Sociology

Week 2 essay prompt

As I mentioned during class on Wednesday, April 19th, we will be

conducting “breaching experiments” during the next nine days. For those

who either haven’t been attending or paying attention in lecture, here

is a link to an article that provides a tidy summary about the methods

and goals of breaching experiments:

http://wiredcosmos.com/2012/06/07/sociology-in-action-the-breaching-experiment

 

You’re welcome.

 

The writing assignment for this week, will require you to conduct a breaching experiment and write up your findings.

 

The written document you submit must have three parts:

 

For the first part, I want you to describe your breach in as much

hard-boiled detail as you can. This is the “who, what, where, when, how”

part of your assignment. Who did what? What happened? Where did it

happen? When did it happen? How did it happen? In other words, how did

you create some trouble in a familiar scene of life? That’s what you

should focus on here.

 

For the second part, I want you to (1) identify the social norm you

breached and (2) discuss how other people responded to your breach of

the norm. How did others sanction you — or not? What kinds of tactics

did others use to let you know your behavior was “out of line” and/or

not customary for what is expected in that social environment? Why do

you think they used those tactics and not others?

 

Third and lastly, I want you to relate what you have learned during the

breaching experiment to the lecture/reading material on Social Facts.

During the course of conducting your breaching experiment, do you think

you proved the existence of some kind of social fact? Why or why not?

 

The first, second, and third parts of this assignment must each be

between 300-400 words. That means the total length of this assignment =

900-1200 words.

**Remember, do not do anything illegal. A good breach does not hurt

anybody or do damage to property, etc, etc. Breaches are done in the

spirit of “serious play.”**

**I also encourage you to review the assigned readings by Harold

Garfinkel, “Studies of the Routine Grounds for Everyday Activities,” as

well as Emile Durkheim’s “What Makes Sociology Different.” They are

available on the course website**