A. Linkage/Engagement:
• Students must make conceptual or experiential linkages to and engagements with course readings and films. Engagement goes beyond citing or referencing; it involves a conversation with a specific idea/argument and the relevancy of that specific idea for your exploration must be communicated to the reader.
• Linking to readings or films can take a variety of forms, including agreements and/or disagreements with the sources. Don’t feel you have to only agree with an author to be able to link to it. Disagreeing with and critiquing an article, provided it is done in a thoughtful way, can produce good linkages.
B. Substantive Requirements:
1. Sociological Imagination Narrative (27 points): You must place your adolescent experiences/histories, or what C.W. Mills calls “personal troubles,” in a social context and identify how these “personal troubles” are related to and rooted in public issues and how your biography and history do and can shape one another. Your exploration of adolescence must acknowledge and attempt to understand multiple intersecting aspects of identity (i.e. class, race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, dis/ability) and the complex combination of oppression/exploitation/subordination and domination/privilege that are present in your life. (Note: If you do not engage conceptually with all of the mandatory concepts (and at a minimum letter grade of C+ and do not engage with at least 4 of the required texts at a minimum letter grade of C+, then the weight of this requirement drops to maximum 13 points.
2. Key Conceptual &Thematic Engagements : You must engage with 11 key concepts/themes (Total = 19.5 points) from the course of which 5 are mandatory concepts (see corresponding points below) and the remaining 6 concepts are of your choice (see concept handouts that are distributed throughout the semester). These latter six concepts are weighted at 1 pt each = 6 pts): DO NOT USE DICTIONARIES to define concepts. It has to be clear to the reader how you are defining/using these concepts and why you have chosen certain definitions of terms over others. Bold concepts, though “[d]on’t bold repeat concepts. You are welcome to use the concept as often as is helpful for you, but for the purpose of indicating how many concepts you have linked to, only one time bolding is sufficient, especially wherever you think you’ve used it best.” (Professor M.H. Tamdgidi, “Term-Paper Guidelines”)
Out of the 11 concepts/themes, YOU MUST ENGAGE WITH THE FOLLOWING
i – adolescence as an historical construction/invention (only need to engage with it once– 1.5pts)
ii – Erikson’s theory of identity development (must engage with it twice in the paper – 3 pts)
iii – youth as moratorium: what it is and its effects (must engage with it twice in the paper – 3pts)
iv – panoptical time (must engage with it twice in the paper – 3pts)
v – identity manipulation (must engage with it twice in the paper – 3pts)
3. Seven Class Quoted Textual Linkages/Engagements (2.5 points each = 17.5 points): You must engage more than once with each reading and at least one of the engagements must be conceptual. Note: if there are any modifications to the course schedule, you are to use the original course schedule for self-research paper.
i. *Muuss
ii. Cote & Allahar, Chapter 3
iii. One required or recommended reading from Feb 13, or Feb 18 or Feb 20
iv. Cote & Allahar, Chapter 2
v. Two required or recommended articles from course schedule section: Youth as a Site to Worry Over
vi. Either Email: Pyke or Email: Laraeu &Weininger
4. Two Additional Textual Linkages/Engagements of your Choice: can either be a required or recommended course reading from Feb 2 – March 13), one class film/documentary or a relevant scholarly reading. The instructor is here to direct you to other readings that address issues/topics that are either not covered in the class readings or not far enough. Make an appointment. (2 x = 2 points = 4 points)
5. Title (2 points): A title is both a condensed expression of what the paper is all about and it should stand out from all other papers, hence it should be creative. It is through a title that a prospective reader will be drawn to your paper or not.
C. Technical Requirements:
Length: 9-10 full pages (not including bibliography) You are welcome to go beyond 10 pages.
Format: Times font, size 12, double-spacing, standard one-inch margins, one-sided copying if possible, number the pages (even if you do it by hand), and staple your paper.
Citation (5 points): You must cite properly within the paper and provide a proper bibliography. “No text, or data may be used from outside sources without clear and proper citation, and clear references to where the information, data, or viewpoint came from. Never pretend that an idea is yours if in fact you have taken it from someone else. I will be strict about this. The best way to cite your source is to list it in the bibliography, and include a name and page number (for example: Newman, p. 56), anywhere the source is used or referred to. Any direct usage of words from an author [and producer and instructor] beyond four words must be included in quotation marks and given proper and accurate citation. Moreover, you should not overuse quotes. They should be islands in the midst of your OWN WORDS and ideas, with clear indications of how they are relevant to your research.” (Professor M. H. Tamdgidi, “Term-Paper Guidelines”) In addition to this I am requesting that whenever you are borrowing specific ideas of an author, be it paraphrased in your own words or via a quote, I want you to cite the source using the author’s name and page number (for example: Newman, p. 56) If there is severe plagiarism going on in the paper, heavy additional points will be taken off and possibly failing the assignment.
Edit: Arrange time to edit your writing for spelling and grammar, syntax, and coherency of sentences and organization of paragraphs. “You should care as much about the style, language, grammar, spelling, and other technical aspects of your paper. If English grammar is not your strong point, try to find someone who can help you with that before you turn in your paper.” (Professor M.H. Tamdgidi, “Term-Paper Guidelines”) If the paper is unreadable, it will be returned to you and I cannot then promise the paper will be read/graded by the Pass/Fall/Withdrawal Date. Quality of writing will be reflected in your Sociological Imagination Narrative.
