The social construction of sociological reality
Overview:
The final project is an investigation into the social construction of sociological reality in your neighborhood (or where you live). The challenge of this assignment is to “see and hear” the sociological world in your neighborhood (or where you live) through the lenses of the concepts we are discussing in class – i.e. to use the concepts as a framework through which you interpret what is happening in the place you live.
To do this
you will be using the photovoice research method where you will be required to photograph sociological phenomena/reality and then analyze what those photographs represent sociologically. The project involves the following steps:
1. Concept Development: At the end of every class period, we will collaboratively come up with a list of sociological concepts that will be updated by the end of week 5. You are required to work with any 5 concepts from the list.
2. Photovoice Method:
Next, as you live, work, play, travel, and generally interact with your neighborhood, observe and analyze sociological phenomena/reality and consider how the concepts give meaning to that reality so it enters your consciousness. Think of yourselves as sociologically informed detectives, critically observing the world around you. These observations can occur in your workplaces, in parks, at grocery stores, your homes, your living space, in public transit, through social media, on the street you live, when you’re out with friends, going on a walk, exercising, etc. Sociological reality is all around you.
Bring it into your consciousness and be aware of interacting with it and making sense of what is happening around you. Also, Pay particular attention to the operation of power in the intersections of race, class, gender, inequality and your own agency.
3. You are required to take 5 photographs either real or symbolic of the sociological reality you are observing.
There should be 1 photograph for each of the 5 concepts you are working with. For example, if you want to capture the gendered experience of parenting, you may use a photograph of a father playing catch with his daughter or if you want to look at work, you can use a photo of a factory worker. You are free to include yourself in this project. Remember, taking photographs can be construe-d as an invasion of privacy, so be sensitive when snapping pictures and/or ask people’s permission for taking the picture for a course. You are require-d to take photos. NO DOWNLOADING FROM GOOGLE PLEASE! [5 points]
Note about COVID:
I encourage all to follow safety protocol while doing this project. That means, wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and more. For more information on how to stay safe and keep other’s safe, please see the following link: https://uci.edu/coronavirus/
a. I am aware that guidelines around safety protocols are in flux, but please keep your safety and the safety of others in mind as you complete this project.
b. If you have any questions or concerns about the social construction of sociological reality, please reach out to me ASAP.
c. I would also recommend that you keep notes describing the sociological reality/phenomenon you are observing.
3. Analysis & Final Paper: Scan each of these photos on a word document/PowerPoint slide. There should be 5 pages in total. Adjacent to each photo, you will be require-d to write a theoretically informe-d analysis/description of the photograph. Each description should be 2 single-space-d paragraphs. [25 points]
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