paper

either paper done in 8 hours

Paper Option 1: Inequality in Advertising. (75 points)

Due Date: April 18th—in class (paper copy, no emailed papers).

In Erving Goffman’s ground breaking book Gender Advertisments, he argued that advertisements did not portray men and women the way they actually behave and interact; but, they portray the way in which we (as members of society) think men and women should want to be or
should
be—the ideal male and the ideal female. [footnoteRef:1] For this assignment, you will find three magazine (or similar print) advertisements and do an analysis of either race, gender or both. You will pay special attention to portrayals of social status, power, traditional roles and stereotypes. [1: Goffman E, Harper and Row P. Gender advertisements. [Gender advertisements]. Gender Advertisements. [Gender Advertisements] [serial online]. 1979;Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 20, 2013.]

In writing your paper:

1) Write an introduction which demonstrates an understanding of stereotypes, power, social status, gender roles, and inequalities. Also, analyze the influence of media and advertising on socialization—why should we care if inequalities are perpetuated in advertising? What are the consequences?

2) Analyze each advertisement for the race and/or gender content, using the concepts we have learned in class. You will also need to consider the source of the ad—what magazine was it printed in? Who is the magazine aimed at? Who is the intended ‘audience’ of the ad? What is being sold?

3) Write a paragraph or two comparing and contrasting the portrayals of gender and/or race in your selected advertisements. From your analysis, what conclusions can we draw? In our society what, in Goffman’s words, should a woman be? What should a man be? How do we expect a white person to behave? How do we expect a black person to behave? An Asian person? What do these advertisements say about the existing inequalities in our society? Were you surprised by what you found?

4) You
must
use a least one empirical source for your paper. Both of your textbooks are sufficient but we also recommend looking at Goffman’s Gender Advertisements, a copy of which will be put on hold in Bierce Library for this class. No Wikipedia, Answers.com, ect—these are not academic sources. If you reference something that is not your original idea IT MUST BE CITED.

—Things to Keep in Mind—

***You
MUST
turn in a copy of your three ads with your paper***

*Studying gender can include studying male
and
female, masculine
and
feminine.

*Studying race/ethnicity can include studying
all
races. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, ect.

*A strong paper will include ads from multiple sources. You
must
use at least
two
different sources to find your advertisements for this project.

*This assignment may be easier if you pick a theme for the advertisements, such as a certain type of product or service (perfume, restaurant, laundry detergent, law firm, ect).

Grading Rubric—Paper Option 1:

Term Paper

Below Avg.

Satisfactory

Excellent

1. Format, organization and structure

0 points_______________________10points

2. Writing mechanics- this includes grammar!

0 points_______________________10points

3. Grasped the assignment and successfully analyzed, compared and contrasted three articles/ drew thoughtful conclusions based on analysis/used an empirical source/

0 points_______________________30points

4. Evidenced critical thinking/writing

0 points_______________________10points

5. Demonstrates knowledge of core concepts of inequalities, gender and/or race roles and stereotypes and the role of advertising.

0 points_______________________15points

Total Score______________________

Paper Option 2: The Power of Norms (75 points)

Due

Date

: April 18th – in class (paper copy, no emailed papers)

Explore the power of norms. Conduct a short experiment where you break a norm (one in which doing so does not put you or others in any physical danger or break any laws – either in the school or the general community, obviously do not commit any taboos!) and analyze people’s reaction to you. For example, stand backwards in an elevator, visibly eat an awkward food combination (such as peanut butter and tomato sandwiches) in the presence of others, or wear a crazy outfit around campus or to the mall.

In writing your paper:

1) Write a brief introduction discussing the importance of norms, their place in society and how their perception relates to concepts such as ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, etc.

2) Describe your experiment — What norm did you break? How did you do it? When did you do it? Where? Who was around?

3) Record people’s reactions to you – Did others look at you oddly? Did they behave in any specific way (shy away, make comments, etc.)

4) Analyze their reaction – What was the meaning behind their reaction? How did you feel about their reaction? Did their reaction affect YOUR behavior (or would it have if you honestly broke this norm, instead of for a class experiment)?

5) Conclusion – Tie the results of this experiment to what you learned about norms and sanctions. Were the results as you expected? Why or why not do you think this is the case?

Requirements:

1) Must be 2 – 3 pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt. font, and include

Spring Semester 2013

at the top of first page.

2) Papers are due on Thursday, April 18th at the beginning of class (12:15p). Only paper copies will be accepted, no emailed papers. Also, do NOT submit your paper through the Springboard dropbox.

3) If you miss the paper deadline, you must have a documented excuse as to why you were unable to turn in your paper by the due date (serious illness, death in the family, etc.). Excuses including printing problems, lost files, etc. will not be accepted.

4) You must address each of the five components listed above. A grading rubric can be found at the end of this document.

5) You must use at least one empirical source for your paper. Either of your textbooks is sufficient. No Wikipedia, Answers.com, etc. – those sites are not appropriate.

For organizational purposes, I would suggest using subheadings throughout the essay. For example, to address the five required components, your paper may look something like this:

Name

Date
Spring Semester 2013

Descriptive Title

Introduction

In this section you want to describe what norms are, what are the different types (folkways, mores, taboos, etc.), what is their importance within society and how do they relate to concepts like ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Description of the Experiment

In this section you want to describe the details of your experiment. Which norm did you break, what category does it fall under (folkway, more, etc.), how did you do it, when and where did you break the norm. Also in this section, you need to tell us how other people reacted to your norm violation; did they look at you oddly or make comments?

Analysis

For this section tell us about the meaning behind people’s reactions, how did their reactions make you feel, did their reaction affect YOUR behavior (or would it have if you honestly broke this norm, instead of for a class experiment)?

Conclusion

In this section you need to tie your findings into what you have learned about norms and sanctions. Were the reactions as you expected? Why or why not?

Grading Rubric – Paper Option 2:

Term Paper

Below Avg.

Satisfactory

Excellent

1. Format, organization and structure

0 points_______________________10points

2. Writing mechanics- this includes grammar!

0 points_______________________10points

3. Grasped the assignment and successfully executed the assignment/ Used an empirical source/Addressed each of the five components

0 points_______________________30points

4. Evidenced critical thinking/writing

0 points_______________________10points

5. Demonstrates knowledge of core concepts of norms and sanctions.

0 points_______________________15points

Total Score______________________

Each of you will receive a completed copy of this with your paper.