The purpose of this assignment is twofold:
ONE---to familiarize you with the vast amount of sociological information on the Internet.
TWO---to allow you to explore information of your choice concerning each of the six (6) major institutions we're covering in this course. The six are:
1. Education
2. Family (and Marriage)
3. Political Economy
4. Media
5. Religion
6. Health and Health Care
For each of the six institutions...select two (2) websites which deal with some aspect of that institution...for a total of twelve (12) sites. A "website" may include an "article" about it...but only one of the two may be an article.
---For each regular website you pick:
1. Indicate the title of it
2. Provide the URL (Internet address---http://...)
3. Describe what is there...what's on this site?
4. Explain and Assess what's there...i.e....what point of view does it take...how does it do it, etc.
---For each article you pick:
1. Title and author and URL of the article
2. Short Summary of the article
3. Assess the article
4. Select one (1) quote from it and analyze it.
Write a short summary of what you found, including what you have learned from your research.
1. WARNING: This assignment is not one to put off until the last week of the course. You should begin searching for websites/articles of interest to you right away...probably as we cover each institution.
2. If you want to include a few printouts, that's fine. But don't overdo it and specifically, don't substitute printouts for the commentary required above.
3. There are many Search Engines available, especially Google. You can also explore The Sociology Shop and utilize sites and articles within it. You can take a look at the TSS Directory. The Sociology Room is a good place to examine. It has a number of "megasites" which are very useful...especially Sociosite and A Tour of Cyberspace...plus others. However, you CANNOT use any sites or articles which are already Required Reading for the course (as listed in the ONLINE READER).
4. Just because you don't "like" a site or article doesn't mean it's useless or not sociologically relevant or interesting. However, don't pick sites you find no value in and then just write a few derogatory words about it.
5. Especially for those of you new to searching the Internet, if you need help, I'm willing to help get you started...contact me.
