Students should write an essay on a current social issue of their choice such as homelessness, abortion, gang violence, the culture of poverty, teen pregnancy, etc. Students should contact their instructor if they are unsure if a topic qualifies for this assignment. The ultimate goal of this paper is to discuss the causes and context of a social problem, as well as to provide potential remedies for it in general society and from the Christian worldview. The first portion of the assignment should address students’ own personal observations of the issue, with anecdotal examples. A detailed discussion should be provided by students on the topic concerning how society and the Church each address the issue (or not) and how each one provides support (or not). One supportive primary current APA citation (or more) is included in this section, which should be approximately 500 words long. In the last part of the assignment, students are to objectively analyze the issue utilizing scholarly sources such as the textbook, and explain how it relates to one of the three main sociological theories discussed in this course (symbolic interactionism, class conflict theory, or functional analysis).
