This year, we’ve all experienced the effects of living through the COVID-19 pandemic.  The coronavirus has disrupted our individual lives on a micro level and our social institutions on a macro level.

For this assignment, you’ll submit a 3-4 page paper in which you reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic through the use of sociological concepts.  You can choose to include personal experiences, or you can write in the third person if you prefer.  You’re not required to use outside sources, but if you do, please cite them in the format of your choice. 

As you write your paper, please refer to these steps:

1) Include a brief introduction.

2) Discuss one significant aspect of the pandemic.  I’ve included some ideas below; feel free to draw on these or to choose your own.

3) Apply course concepts to your analysis of this aspect.  You can be flexible in how you do this, as there is a lot to work with.  It’s fine to use material from OpenStax that we haven’t discussed yet in lecture, as long as you feel comfortable that you understand the material. 

4) Repeat steps 2 and 3, discussing two more aspects of the pandemic. 

5) Apply one of the “Big Four” theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, feminism, or symbolic interactionism) to your discussion.  How can we view the pandemic and its effects through that lens?  This should be its own paragraph and should tie up your earlier analysis of three factors. 

6) Briefly conclude your paper.  Your application of theory can serve as a conclusion paragraph if you’d like, or you can add a short concluding paragraph afterward.