You've probably noticed how each chapter ends with an analysis of the chapter's topic using each of the three main sociological paradigms, right? Well, now it's your turn! For this paper, you will need to select a social issue from the list below and analyze it from the perspective of a Structural Functionalist, a Conflict Theorist, and a Symbolic Interactionist. Then you'll conclude your paper with an evaluation of the relevance / helpfulness of each perspective for understanding your chosen social issue. Functionalism is a macro-level theory that looks at the different structures of society like organs in the body - a bunch of different parts working together to maintain the equilibrium of the whole. When functionalists look at an enduring aspect of society, they think, "What is its purpose? What function does this serve?" The functionalism paradigm seeks to understand how all aspects of society, even those that may seem negative or harmful, contribute to the continuity of society, so this perspective tends to bring an optimistic point of view of to social issues.  Conflict theory also takes a macro-level view of society, but this perspective tends to bring a more pessimistic point of view to social issues. Conflict theorists see the world as divided into two groups: a dominant group and a subordinate group. These two groups are in constant conflict, competition, or struggle over control of power and resources, but the dominant group puts structures and institutions in place to maintain control of these resources. The father of conflict theory, Karl Marx, defined the dominant and subordinate group by economic conditions, but more contemporary adaptations of conflict theory define the dominant and subordinate groups along other dimensions. For example, feminist theory defines these groups by gender and critical race theory by race and ethnicity. Regardless of the dimension used to define the dominant and subordinate groups, conflict theorists are interested in analyzing the social forces that maintain inequalities (usually with an eye toward dismantling and changing those systems).  Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory, so the type of analysis performed using this perspective will look very different from the macro-level theories above. Symbolic interactionists are interested in interactions and communication between individuals and small groups. Communication, in all its various forms (writing, singing, painting), is a series of symbols, and proponents of this perspective are interested in understanding how we make sense of these symbols and the world around us. How do we imbue meaning and value into these symbols? How do these meanings and values shape how we see the world? How are these meanings and values shared through interaction? How are they changed through interactions? These three paradigms are like different lenses you can put on (and take off) to see the world. Although they may be used to observe the same socia.

1. You've probably noticed how each chapter ends with an analysis
of the chapter's topic using each of the three main sociological
paradigms, right? Well, now it's your turn! For this paper, you
will need to select a social issue from the list below and analyze
it from the perspective of a Structural Functionalist, a Conflict
Theorist, and a Symbolic Interactionist. Then you'll conclude
your paper with an evaluation of the relevance / helpfulness of
each perspective for understanding your chosen social issue.
Functionalism is a macro-level theory that looks at the different
structures of society like organs in the body - a bunch of
different parts working together to maintain the equilibrium of
the whole. When functionalists look at an enduring aspect of
society, they think, "What is its purpose? What function does
this serve?" The functionalism paradigm seeks to understand
how all aspects of society, even those that may seem negative or
harmful, contribute to the continuity of society, so this
perspective tends to bring an optimistic point of view of to
social issues.
Conflict theory also takes a macro-level view of society, but
this perspective tends to bring a more pessimistic point of view
to social issues. Conflict theorists see the world as divided into
two groups: a dominant group and a subordinate group. These
two groups are in constant conflict, competition, or struggle
over control of power and resources, but the dominant group
puts structures and institutions in place to maintain control of
these resources. The father of conflict theory, Karl Marx,
defined the dominant and subordinate group by economic
conditions, but more contemporary adaptations of conflict
theory define the dominant and subordinate groups along other
dimensions. For example, feminist theory defines these groups
by gender and critical race theory by race and ethnicity.
Regardless of the dimension used to define the dominant and

2. subordinate groups, conflict theorists are interested in analyzing
the social forces that maintain inequalities (usually with an eye
toward dismantling and changing those systems).
Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory, so the type of
analysis performed using this perspective will look very
different from the macro-level theories above. Symbolic
interactionists are interested in interactions and communication
between individuals and small groups. Communication, in all its
various forms (writing, singing, painting), is a series of
symbols, and proponents of this perspective are interested in
understanding how we make sense of these symbols and the
world around us. How do we imbue meaning and value into
these symbols? How do these meanings and values shape how
we see the world? How are these meanings and values shared
through interaction? How are they changed through
interactions?
These three paradigms are like different lenses you can put on
(and take off) to see the world. Although they may be used to
observe the same social issue, each perspective brings different
information into focus. Every sociologist must master using
these three perspectives, but people do tend to have their
"favorite paradigm" that most closely aligns with their personal
world views. For this paper, you will need to demonstrate your
ability to use all three perspectives to analyze a social issue,
and offer an evaluation of how well each paradigm addresses
the complexities of your chosen social issue.
OBJECTIVES
Your paper should:

3. Briefly describe a social issue in America, including
contemporary statistics and newsworthy events that
demonstrates the social impact of this issue
Analyze the social issue from the perspective of each of the
three main sociological paradigms: Structural Functionalism,
Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism
Evaluate which paradigms are the most and least relevant or
helpful for understanding the complexities of the social issue
REQUIREMENTS
Your paper must:
Be guided by the prompts below; you may incorporate
additional, relevant information inspired by the prompts, but
you should not ignore or exclude the information from the
prompts
Conform to the following formatting standards:
Title of paper should identify the chosen social issue
Be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12 point
font size
Be at least 3 pages long, but no longer than 8 pages (ideally 4-6
pages)
Be free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors

