Analyzing an institutional crisis

The social institutions is the family

Throughout the course and in module 7, you have focused upon various crises that occur and have occurred in key social institutions. You have also explored how different theoretical perspectives approach complex social issues and problems, and you have evaluated many research approaches, or methods, as analysts try to understand and solve difficult social and institutional dilemmas. You will now turn your attention to an independent research project in which you thoughtfully analyze a contemporary or historical crisis in a key social institution.

Drawing upon the readings and videos from Modules 7 and 8 about crises in social institutions, among other readings in the course that piqued your interest, you will construct a research paper that focuses upon a crisis in an important institution. The institution that you choose to focus upon is completely up to you, and you may draw on the analysis in Module 7 on finance and the economy, or alternatively, your readings on the family, education, media, the military, other governmental institutions, and so forth. As we have already focused on healthcare, please do not make that the institution of your focus in this paper. In your paper, please address yourself to the following questions:

Choose a specific social institution (other than medicine). There are a variety of important social institutions from which you may choose, but here are a few suggestions: the economy, education, the family, the military, education and religion. Explain in a few sentences why you chose that institution — for example, how is the institution you have chosen particularly important to society? What influence and roles does the institution have and play in the broader society, economy or political system?
Next, explain how the social institution you are focusing upon is interrelated with other social institutions. For example, if you are focusing upon a crisis in the family, you might explain how the family is influenced and influences the economy. (Remember, there are any number of combinations here, so be creative in how you describe these interactions among institutions). This helps explain the importance of the institutional crisis you have selected upon, and is a form of social network analysis, a methodology employed frequently by social science researchers.
Now, describe the specifics of the crisis you are focusing upon. Be very clear about how you are defining this particular crisis. Feel free to use statistics or any type of descriptive device. For example, if you are focusing upon the economy, what are some key statistical measures that are used to determine whether or not the economy is in crisis, or the problems of regulating finance, for example, are becoming acute? The same could go for education, families, or any social institution. In short, what are the most important measures that we need to look at that can help anyone on the street gain an insight into the crisis. Cite specific references in order to defend the data, or information, and the method you are employing to describe the scope and significance of the crisis.
Finally, using the literature from the module, or from your own research throughout the course, or both, please use and apply at least one theoretical model in social science to help explain how to solve this particular crisis. For example, is a more liberal, laissez-faire approach to this crisis appropriate? What about a Marxist orientation, or a stricter governmental regulatory approach? Or, is this a crisis that requires more sunshine, and bottom-up popular reform generated from the people, or citizenry themselves? The type of theoretical perspective you choose is totally up to you, but be clear in its definition and application to the facts you have assembled to describe the crisis and analyze its possible remedy!
To successfully complete Project 4, you will need to organize your responses to these questions and then craft a formatted essay that includes each of the following:

A title page;
Well-developed introductory paragraph explaining the purpose of the essay and briefly referencing some of the main points/contentions offered in the essay;
The body of the essay should consist of your effort to best answer the primary questions from the assignment prompt and should consist of at least 1,500 words of text (at least 6 pages of double-spaced and 12-point font of text). Though the method by which this is done is largely up to you, it is essential that the responses to the questions in the prompt be based upon scholarly readings and should remain at all times defensible (in an academic sense). You have a great deal of information to draw from in creating your essay, including the assigned readings and hyperlinked sources in the module notes. As is the case with every assignment in LA498SS, presenting any unsubstantiated, illogical, or indefensible position will have an adverse effect on the final grade. Please direct any questions regarding these expectations to the instructor;
A concise concluding paragraph that briefly restates both the purpose of the essay as well as some of the primary argument offered by you, the essays author. Be sure the concluding paragraph does not introduce new information;
A list of all sources consulted the preparation of the essay. The essay should be formatted according to APA-style documentation. This includes the format of the list of references.