Paper #1 (Due Date: February 7st) Socialization

One outcome of socialization is our opinions about important social and political issues.  Many people at the University of Notre Dame are currently engaged in a controversy about students and faculty groups sponsoring controversial events such as the Vagina Monologues and the Queer Film Festival and about the related limitation on academic freedom at a Catholic University.  In your paper, briefly identify where you stand on some aspect of this debate.  Then, identify and discuss at least one important socialization experience you had that contributed to your stance on the issue.  When selecting the socialization experience, be sure that the socialization agent involved was one of the big three (the family, peers, or school). 

Paper #2 (Due Date: March 7) Advertisement Analysis

Find an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper that is less than one year old. Briefly describe the ad and the periodical (and attach it to your paper as well). Consider the content, the communicator, the channel, and the aspects of the target audience for this ad. How will they help to sell the product? Do you think this is an effective ad for selling this product to the readership of this particular periodical?

Paper #3 (Due Date: April 4) Resisting Conformity

Think of an instance in your life when you felt strong pressure to conform to a group and yet you ended up resisting the urge to go along with everyone else—either in opinion or behavior. Analyze this situation using the ideas about conformity and compliance we have discussed in this course. Some potential aspects of the situation you may want to discuss include: Group size, unanimity, cohesiveness, informational versus normative influence, competance, etc. What was it about the SITUATION (not your personality) that helped you to resist conforming?

Note: You may not analyze anything dealing with Notre Dame football—including "the shirt," parietals, or drinking/partying—let's try to get a little more creative!