4. Cite information from at least three (3) assigned chapters of the
textbook (i.e., Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12) using in-text
citations that specify the chapter and section number where that
information can be found. Please do NOT use page numbers as
they are not consistent across all formats of the textbook.
For example: There are a number of peer-reviewed studies that
point to biological factors as part of the "cultural universals" of
beauty, or the traits associated with beauty that appear to be
shared by all societies around the world (Chapter 3.1).
If your paper only cites Chapter 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 (for example),
you have NOT fulfilled the requirement to cite information from
three chapters; this would be three citations from the same
chapter. I encourage you cite multiple sections of the same
chapter, but your paper must ultimately include information
from at least three distinct chapters of the textbook.
The textbook should be your primary source of information for
defining the three paradigms and analyzing your social issue.
You should use outside sources in this paper for gathering
information about your chosen social issue, but the crux of your
analysis should NOT be based on outside sources. Your paper
should demonstrate your mastery of the assigned materials.
You may cite information from unassigned chapters of the
textbook, but those chapters will NOT count toward your three
required course citations.
Include a Works Cited or Bibliography page that gives full

5. reference information for any outside sources cited in the paper
or used to develop the paper (even if they are not directly cited
in the body of the paper), including any of the helpful links you
use below. Your Works Cited / Bibliography information will
NOT be counted toward your total page length.
Use direct quotes sparingly!!! Putting information into your
own words demonstrates a deeper level of learning than using
direct quotes, and it often improves the organization and "flow"
of your writing (i.e., direct quotes can sound disjointed and
choppy).
AVOID THIS: There are a number of peer-reviewed studies that
point to biological factors as part of the "cultural universals" of
beauty, or "patterns or traits that are globally common to all
societies" (Chapter 3.1).
You should save direct quotes for when the exact wording is
crucial to the claim you are making, or if the source is a
prominent figure [e.g., According to the executive director of
the World Food Programme, David Beasley, "We are looking at
widespread famines of biblical proportions" (Harvey 2020
(Links to an external site.)).]
Even when you put information into your own words, you
should still cite it. Citations are used to give credit to other
people who provided the information or inspiration for you to
write something. Ask yourself, "Could I have written that
sentence without looking at this source?" - if the answer is NO,
then you must include citation information near the text that is
the result of others' information or inspiration.
LIST OF SOCIAL ISSUES

6. Your paper should focus on ONE of the following social issues.
The links below are intended to give you a general
understanding of the social issue, but you should seek out
additional outside sources as evidence for your paper.
"Welfare," or government assistance to the poor
List of welfare programs, descriptions, and other information:
http://federalsafetynet.com/us-welfare-programs.html (Links to
an external site.)
"Jezebel at the Welfare Office: How Racialized Stereotypes of
Poor Women's Reproductive Decisions and Relationships Shape
Policy Implementation" (2014):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4002050/
(Links to an external site.)
"College Drop-Outs," or college undergraduate non-completion
List of 10 highly successful college dropouts:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/10/10-ultra-successful-
millionaire-and-billionaire-college-dropouts.html (Links to an
external site.)
"The Myth of the College Dropout":
https://theconversation.com/the-myth-of-the-college-dropout-
75760 (Links to an external site.)
"Addressing the College Completion Gap Among Low-Income
Students": Addressing the College Completion Gap Among
Low-Income Students.pdf

7. "Age Discrimination in Employment," or giving preference to
younger applicants or employees at work
Helpful info from the Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM): https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-
topics/employee-relations/pages/age-discrimination-in-the-
workplace-.aspx (Links to an external site.)
"Criminalization of Drugs," or legal restrictions on the
possession and/or consumption of mind-altering substances
Helpful info from Human Rights Watch:
https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/10/12/every-25-
seconds/human-toll-criminalizing-drug-use-united-states (Links
to an external site.)
Pro-decriminalization op-ed: https://www.theguardian.com/us-
news/commentisfree/2016/jul/05/why-de-criminalize-all-drugs-
stigma (Links to an external site.)
Anti-decriminalization op-ed:
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/07/25/two-takes-
drugs-are-a-major-social-problem-we-cannot-legalize-them
(Links to an external site.)
"Neighborhood-based School Funding Models," or funding K-12
schools based on local property tax revenues
Helpful info from the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development (ASCD):
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/may02/vol59/num08/Unequal-School-Funding-in-
the-United-States.aspx (Links to an external site.)

8. WRITING PROMPTS
Describe the social issue you chose from the list above. Explain
what the issue is and/or how it works. Who are the major
stakeholders involved? Why is this important? Provide
information that demonstrates the impact this issue has on the
larger society using contemporary statistics and/or newsworthy
events.
Describe the Structural Functionalist paradigm in your own
words. According to this perspective, what aspects of your
chosen social issue would be most relevant or interesting? What
purpose or function does this social issue fulfill? How does this
social issue contribute to the equilibrium of society?
Describe the Conflict Theory paradigm in your own words.
According to this perspective, what aspects of your chosen
social issue would be most relevant or interesting? Who is the
dominant group and who is the subordinate group? What
resources are they in conflict or competition over? How do
structures and institutions contribute to the dominant group
maintaining power and resources?
Describe the Symbolic Interactionism paradigm in your own
words. According to this perspective, what aspects of your
chosen social issue would be most relevant or interesting? Who
interacts with whom? What effect do these interactions have on
people? What symbols or underlying values are being
communicated? How do people learn to make sense of the world
around them?
How do processes like the social construction of reality and

9. socialization contribute to your chosen social issues? What role
do these processes play in this social issue?
Evaluate how well each of the three paradigms addresses the
complexities of your chosen social issue. Which paradigm is
most / least relevant or helpful for understanding this social
issue? Explain your decisions.