SOC 100: Sociology of Everyday Life Fall 2025
Instructor: Dr. Jackie Burnside Name ________________
Data Workshop #1: Sociological Imagination*, Social Facts, and a Timeline (15%) Due: Sept. 22nd
Introduction: The task of Sociology, and its “promise”, as sociologist C. Wright Mills explained, is to help humans understand “the intersection between biography and history” (Ferris and Stein). By developing our sociological imagination, we can see links between our personal troubles (micro level) and the larger social forces (macro level) that influence our lives. For instance, sociologist W.E.B. DuBois’ concept of double consciousness described the dual identification that racial minorities encountered living in America in the 19th and 20th centuries (Ferris and Stein).
Purpose: This assignment directs students to develop a timeline that identifies societal factors that affect one’s personal life (micro level of family and friends) and their wider community (meso level of neighborhoods, schools/clubs & groups, religious and civil organizations) and the social world (macro level of state/region/nation).
Directions: Choose time periods most relevant in your personal biography with your family’s experiences across two to four generations, if possible, about 40 to 100 years.
- Choose two or three aspects of your life and family’s experiences to consider in a broader (macro) view, especially within a greater historical perspective. In your Hutchins Library research, discover three sources that will be useful. Ranging from the personal (micro) to the group/societal (macro) views, think about ways your social class, religion, gender, race and/or ethnicity, have affected events in your life.
- As you become aware of social patterns, apply concepts and some of the major sociological perspectives our text provides (Structural-Functionalist, Conflict, Symbolic Interactionist, Feminist, and Post Modern).
- Your Timeline, and typed commentary (word count = 850-900), should include application of three of our major sociological perspectives. Discuss your decision-making process about which items to include and why. What things influenced your interpretation, your meaning, of selected items?
Data Workshop: Sociological Imagination* and a Timeline
Name ________________
Feedback scale: Very Good (20-18); Good (17-16); Fair, mostly satisfactory (15-14);
Unsatisfactory (13-12); Poor (11-0)
_______________________ Readability of Timeline with interesting Title and content.
_______________________ Timeline: displays relevance of eight to ten events/factors being studied.
_______________________ Time span: has details to support two+ generations’ in Families’ experiences.
_______________________ Applies three major theoretical perspectives and related concepts.
________________________ Discussion of social patterns in commentary gives evidence of Sociological Imagination.
________________________ Resources: have used at least three sources, with proper APA citation for text, graphics and/or images, a Works Cited page.
________________________ Writing Mechanics: organization (paragraphs), grammar, punctuation, spelling, word count 850- 900 in commentary.
______ Grade and Comment: ___________________________________________
