THE SUBJECT IS SOCIOLOGY
MINIMUM 750 WORDS I WOULDN’T GO OVER A 1000 WORDS.
The purpose of this assignment is to have students examine relationships in society, why people conform to or break social norms, and how deviance can lead to social change through social movements or collective behavior.
Background: As we learned in Lesson 5, deviance, which in simple terms is a violation of norms, serves several important functions for society. One of those functions is that deviance can lead to positive social change. Often this occurs through collective behavior or social movements.
Once the initial movement starts, it will either grow or die out. For a movement to grow, more people must get involved. Sometimes, joining in collective behavior or social movements goes against the societal norm and is a form of deviance. Collective deviance of this sort can lead to social change. What makes people join when it goes against social expectations?
For social movements to succeed, people must stay involved. In this lesson, we also learned about the role of strong ties and weak ties in participation in collective behavior and social movements. For example, our text talked about how important strong ties were in keeping individuals heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Those with strong ties in the movement were more likely to stay involved.
Task:
For this assignment, you will investigate/Research a social movement or collective behavior that has led to social change. You may choose from one of the many examples referenced in the text, or you may pick your own example. (Examples range from worldwide social movements to smaller types of collective behavior, such as the recent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.)
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- Briefly describe what the social movement or collective behavior is or was, and when it took place.
- How did this social movement or collective behavior start? Describe a specific event of an individual or group deviating from the norm to make a stand or spread awareness of their social issue.
- How and why did people join the movement in your example? In what way was their behavior deviant? What social norm were they breaking? What kind of sanctions, if any, did they receive for their deviance?
- Define strong and weak ties and describe their role in the social movement or collective behavior you are discussing. How do these ties get and keep people involved? How do they contribute to people dropping out or losing interest?
- Summarize the success or failure of the social movement or collective behavior described in your paper in leading to social change. What is the current state of the movement?
- Have at least three reliable sources. Only cite sources you use and be sure to paraphrase any materials you use and to write your paper in your own words. Provide complete citations with links. Make clear references to concepts and terms from the course text
Expectations and Criteria for Success:
- Your essay should have a minimum of 750 words
