Milestone One: Selecting a Sociological Topic/Issue for the Final Project (100 pomts) Summary: The task for Milestone One is to select any broad or specific Sociological Topic/Issue of your choosing for the Final Project as seen in Module 8. Note that the field of Sociology covers just about anything and everything --- so try to select something that interests you. For example, you can consider a topic that relates to: your major or career aspirations, an important social issue/problem, environmental issue/problem, an interest/hobby, an organization you belong to or would like to learn more about, or anything that fascinates you. If you need some inspiration finding a topic, | recommend scanning each of the textbook chapters (Modules 1 - 7) for some ideas. Also, you can do a Google Scholar search, check out the ASA (American Sociological Association) website, or use any other research method to find a topic. Some common broad subject areas in the discipline include Sociology of: Culture, Environment, Groups, Religion/Spirituality, Race! Ethnicity, Crime! Law/ Deviance, Social Movements, Gender, Sex/Sexuality, Health/Healthcare/Mental Health, Politics, Economy, Population, Family, Education, Social Change, Technology, Global Issues... virtually anything! The Pima Library and Librarians are a fantastic resource. Our course homepage has a widget to a library resource as well. If you still need help selecting a topic, feel free to reach out to me and we can discuss. The point here is to pick something that interests you so you will be able to analyze it sociologically in the next milestones. What you will submit for Milestone One: On one page (one paragraph per item 1-3), provide concise but complete responses to the following: 1) Your topic selection and description for instructor's approval (40 points) a) What is the broad sociological topic or issue you are considering? b) Next, how might you narrow the topic/issue down? For example if you are choosing "culture" as your broad topic area, what specific topic about culture are you considering? Would it be a specific sub-culture(s) / counter-culture(s)? ...cu|ture of a specific thing such as work, religion, media, food, art, etc.? You can apply this reasoning to any of the broad sociological subject areas. c) What are some key sociological terms and concepts that relate to your research topic/issue? 2) Why is this topic important? (40 points) a) Describe why the topic/issue at large is significant. Why is this topic/issue important to society? How can research and further understanding on this topic/issue benefit society? Why is this topic/issue important to you personally? Why are you selecting it? b) Consider describing some current andfor past research findings on your topicfissue to help introduce it to your audience. You don't have to go into great detail on the research review here... we will get to the research review aspect of this project in Milestone Two. c) Describe who the audience of your research investigation might be? Would it be professionals in a certain field, peers, certain groups or organizations, specific populations, and so forth. 3) Choose a format for the Final Project (Yes, you can change this at any time). The Final Project can be any one of the following options (20 points): a] Research Paper: Formatted in APA/ASA style; 4-5 pages - approximately 2,000 words, not including the title page and references section. The research paper should also include some visual aspects such as images, evidence/data, and be formatted to look like a professional piece with organized themes. You can make this a more journalistic type of analysis and investigation as well. b) Presentation: Formatted in APAXASA style. At least 5 - 7 slides (not including the title slide or references slide). The presentation must include "Speaker Notes" or analysis as though you were giving the presentation --- approximately 2,000 words. Do n_ot simply put all of the written analysis on the slides. You can use any application such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides, etc. There must be some effort put into the design of the presentation (e.g. themes, images, evidence/data, etc.) c) Website: Also, formatted in APA/ASA style. There are numerous free options out there such as Google Sites, Wix, Weebly, Word-Press, and so forth --- the selection is up to you. There must be at least 2,000 words of analysis and some effort put into the design of the website (e.g. themes, images, evidence/data, etc.). This is a great opportunity to be creative and explore a new skill using a sociological topic/issue as a theme