You will be asked to conduct a case study project on a specific African community and its development. This library project should contain a general ethnographic description of the community and an analysis of an important aspect of social change that takes place within it.
Employ one of the models of change (the disequilibrium model or the dialectical model) that we have discussed in class. You may also use an American community as an example and a source of comparison with an African community.
You have three topic choices: (1) the study of a single traditional or modern African community in transition; (2) a comparison of aspects of social change in two African communities; or (3) a comparison of social change in one African and one American community. Narrow your report down to cover particular areas of community life and social change, for example: family structure, economic life, urbanization, the effects of migration, culture, communication, or politics. Your midterm paper should be fifteen pages long.
A. An appraisal of the community’s social organization: Is it egalitarian or hierarchical? What are the major social, cultural, and economic divisions in the community? What are the belief structures and ideologies of the community? Use these questions to frame your thesis statement. (Introduction to your research paper.)
B. A case study of a particular aspect of the community, for example, its politics, family structure, economy, responses to foreign aid and NGOs, or religion. What are the most important themes and patterns in this part of community life? (Part A of your research paper.)
C. A comparison of two communities should be started now, if you choose this approach. Compare cultural, social, and political organization.
D. A statement of the major social changes in the community using one of the social change models discussed in class. Here you reiterate and test your thesis statement. Apply the disequilibrium model or the dialectical model of change to your data. (Part B of your research paper.)
E. A concluding assessment of the community’s situation at present or during the period to which your study applies. (Conclusions to your research paper.)