Sociology Questions

Sociology Questions Research Paper:

Choose any three of the following questions.

• You may use the internet for references as indicated in the questions below. If you use any reference, you are expected to cite it fully.
• You must use a commonly accepted style manual, such as MLA or ASA.
• Choose a style manual with which you are most familiar.
• Follow the requirements of that style manual with regard to the use of citations and the formatting of references.
• Appropriate responses to each of the questions you choose should be should be a minimum of two pages in length.

Questions to choose from in Sociology Questions Research Paper:

1. Online education is becoming a major undertaking for many colleges and universities. Write an essay on online education in which you critique the movement toward online education based on your knowledge of inequality and the internet. Remember that to critique is not to criticize, but to critically discuss. You should consult your readings on the internet and education for guidance here. Some possible questions or issues you may wish to consider include (these should not be the only issues you cover):
   Are children from elite families likely to see much of their education delivered in this fashion? Why or why not?
   Critics argue that internet and computer technology make it easy to turn higher education into "courses" that can be packaged and easily sold as commodities.
   What is lost vs what is gained when colleges put more courses "online?"
   How does or may "online education" reinforce existing patterns of inequality?
2. Castells and other sociologists argue that we live in a "network society." Identify and discuss at least three significant ways in which computer networks have changed American society. Provide examples to illustrate your discussion. Have these changes been positive or negative in nature? You may want to examine your readings by Wellman and Berryman for further assistance. Note that the focus in this question is on computer networks and not on personal computers.
3. Cell phones (an example of wireless networking) have had significant social and economic effects in societies where they have become widely used. Cell phones, then, are a new way of networking people together using wireless communications. Write a short essay entitled "The Sociological Impact of Cell Phones." Identify and discuss at least three significant social effects of cell phones in the US or another country. Provide examples to illustrate your discussion. You should consult the reading by Marc Smith for clarification and assistance.
4. Write a short essay entitled "Sociological Impact of the Internet." In your essay, identify and discuss three important sociological effects of the Internet on American society. Give examples to illustrate your discussion.
5. Politicians in the US and other countries periodically make new demands for increased regulation of the Internet or for the censorship of Internet content. Drawing on the ideas of criminologist David Wall and attorney Marjorie Heins, what should politicians be told about these issues? That is, construct a response to those politicians that illustrates the points that you think Wall and Heins would want to make if they were here.
6. Write a detailed outline for a talk to a class of high school honors students. The title of your talk is "The Future of the Internet." Remember that you will be speaking to a group of bright teenagers and write accordingly. A detailed outline means that you are using both "bullet points" as well as text to accompany those points. You may wish to draw on your readings by Castells ("Challenges of the Network Society,") and Lessig ("Death of Cyberspace") for assistance.