Assignment

1. Your paper should be 5 pages in length double spaced. 2. The main topic should be a topic we have covered this semester excluding research methods, culture and socialization. 3. Proper referencing and a proper bibliography are required. 4. Plagiarism is strongly discouraged and will result in an automatic zero and possible further repercussions. 5. You need to take a position (a thesis statement) and argue for one side or the other. 6. Support. You need to find at least two external, academic sources to support your arguments. 7. Below is a list of suggested topics. You may chose a new topic/question, but make sure you run it by me first. Education: Recently, some Canadian school boards have decided to take a "new" approach when it comes to educating different sexes and different races. Some have proposed that we should return to a school system segregated by sex, where boys and girls are taught separately. Others have argued that how one is taught and learns is connected to one's race, and have therefore suggested that schools should be segregated by race. Do you believe these forms of segregation are beneficial when it comes to educating today's youth? What are some of the major challenges that both colleges and universities will be facing as we shift from an information society to a knowledge economy? Is the shift or should this shift be of any concern when it comes to how we educate today's leaders of the future? Technology: What role does technology play in terms of social change? What are some of the problems related to the blind acceptance of technological change? Deviance: Is there a relationship between crime and poverty? If so, what is it? How effective are our current notions of punishment when it comes to crime; jails for example. Gender: Has the gender gap shrunk in the last few decades in terms of overall equality? Why or why not and how? What role does gender play in today’s schools, mass media and/or educational systems? Family: What is family and why is important in today’s society? Or is it? Rising divorce rates, teen pregnancies and broken homes – are we seeing the demise of the family? Yes or no and why or why not? Race and Ethnicity: What role does race still play in today’s society when it comes to politics and/or economics and/or society in general? Have we made strides in dealing with some of the tensions linked to race and ethnicity in Canada? Why or why not? Does race exist? Social Inequality: Why has the gap between the rich and the poor constantly grown bigger and why are we not doing anything about it? How do class, social inequality and social hierarchies affect society in terms of community values and/or political movements and/or economic progress?