Du Bois and Mead on Human Nature, Social Stability, Social Change, Inequality, or Power

INSTRUCTIONS: 

You will need to write five papers over the course of the semester, each of which is worth 140 points. Taken together, the papers will constitute 700/1000 points or 70% of your final grade. For the first three papers – Marx, Weber, and Durkheim – you will explain either power, inequality, social change, social stability or human nature from the perspective of the theorist. In other words, how does the theorist conceptualize inequality for example. For the last two papers, you will explain either power, inequality, social change, social stability or human nature from the perspective of two theorists. In other words, the final two papers will necessitate that you compare and contrast one of the five concepts. Think in terms of answering one of the following:

1. Power: How does the theorist conceptualize power? What are the theorist’s basic assumptions about power relations? Who has power, under what conditions, and why?
2. Inequality: How does the theorist explain stratification or social inequality? What are the basic assumptions that underlie the theorist’s understanding of inequality? How is society stratified (what does inequality look like) and why? 
3. Social Change: How does the theorist explain social change? How and why do societies “evolve” over time? What mechanisms account for changes in social structure?
4. Social Stability: How does the theorist explain social stability? What is it that keeps society operating or why does social life not break down into a chaotic mess? What is the social “glue” that holds society together?
5. Human Nature: What does the theorist assume about human nature? What is essential (foundational, core, basic) about human nature, (about what it is to be human)? What are the implications of this assumption?       

Each student will write five 3-4 page papers. The papers should use 12-point font, double-spacing and standard right and left margins. See your handout on How to Format an Academic Paper for details. Short papers will be penalized.

All papers should include the main text as a reference. In addition to the course’s main text, you should use two additional outside references for each paper, either journal or text. Papers that rely on websites will be penalized. The handout ASA Quick Style Guide will aid you in proper citation practices and in formatting a bibliography.