.
Write a 3 page report on what the child did, what you observed, and tie it to the class.
(2) Create a cultural notebook collage using advertisements/pictures from magazines.
Give your opinion of the message being sent by the mass media. Is the
advertisement effective for the message that you believe is being sent? Are you
really given information relevant to the product and what is being used to sell the
product – Example: sex, money, information, ect. You should have at least 20
different advertisements in your collection. Finally, choose one of the products and
fix it so that it becomes an effective advertisement for the product
(3) Research a holiday, event, or custom from a cultural perspective, hopefully different
from your own Give an overview of the holiday, event, or custom and then talk
about how it differs from your own experience. This should be no more than two
handwritten pages in length. Examples of projects might be Kwanza, wedding
customs, or a Bar Mitzvah
.
(4) Interview someone who is elderly such as a grandparent and discuss with them life
as they experienced it when they were a young person. Ask them about social
activities, major world events that altered their lives or the lives of those around
them. Ask them how they feel about the future of our society – is/will it get better or
were things better in the “good old days” when they were young. Find out what
they think is the most significant event that has occurred in their lifetime and ask
them why they think that is was such an important event?
5. Do an indepth interview with a public school teacher. Ask them questions about their
experience in the classroom. You might want to address topics such as discipline,
the hidden curriculum, what they see as significant issues in education, etc. This
should be at least 3-4 pages in length. You may do it either in question/answer format
or as a summary.
10 point projects:
(1). Read the opposing viewpoints article “Are Single Parent Families a Major Cause of.
Social Dysfunction? (Available on reserve at the library) Take a side on this issue
defend your position in a 3 page typewritten paper.
(2.) Read the opposing viewpoints article “Is it ever appropriate to spank a child?
(available on reserve at the library) Choose a side with which you most agree
and write a 3 page typewritten paper defending your response.
(3) Research a subculture of American society. It could be a variant or deviant or even
counterculture movement in our society. Give a background of the group, place them
in a category of Robert Merton’s Strain Theory, and then analyze how this group
aids or hinders the mainline culture in which it must co-exist.
(4) Research a deviant group within American society. Consider how it is deviant.
analyze what role it plays in American culture and tell what is being done or should
be done, if anything, to eliminate the deviance from society. Be sure to look at issues
such as control theory, strain theory, and differential association theory..
15 Point Projects:
(1.) Read the book, Black Like Me, by Howard Griffin. Write a 5 page paper answering
the following questions: Was Griffin’s experiment successful? “Why or Why Not?
Could such an experiment be repeated today? Why or Why not? Can a person of
another racial/ethnic group ever truly understand how someone else feels? Why or
why not?
2. Read Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village. Analyze the work in terms of ideas
that we have discussed this semester particularly as they relate to socialization. Are
her ideas valid? Why or Why not? Was there anything that surprised you? Are her
solutions workable? Be sure to defend your ideas.