OPTION #2: ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT: 5-7 page Think of a social norm that you have seen violated by a character in a film, television show, literary novel, or other form of media. It should be a situation where everyone knows what the appropriate behavior would be without having to think about it, with the exception of the character who is violating the norm. Observe this norm violation in the media you selected long enough to note at least three reactions from other characters. I suggest taking notes about other people’s reactions and your own personal feelings throughout the process. Then, develop a paper following the following instructions. INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT PAPER: Note that using subheadings (bolded below) for the five sections is required. 1) In your paper, begin with an Introduction paragraph in which you generally discuss social norms and what happens when (legal) ones are broken in society. For help writing Introductions, check out 2) Then, under the subheading of Method: Include a 1 paragraph overview explaining what media you analyzed. Explain which norm was violated—i.e., what is normally done vs. what was done differently. Be sure to include the source of this media under References and cite it within your text. 3) Under the subheading of Findings: Include at least a 1 page analysis that includes: • Your personal feelings: how did you feel while observing the norm violation during it, and afterward? • Other people’s reactions during the violation. Did anything unusual or substantial happen because of the norm violation? How did you know what other characters were thinking and feeling about the violation? Were there any notable patterns that arose in people’s reactions? 4) Under the subheading of Discussion: Include a 5-7 page analysis in which you reflect on your findings. Using the course concepts and ideas discussed and read thus far in the course, how can you understand and interpret the interactions of others? How can you understand your own experience/feelings about norm breaching? In this discussion, you must: • Clearly apply at least three (3) relevant sociological concepts/theories f to the deviant behavior you analyzed in this experiment. • Clearly apply findings from at least 5 meaningful up-to-date resources, three (3) of which are from reputable academic journals to the deviant behavior you analyzed in this experiment. They should not be dated before 2011. NOTE: do not include the actual notes you took during the observations. You need to analyze and discuss the notes, but not include/list them in your paper. 5) End with the References page.
