ANT 301/SOC 301 Social Theory Winter 2017
“Tool Box” Paper #1
Due Date: February 2
The Assignment:
Choose one or more media source (i.e., newspapers, on-line materials, TV, music, etc.). Note that it does not have to be “the news,” but can be any sort of source that is rich enough to be analyzed using the theories we have discussed in class.
Once you have chosen a source or sources, write a one to three page paper about it. This paper should analyze your source(s) using one or more of the ideas that we have studied. You might interpret or explain your source. You might critique it. You might forward a question about it, explaining how the ideas from our class have helped you to formulate this question.
What I am looking for in this assignment is that you understand a concept or concepts from our course well enough to apply it or them to real-world contexts. You might think of this assignment as an opportunity to show how what you have learned has allowed you to see something in a new light.
The Elements:
Each paper will be different. Stylistically, I appreciate an essay format, as this allows you to develop ideas more comprehensively and complexly. This said, each essay should have all of the following parts:
a) Identification of the source(s) being analyzed and a description of its/their key elements.
b) Identification of the theory(ies) you are using to understand your source(s).
c) Your analysis, which connects the source(s) you analyze with the theory(ies) you are
using to understand it. The logic of this connection should be made very clear and in as much detail as is necessary to make your points.
Grading:
Here is a tentative rubric for how I will approach these assignments:
C: Assignments will be considered in the “C” range if they include all of the required elements, follow the page limits, and are readable at a basic level. In addition, the connections between the source(s) should be clear.
B: Assignments that fulfill all of the requirements for the “C” range, and also integrate all of the elements of the paper into a substantial and coherent essay, will be considered “B”-work. A “B” paper cannot simply point to a connection between the elements, but must show the reader these connections explicitly and make a strong argument for why they belong together.
A: “A”-work offers an inspired analysis. It makes me pause and think, “I did not see that argument coming, but it works,” or “I did not expect this approach, and they pulled it off,” or “Wow, so-and-so really understands this concept in a sophisticated way.”
I do not expect any “D” or “E” grades, but if such grades were to be given, these would be the reasons why:
D: A “D” grade would be given to anyone who puts together something relatively coherent, but who neglects to include all of the required elements; or to someone who includes all of the required elements, but who struggles to make clear connections between them.
E: An “E” would be given to assignments not turned in at all, or those that are turned in but that neglect the required elements and are not coherent.
Potential Concepts to Use
Note that the list here is not exhaustive.
paradoxes of modernity
the liberal self
homo economicus
arbitrariness of the sign
signs as part of broader systems non-arbitrary signs
Marx’s theory of the development of money historical materialism
means of production
structure versus agency
commodity
use versus exchange value
labor theory of value
commodity fetish
congealed labor
capitalism
political economy
alienated labor
colonialism
patriarchy
the end of capitalism/contradictions of
capitalism
political economy as affected by multiple
factors authority
formal/legal authority traditional authority charismatic authority legitimacy
ideal types
ideas and values
the Protestant ethic
rationalization
bureaucracy
demystification
social fact
society as the source of moral authority mechanical versus organic solidarity anomie
suicide under the conditions of modernity double-consciousness
“the veil”
“the stranger”
uncompensated domestic labor intersectionality
intellectuals
the organic intellectual hegemony
civil society and the state praxis
the culture industry