For any sociology course, it is very important to start developing your research paper topic as early as possible. So, here are a few tips for that purpose. First, you need to decide what aspects of race/ethnicity (broadly defined) you are going to pursue. To give you some guidance, lets look at how Americans rank-order various social problems as of now.
In a Gallup poll conducted in June 2020, a national sample of 1,000 adults was asked, What do you think is the most important problem facing the country today? The top sixteen results are as follows:
Rank
Problem
%
1
The government/Poor leadership
32
2
Immigration
11
3
Economic problems
11
4
Health care
10
5
Unifying the country
6
6
Environment/pollution
5
7
Race relations / Racism
4
8
Judicial systems / Courts / Laws
3
9
Lack of respect for each other Poverty/Hunger/Homelessness
3
10
Ethics / Morals / Religious / Family Decline Education
3
11
Poverty / Hunger / Homelessness
2
12
Guns
2
13
Education
2
14
Foreign policy / Foreign aid / Focus overseas
1
15 National security 1
16 Drugs 1
Source: www.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem-aspx
As you can see, Americans still see Race Relations/Racism as socially problematic as it is ranked #7. In addition, it is also important to realize that Race Relations/Racism is also intertwined with some, if not all, of the social problems listed above. That is, the race factor could be as relevant as any other social factor in explaining immigration, poverty, health care, poverty, education, etc. So, if you havent developed your own topic, then you may want to pick one of the social problems listed above and explore how Race relations/Racism is relevant in explaining the said social problem.
Second, you need to refine your chosen race issue as much as possible. How can we do that? Well, instead of focusing on, say racism, you may want to focus on a specific type, such as symbolic, color-blind, aversive, or laissez-faire racism. Similarly, instead of focusing on legal & illegal immigrants, you focus on a specific type, such as DREAMers, DACA recipients, Caravan Migrants, etc.
Third, at the minimum, I want you to discuss three main theoretical perspectives in sociology structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism each of which offers insights into the causes and consequences of race-related social issues. Of course, you want to address which perspective makes better sense in explaining the said social problem. I attach a couple of articles so that you can be familiar with more advanced race theories such as critical race theory or color-blind racism theory.
To conclude, as long as you have these three parts, it is totally up to you how you tailor the rest of your research paper. We will formally discuss these components later when we reach Student-led discussion.
Discussion Assignment
For this mini-module, you are required to post your research paper topic.
If you wish, you may make comments on others topics, but it is not required.
You need to follow the following format:
Write a paragraph or so about what you intend to study. As stated above, you may begin with a broad connection such as race and immigration, Asians and model minority, Native Americans and poverty, “modern racism,” etc. After that, try to narrow it down as much as you can. For example, Changes in immigration patterns: increases in unaccompanied minors, Asians and Harvard admission trials, The Foxwoods Casinos: bigger than casinos of Atlantic City but for whom? “Colorblindness: Is it really racism?
Define core concepts clearly and concisely. For example, if you are going to research the effect of gentrification on racial segregation, then you have to clearly define what exactly gentrification is. Do not take anything for granted and try to sociologically define all relevant concepts. Until you give us what exactly you mean by each concept, many of us may have different perceptions of the same concept.
Finally, state what sociological significance your topic has. Once again, dont just say that it is important to study your topic. Instead, tell us why it is important to study that (sociologically).
While it is not required at this point, you may want to build your reference sources as we will disclose them when we get to Student-led discussion in Module 6.
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