FINAL PAPER TOPICS AND INSTRUCTIONS
Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture
Prof. Gabe Ignatow
Chilton 397A
Instead of taking the mid-term (25%) and final exam (40% of your grade), you may choose to write two original research papers. The first paper is due in class during the second mid-term exam, and should be 4-5 pages plus references. The final paper can be based on the first paper. Here are the requirements for the final paper:
- Due the time and day of the final exam, in the final exam room, or else in my office mailbox on the 3rd floor of Chilton Hall.
- Length: 6-7 pages plus 1 or more pages of references
- References:
- APA or MLA style
- Approximately 5 from the course readings, and 5 from other books and articles not read in the course
- You should use books or articles, plus not more than one web site
- Where to find books and articles on your topic:
- Scholar.google.com
- http://iii.library.unt.edu/
- Sociological Abstracts: UNT Library Home Page à Electronic Resources à Sociological Abstracts
- Please discuss the topic with me beforehand, preferably during my office hours.
- The paper can be mainly theoretical, or you can discuss a topic of interest to you. You may use a paper from another class as a basis for this paper. However, the paper must be related in some way to some of the theories and authors discussed in class.
Choose-your-own Paper Topic Creator
Analyze the culture of your [fraternity house, religion or religious group, family, high school, home town, club] in terms of the theories of [Horkheimer and Adorno, Marx, Bourdieu, Habermas, cultural anthropologists, etc.].
Analyze the [growth, decline, change] of the popularity of [rap music, country music, opera, mime, modern art, The Simpsons] in terms of [Bourdieu, the production-of-culture perspective, Horkheimer and Adorno…].
Are UNT students snobs, omnivores, or a “passive” audience?