Podcast Review
SOC146: Sociology of Privilege
Dr. Tristan Bridges
scenario for the assignment
For this assignment, I want you to imagine that you are a sociologist who studies
educational inequalities in the U.S. After listening to the podcast, you decide that you
are going to write a series of essays summarizing the important sociological research
illustrated in the story told and analysis provided. I want you to imagine this essay is
the first in a series of essays you’ll write summarizing different elements of the podcast
sociologically. Your task is to review the podcast, explain how it relates to sociological
research on privilege we will be reading and learning about in this course, and draw on
course readings and lecture material to zoom in on the piece of the podcast you elect
to write about in greater depth to explain that piece sociologically.
formatting
This paper should be approximately 5-6 pages, double-spaced. Include a reference
section at the end of the paper using APA formatting, listing the references (including
readings and lectures) you cited.
organization and paper details
• Summarize the central question(s) asked and answered in the podcast. Think about
it this way: what questions is Chana Joffe-Walt is attempting to answer? (~1
paragraph)
• How does Joffe-Walt go about answering these questions? What does she do to
investigate the issues she is interested in learning more about? Consider here the
perspectives and specific types of data she utilized. (~1 paragraph)
• Pick a portion of the podcast that you have decided to focus on in depth in this
essay. Take a paragraph to summarize briefly what that specific focus is. (1
paragraph)
• This next portion of your paper can be done in one of two ways:
o First, Summarize and describe the main findings from the component of the
podcast you elect to focus on for the paper. Here, you’ll call upon specific
quotes from informants or specific information presented to summarize the
findings from the part of the podcast you are writing about (this portion should
take approximately 2 pages). Second, you’ll connect course materials with the
portion of the podcast you are writing about. In this section of the paper, you’ll
explicitly connect with course readings and lecture material to help make
sense of white parents’ choices as they relate to the specific part of the
podcast about which you are writing (this portion should also take
approximately 2 pages).
o While the above asks you to segregate your summary of the podcast from your
review of the podcast by situating it relative to sociological work on privilege,
the other option is that you pursue both summary and situated sociological
review at the same time. I still want to see the same amount of space
dedicated to summary and review. But you are welcome to integrate these
sections if you find this easier.
• At the end, offer a 1 paragraph conclusion summarizing the main argument(s) you
have sought to make in the paper about “Nice White Parents.” (1 paragraph)
• Optional: Briefly discuss your opinion on the podcast. Did you like the podcast? Did
you find it convincing? Why or why not? Do you have any criticisms? (~1
paragraph)
• Finally, include references to all of the reading and lecture material cited in the
paper in APA format. Your reference should not be a part of the 5-6 pages of the
body of the paper.
o Lectures can be cited by week. For example:
“Bridges (week 3) discusses the theoretical body of work presenting privilege
as ‘invisible,’ noting that existing scholarship…”
o And you can cite lecture material in your reference section, by week of lecture
as well. For example:
Bridges, Tristan. 2021. Week 3. “On the Relative (In)visibility of Privilege and
Zero-Sum Ideologies of (Dis)Advantage.”
