Gender Socialization Paper  

Overview

In this assignment, you should provide an in-depth analysis of your own gender socialization. You are to apply what C. Wright Mills called the sociological imagination, i.e. you are to analyze how your own experiences with gender socialization were shaped by social institutions and historical forces.

Details

Some of the questions you might consider are:

• What are some of the ways in which you are/were socialized into an “appropriate” gender role?
• How did various social institutions (e.g. your family, mass media, religious institutions, educational institutions, sports etc.) shape your gender identity?
• Why do we place such great importance on “proper” gender role behavior?
• How does society deal with people who violate gender norms?
• How does gender socialization shape who we become as individuals?

Your paper will be evaluated on its structure as well as its content (see grading rubric). It is, therefore, important that your paper is properly structured. It should have an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. The thesis statement makes clear what the main issue of your paper is. After the introduction follows the body of your paper. The body should lay out the various components of your paper. Use this as a rule of thumb: One idea per sentence, one topic per paragraph. After the main body of your paper is completed, finish it off with a concluding paragraph where you draw logical conclusions from the material presented in the body of your paper (not a summary).

In this paper, you must cite three different sources. At least one of these sources should be your textbook, and at least one should be from an academic journal. You should access academic journals through the Columbia College Library. You may use additional academic sources if you wish. You must properly cite all of your sources in the paper and include a bibliography. Columbia College rules regarding plagiarism will be enforced.

Note: online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia are not considered to be valid academic sources.

The paper, worth 140 points, should be no less than 1,000 words, double-spaced with 1” margins. Be sure to include your name on the paper. Save your file as a .doc (Microsoft Word) file and upload it to the appropriate folder in the Dropbox area by Sunday.  PAPER IS DUE BACK TO ME NLT OCTOBER 5TH.  THANK YOU.

Grading

Gender Socialization Paper Rubric

Criteria	Exceeds Expectations	Meets Expectations	Approaches Expectations	Does Not Meet Expectations
Application of sociological imagination, sociological principles and concepts to own experiences	Provides original sociological insights and analyses of personal experiences. 35 points	Provides sociological terms and applies them to personal experiences. 31 points	Provides terms but does not adequately apply them to personal experiences. 24 points	Does not apply sociological terms to personal experiences. 0 points
Explanation of how the self develops sociologically	35 points Explains the social aspects of self, includes explanation of self as a process and not self as a product.  35 points	Explains the social aspects of self. 31 points	Some explanation of the social aspects of self. 24 points	No explanation of how the self develops sociologically. 0 points
Connection of role of social institutions in gender socialization	Clearly connects structural factors to human behavior, addressing major social institutions. 35 points	Some connection of structural factors to human behavior. 31 points	Connection of some/or one structure to one or some human behavior. 24 points	No connection of structural factors to human behavior. 0 points
Sources and citations	Includes three or more academic sources and contains only minor citation errors. 20 points	Includes one or more academic sources and may contain a few citation errors. 18 points	Includes no more than one academic source or there are numerous or major citation errors. 14 points	No academic sources are used. 0 points
Structure, grammar, usage and spelling errors	Clear structure and contains only minor errors. 15 points	Good structure, with few errors. 13 points	Some structure and/or several grammar, spelling, usage errors. 10 points	No structure, and numerous spelling, usage, grammar errors. 0 points