MAJOR RESEARCH PAPERS

MULTICULTURALISM IN PRACTICE

SOCIOLOGY OF URBAN LIFE AS/SOCI 3830 6.0A

DUE DATE: MARCH 19, 2007

COMMUNITY CAN BE DEFINED AS A COHERENT AREA OF SOCIAL EXISTENCE IDENTIFIED BY A SENSE OF PLACE AND COMMON SENTIMENT. SOMETIMES A COMMUNITY IS MORE PLACE {NEIGHBOURHOOD, VILLAGE, TOWN, ETC.} THAN SENTIMENT, AND SOMETIMES MORE SENTIMENT {ETHNICITY, RELIGION SEXUAL ORIENTATION, ETC.} THAN PLACE.

THE FIRST STAGE OF OUR PROJECT EXPLORED THE MULTICULTURAL REPUTATION OF TORONTO IN TERMS OF FOLKLORE AND LIVED EXPERIENCE.

IN THE SECOND STAGE OF OUR MULTICULTURALISM PROJECT WE ARE GOING TO EXAMINE A PARTICULAR ETHNORACIAL COMMUNITY WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO ITS SETTLEMENT AND RESIDENTIAL PATTERNS – OR – A PARTICULAR NEIGHBOURHOOD IN TORONTO WITH REGARD TO ITS SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

CRITERIA FOR FINAL PROJECT

PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNCOVERING HOW MULTICULTURALISM WORKS IN TORONTO AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, IN TERMS OF ITS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL, ETHNORACIAL AND ECOLOGICIAL STRUCTURE(S). THE GUIDING ISSUES ARE:

1. TO REVEAL THE DIMENSIONS {LANGUAGES/FOODS/FESTIVALS/WORK/COMMUNITY/POLITICS} OF MULTICULTURAL TORONTO

2. TO DOCUMENT NEW AND EMERGING COMMUNITIES

3. TO EXPLORE HOW ETHNORACIAL GROUPS INTEGRATE INTO SOCIETY

4. TO REVEAL NEW FORMS OF MEETING AND SHARING

5. TO EXPLORE WHAT MAKES TORONTO UNIQUE

6. TO EXPLORE THE PERCEPTION OF NEIGHBOURHOOD/ COMMUNITY PROBLEMS AND SERVICES

7. TO SEE IF TORONTO'S MULTIPLE PUBLICS CONSTITUTE A NEW FORM OF CIVIC CULTURE

GUIDING PRINCIPLES: 2007 HAS BEEN DESIGNATED “THE YEAR OF CREATIVITY.” HOW IS YOUR WORK GOING TO BE USED BY THE COMMUNITY? AND HOW IS IT INFORMED BY THE COMMUITY?

Two major dimensions that I will evaluate your writing on are how well you substantiate your statements and arguments and how rigorous and creative you are in dealing with the material and the topic. Here are some suggestions which may be useful.

1. Substantiating your ideas:

(a) Logical argument (This is so because ...).

(b) Empirical evidence (This is an experience or something that can be seen to occur in society. You can base this on your own experience or descriptions from empirical studies that you find in academic literature, or other relevant reading material).

(c) Outside sources (references, paraphrases and quotes from writers in the field that lend support for what you are saying).

(d) Rules for Internet Use: Only online journals and no NGO sites and publications (unless pre-authorized by the Instructor)

2. Achieving analytic depth and creativity:

(a) Analogy (This is like ... e.g., comparing the organization of society to the organization of a human body. Your articulation of comparable characteristics adds a new and revealing way of seeing elements [meanings, practices, and procedure] that make up the situation or phenomenon that your analysing).

(b) Generating your own concepts (Thinking of new labels for or a different way to express or explain a conventionally understood situation, action or process, that brings out dimensions that make it up but which may not be obvious or emphasized in our conventional understandings.

A GOOD ESSAY NEEDS TO HAVE A CLEAR, WELL FOCUSED THESIS, REVIEWS RELEVANT LITERATURE, AND IS ANALYTICAL (NOT SIMPLY DESCRIBING EVENT, BUT EXPLAINING WHY THEY HAPPEN). YOU SHOULD SUPPLY EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR POSITION BY UTILIZING AVAILABLE PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SOURCES.

YOUR ESSAY WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON YOUR ESSAY'S: ACADEMIC CONTENT, CLARITY, ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS, PROPER USE OF SOURCES, PROPER QUOTATIONS AND CITATIONS.. PLEASE REFER TO YORK'S CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC WRITING <http://www.arts.yorku.ca/caw AND THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY ESSAY WRITING GUIDELINES FOR OTHER WRITING RESOURCES. ALSO SEE FILE ON COURSE WEB - “GETTING STARTED APA STYLE”.

1. ESSAY SHOULD BE TYPED AND DOUBLE-SPACED.

2. ESSAY SHOULD BE TYPED IN THE "MLA" OR "APA" FORMAT (YOU MAY WISH TO CHECK WITH THE GUIDE AT THE WRITING CENTRE).

2. ESSAY LENGTH: 8 TO 10 PAGES

3. ESSAY SOURCES: 10 ACADEMIC SOURCES – SOCIOLOGY JOURNALS/ BOOKS

4. ESSAY ON WHITE PAPER AND STAPLED IN THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER. (NO BINDERS PLEASE).

4. MAKE SURE TO HAVE A SECOND PRINT OF YOUR ESSAY (NOT ON THE DISKETTE) FOR YOUR OWN FILES BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR PAPER.

5. ESSAY MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A COVER PAGE CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING:

STUDENT NAME AND CLASS

. STUDENT EMAIL

. ESSAY TITLE

. DUE DATE:

. NAME OF PROFESSOR

. NAME OF COURSE

NOTE ON SOCIOLOGICAL METHOD: THERE IS NO PRESCRIBED SOCIOLOGICAL METHOD PER SE FOR THIS PROJECT, BUT YOU MUST CONNECT TO AND INCORPORATE SOCIOLOGICAL LITERATURE. (EXPLANATION: THINK IN TERMS OF CONTRIBUTING TO AN ON-GOING CONVERSATION. IN ORDER TO DO THAT YOU NEED TO TAKE THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION INTO ACCOUNT, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO IT.)

NOTE ON PLAGIARISM: PLAGIARISM REFERS TO USE OF IDEAS, WORDS, SENTENCES, DATA, ARGUMENTS, CALCULATIONS OR OTHER WORK DONE BY SOMEBODY ELSE WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGMENT. PLAGIARISM IS CONSIDERED AS AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENSE AND CARRIES PENALTIES. YOU SHOULD PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO PROPER CITATION AND QUOTATION RULES IN YOUR ESSAY. YORK UNIVERSITY USES SOFTWARE THAT CAN CHECK FOR PLAGIARISM. STUDENTS MAY BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR WRITTEN WORK IN ELECTRONIC FORM AND HAVE IT CHECKED FOR PLAGIARISM.

**NOTE ON EMAILING PAPERS: NO EMAILING PAPERS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES