Paper Topics

If you can demonstrate a specific interest, I am very flexible in the accommodation of paper topics, other than suggested below. Since the ideal final product is a publishable paper, your expertise and interest should be the major determinant of your topic.

1. Religions put into the perspective of mead’s process of building the self

According to Mead, “Self-consciousness” arises in the reflective analysis. It can be argued that this reflective process is supported by some religious practices. Explain the process of creating a self. Differentiate fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist religions in their potential contribution to this process. This reflection should include a number of different religions, not omitting Christianity and Islam.

2. Specify primary and secondary deviance provided in labeling theory to differentiate between stigmatization by others and self stigmatization. 

Starting point for your literature search:

Lemert, E.  (1961). Social Pathology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lemert, E.  (1967). Human Deviance, Social Problems, and Social Control. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Lemert, E. (1981). “Issues in the Study of Deviance.”  Sociological Quarterly 22, 285-305.

3. How is identity or self provided in contemporary music?

Present your definition of identity or self. Choose your term (identity or self) and describe how self/identity is established or at least supported by modern music genres like Heavy Metal, Rock, Crunch, Techno etc. You can choose one of these genres or use several in comparison.

4. How can the dynamic character of Mead’s self be modeled with Stryker’s concept of self?

5. Elaborate and test Schneider’s interpretation of Osgood’s color analogy to meaning.

This interpretation is provided in our www notes at http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/schneider2/5320F02/5320_3b.htm.

In your reader: Osgood, Charles E. “Probing subjective culture.” Journal of Communication, 1974, 24 (1): 21-35 and 82-100. Reprinted in Charles E. Osgood and Oliver C.S. Tzeng. 1990. "Language, Meaning, and Culture, The Selected Papers of C.E. Osgood." Charles E. Osgood and Oliver C.S. Tzeng (Eds.). New York: Centennial Psychology Series.

6. The Gestalt perspective over time.

Describe the origin of the Gestalt perspective, how it was used by Fritz Heider, and what happened to this perspective today?

7. Compare the Gestalt perspective with the dissonance perspective in social psychology. Show differences and similarities.

One dimension of difference can be seen in quality of the creative forces of Gestalt and the pressure we experience id cognitions are dissonant.