Sociological theory

Your essay should respond to one of the questions listed below.

All of the questions ask you to consider one theorist that we have looked at during the semester and most specify that you should discuss two of them. As with the news analyses, please be sure to include a description of the theory that your are examining in your essay.

The essay makes up 30% of the grade for the course. I will be looking for you to show that you have understood the theory or theories and that you have thought about how it or they apply to the issue raised in the question. A thoughtful and clearly explained argument, backed up with supporting evidence, either theoretical or empirical (i.e. from the readings or from observations), will be recognized with a high grade. Do think through what you want to say before you start writing. You may use outside sources (with appropriate credit) but you are not required to do so.

Essays should be double spaced with citations. Please submit them as attached Word documents

The questions are as follows:

Many governments have responded to the coronavirus pandemic by ordering social distance and telling people to stay at home as much as possible. Relate these measures to two of the writers we have studied and describe the effects their theories would predict from these policies.
The U.S. federal government has made huge amounts of money available to reduce the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Analyze this response using the ideas of two of the theorists we have read.
Is sociology a science? Consider two writers in your discussion.
At the start of the semester, I suggested sociologists are claiming to present hidden truths to society. Describe the hidden truths that are revealed by two of the authors we have studied.
Horkheimer and Adorno dismiss the entertainment industry for producing “trash.” They argue that entertainment of this kind can never promote intelligence and instead dulls the imagination so that people can face their tedious work lives. Using detailed examples, show how a specific television show or series proves or disproves their point.
Compare Weber’s analysis of fashion with Simmel’s. (Weber’s is on pages 314 to 315 of Classical Sociological Theory, Simmel’s is on page 372.)
Does the division of labor promote human wellbeing or harm it? Use theories from two of the sociologists we have studied to support your argument.
Simmel is one of the few theorists to mention romantic relationships. Does that mean the others are sexist, simply assuming that men are the only people who have a role in social life? Use examples from Simmel’s work and one other author.
Let me know if there are any questions.