Making Connections

A key objective of this course if for you to apply a theoretical lens to the world around you. For this paper, you will take something- a news story, book, TV show, movie, historical event, etc. and explain 1) how the example illustrates key aspects of one of the assigned readings and 2) how that reading helps us better understand/explain your chosen example. You should also feel encouraged to write about aspects of the reading that don’t seem to fit well with your example or how you feel the theory in the reading could be improved to fit your example. The purpose of this paper is for you to demonstrate that you understand the readings we’ve done in class enough that you can talk about them in-depth and apply them to something else. Thus, the majority of your grade will be based on the depth of your analysis of the readings. You are basically using a ‘fun’ topic to illustrate a theory or theoretical perspective. This should be at least somewhat familiar to you- we’ve been practicing making connections all semester. You will also be graded based on your use of theory, writing, and use of proper citations. I do not care whether you use ASA, APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian- just use a style and stick to it. Some basic information- ? You cannot use a topic that we have already used as a ‘making connections’ segment in class. If you are concerned about your topic, you may email me ahead of time for approval. ? Papers should be roughly 5 pages with regular margins and size 12 Times New Roman font ? Please use the format of the example paper by having an introduction that lets me know what topic and theorist/theory you’re using, a background section about your topic, and an analysis section where you apply the theory to your topic. The analysis section is the most important and should be your longest section.