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Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture, Final Paper Topics

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Length: 6-7 pages plus 1 or more pages of references
  3. References:
    1. APA or MLA style
    2. Approximately 5 from the course readings, and 5 from other books and articles not read in the course
    3. You should use books or articles, plus not more than one web site
  4. Where to find books and articles on your topic:
    1. Scholar.google.com
    2. http://iii.library.unt.edu/
    3. Sociological Abstracts: UNT Library Home Page à Electronic Resources à Sociological Abstracts
  5. Please discuss the topic with me beforehand, preferably during my office hours.
  6. 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?

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