Students are required to do research on and sociologically analyze a musical album. The paper will consist
of an introductory section, which will introduce the reader to the album. In this section, the student will take
one to two paragraphs and provide background information on the artist, the album and an overall summary
of the themes and concepts that she/he/they will discuss in their paper. The paper will be divided into
subheadings and each subheading will be the title of a song on the album. For example, if the album has 10
songs then there will be at least ten subheadings in the paper, with each heading as the songs title. Under
each heading you will describe the song and explain the sociological themes in that song. You will use lyrics
from the songs to substantiate your argument and display the sociological themes, concepts, theories and
notions in each song. You will connect lyrics, various songs and their themes to readings, lectures and
discussions from the class. This is the most important part of the paper. If you can not show how to
consistently apply or contrast theories, ideas, arguments and themes from the class and readings to/from the
album, then your grade may not be as high as you would like. You are required to cite five to seven articles
and/or books in your analysis of the album. It will be even more impressive if you are able to sociologically
analyze, not only the lyrics, but the music in the album as well. You should conclude your paper with a one
to two paragraph recap of the themes you discussed and your overall opinion of the musical project. The
assignment is
due 11/11
.
