Description

In this paper, devise an argument about a specific subculture that either traces what caused an event or problem, or projects a potential effect. Attention to the quality of evidence and logic will be especially important for this paper.

First, identify a subculture that you would like to consider more carefully. A “subculture” is a small subset of people within a larger culture. For example, skateboarders might be considered a youth subculture and hipsters might be considered an artistic counterculture (or a subculture of the educated middle class). The subculture may be one that has not been identified in popular culture or talked about by academics. In other words, you may by the first to recognize that a particular group of people is worth taking a look at.

Considering this group of people, do one of two things: 1) argue that a particular circumstance led to the formation of the subculture, or 2) explain what causes a problem within or faced by this subculture. Though of course one might analyze the causes of some positive thing (e.g., the Dali Lama and other scholars have written books on the causes of happiness), most academics are interested in problems that need to be understood and, ultimately, solved (e.g., the causes of physical or social ills, such as homelessness).

Your analysis may deal with a single cause or multiple causes, but you will be held to the requirement that the causal relationships you describe be proven convincingly.

Finally, assemble the evidence that you collect in an organized and thoughtful manner, and frame the essay as an analytical argument. Your thesis will be simply that one thing causes another. Base your argument on your real-world experience, prior knowledge, and things that you have observed directly as your evidence to support your claims (personal interviews are acceptable). Therefore, you may NOT use secondary research or sources found online for this assignment.