Task One:  You will write a research paper that examines one of the following key themes: 1) emotion rules and their violation, 2) emotional labor, or 3) emotion management. Select ONE of the above generic themes as the basis for the thesis statement for your essay.
Task Two:  Pick a setting/context/topic that will be the focus of your research.  You will develop your own title and project.  From your title you will then develop your thesis statement the answer to the research question that will drive your paper. Below are examples of titles for each of the questions above (These are only examples to get you started). If you are enrolled in the Gender and Womens studies versions of the course your paper must reflect that interest. Regardless of which section you are enrolled in, this review must be sociological.
Emotion Rules: Anger and Gender Roles
Learning Real Feelings: The Case of Funeral Workers
The Managed Self: Doing Emotion Displays
Emotions and Social Control: The Parent/Child Relationship
The Guilty Self: Problem Gamblers in Community
Self-Labeling: Involuntary Childlessness and Perceptions of Self
Deviant Emotions: Breaking Emotion Rules in High-Risk Occupations
Task Three:  Research your central question.  This is a research-based paper.  You will undertake a literature review of materials related to your question.  This review must be sociological.  Avoid non-sociological sources.  It is imperative that you do not write a paper more appropriate for another discipline.  If the journal has words like psychoanalytic, behavioral, clinical, disorder or psychology in the title it is likely a journal that is targeted towards another discipline. Journals that are particularly appropriate for this course include: Qualitative Sociology, Deviant Behavior, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography (formerly Urban Life), Qualitative Sociology Review, Sociological Inquiry, Sociological Quarterly, Symbolic Interaction, Sociology of Health and Illness, American Journal of Sociology, Canadian Journal of Sociology, The American Sociologist, and the British Journal of Sociology.  There are many other sociology journals that are also helpful.  This is a partial list. Use only academic sources for this paper academic books and
academic journal articles should be the basis of the paper.  Where possible, you should be reading primary sources. Avoid non-academic web sites. There is a great deal of material on the web that pertains to emotions that is inappropriate for this course; it is to be avoided.

Task Four:  Write it up.
There are so many papers possible and so many interests that can be accommodated that your paper should engage you and be something you are interested in learning more about. Your essay should be approximately 2500 words.  It must have a clearly defined thesis statement, an introduction that makes clear to the reader the purpose of the paper and its place within sociology, a developed argument that carries on throughout the paper and a conclusion that effectively summarizes the presentation and collects the argument.  Your essay will be fully sourced.  When you make an empirical claim about the social world it must be supported.  Importantly as well, the concepts you are using in the paper need to be defined and fully attributed.  You need to pay your intellectual debts to those whose ideas are influencing your own.  Any well-established sourcing format is acceptable, however Chicago (in-text), ASA or APA are preferred.  Your paper will be free of colloquialisms, contractions, and throwaway phrases such as: In todays society, Since the beginning of time/dawn of time/time immemorial, or Society thinks/believes/feels. It is entirely acceptable to write in the first person. Your paper will include a compete reference section that identifies all work cited in the paper and only work cited in the paper.  Instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.  This is a third-year course, and all students should be familiar with their obligations under the academic integrity policy.  If you have questions about plagiarism or any other aspects of the policy, please ask.