30% of your final grade
Profile and Prospectus (due by 5 pm on Friday, September 29) 10% of your grade Urban Issue or Cultural Analysis (due by 5 pm on Friday, December 15) 25% of your grade
A persistent debate in urban sociology concerns how the demands of contemporary life have disconnected residents from the neighborhoods and communities in which they live. For your final assignment, you will be asked to draw on themes from this course to describe and analyze the cultural, social, and political dynamics of a neighborhood/community in your hometown (city, suburb, village, town) that fits one of the following criteria: (a) your local neighborhood/community (where you currently live), (b) a former neighborhood/community (where you once lived), or (c) a symbolic neighborhood/community (a neighborhood or community where you are not a resident, but you nevertheless feel a strong personal identification to the area’s community).
The project is to be completed in two parts: a prospectus which provides descriptive characteristics of your neighborhood/community and offers a preview of the final project, and the Urban Issue or Cultural Analysis, which may be submitted as either:
A WordPress website created through the course’s website (https://courses.bowdoin.edu/sociology-2202-fall-2017), or
An extended “feature” story geared to educate or expose a “general” audience on a trend or an urgent current issue (i.e. what you might find in The New Yorker or The New York Times (see (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/11/is-gentrification-really-a-problem) as an example)).
Prospectus (due by 5 pm on Friday, September 29) 10% of your final grade
The first paper is a four to six page profile of your selected neighborhood/community, which should include demographic information about your site (http://factfinder2.census.gov), a brief history about the neighborhood/community, a brief discussion of your personal relationship to this neighborhood (how long have you “lived” there; what qualities attracted you to this neighborhood as a former, local, or symbolic resident), and a brief discussion about your final project. YOU MUST INDICATE IN THE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR FINAL PROJECT WHETHER YOU WILL CREATE A WEBSITE OR WRITE A FINAL ANALYSIS. You are not making a commitment to a final project idea (i.e. you are welcome to change it anytime over the course of the semester); however, this paper provides a great opportunity to get feedback before beginning your research.
Urban Issue or Cultural Analysis (due by 5 pm on Friday, December 15) 25% of your final grade
The final project asks you to address one of the following prompts:
Urban Issue: Select a salient urban issue that your community is currently facing (or has faced within the last five years). Drawing on at least five media sources (newspapers, local blogs, etc), you will address the following questions: (1) What is the issue you are addressing (context/background) and why is this an “urban issue”? (2) Is the issue contentious, and if so, what is the debate and who are the key parties involved? (3) How is the issue being handled in the neighborhood and what critique(s) do you have of how the issue is being handled? (4) What have you learned in the class that helps you better understand the issue or place it in the context (you will need to draw on at least three of the course readings to answer the final question)?
Cultural Analysis: What gives your neighborhood its cultural identity? What institutions/events embody the spirit of your neighborhood? What amenities would attract outsiders to your neighborhood/community? This final paper offers a cultural analysis of the neighborhood, anchored around a cultural event/place/phenomenon that you believe best defines the identity character of the neighborhood. You may select any venue that takes place within the boundaries of the neighborhood (festival, tourist attraction, local institution, parade, rally, natural space). This paper will be a 10 – 12 page discussion that accomplishes the following: (1) provides a broad overview of the neighborhood’s identity, highlighting a few examples that best embody that identity; (2) provides a discussion of your selected site (history, why this site best embodies the identity of your neighborhood/community), drawing on at least five outside sources; (3) offers a snapshot of the functions and activities that take place at this event/site; and (4) discusses what you have learned in class that helps illuminate the dynamics taking place there.
Parameters:
Length: 2000 – 2500 words. This includes an edited version of descriptive characteristics of your neighborhood or community from the first paper that are germane to the analysis you are doing do address (not to exceed 500 words).
You are welcome to (but are not required) to include photographs and visuals that are germane to the discussion.
You are required to use three sources (minimum) from the class to discuss your urban issue/cultural analysis (books count as one source).
Final projects will be graded on organization and clarity of ideas, your ability to use course materials to discuss your selected phenomenon to a generalized audience. All written material should be clearly proofed for grammar and proper word use. MLA or Chicago style citations required; however, a bibliography is necessary ONLY for outside material.
When submitting your final paper, you must clearly indicate which of the two prompts you will be addressing by titling your paper “URBAN ISSUE” (for prompt A) or “CULTURAL ANALYSIS” (for prompt B). Failure to do so will result in an automatic grade reduction (e.g. from an A- to a B+).
NB: Final Projects must be submitted via email ([email protected]) by the 5 pm on Friday, December 15. Feature articles must be submitted in a Word Processing Format (e.g. Word, Pages, or Google Docs). PDFs are not acceptable (and submitting a PDF will be penalized as a late paper).