A white wedding dress. The limo at the prom. Black gowns at graduation. What do all these things have in common? They’re all part of the system of rituals in our lives. They mark beginnings, endings and transformations.
Your Assignment
You are an event planner who also happens to be studying social sciences at university. You have been asked to organize a very special event and have decided to submit this as a paper for your Social Science 101 course.
You may pick one of the following rituals:
• wedding
• bar or bat mitzvah
• bachelor or bachelorette party
In your proposal, make sure you cover the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where and why). You do not need to list them in these specific categories. You should include (but not limit yourself to):
WHO
• Who is invited? Why?
• Who gets input and/or final say on who gets invited?
• Who participates? Is it a family-only affair? Friends?
• Who pays and what are the implications of that?
WHAT
• What food and drink will be served? Will it be pot luck? Catered? Served at a restaurant?
• What will be the dress code for the event?
• What is the approximate budget? (It is not necessary to provide detailed components, just give me an idea as to how much you plan on spending and why).
• What special “events” will take place (e.g. speeches, jokes, stories, etc.). Who will take part? Why?
• Are photographs an important part of this event? Why or why not?
WHEN
• What time of the day will the event be held?
• How long will it last?
• Must it be co-ordinated with any other event?
• How far in advance must the invitations be issued?
WHERE
• Where will the ceremony or ritual take place? In a public place? Private home? Institution (church, synagogue, mosque, city hall)
WHY (this is the most important part)
• Pick the top 5 “must haves” of this ceremony. Why are the components so important to us?
• Research the origins of the important rites in your event from an anthropological, sociological or psychological perspective. Make sure to link them to what you’ve learned in this course.
• For example, the tradition of the father “giving away the bride” goes back to the days when the male head of the house had complete control over the women in his household. Thus the gesture is linked to the father transferring responsibility for the bride from himself to her new husband.
FORMAT
• You will create a scrapbook detailing the organization of your ritual. The analysis of the importance of the rituals may be integrated into your scrapbook or be a separate addendum. In your scrapbook you should include:
• A title page
• A table of contents
• A copy of an invitation to the event (drawing, computer-generated image or actual invitation)
• A menu
• A plan of activities
• A visual depiction of certain very important aspects of the ceremony
• An analysis of the origins and importance of the top 5 “must haves” (either integrated or addendum). You will need to include citations and a bibliography outlining the sources you used. You should access a minimum of two good sources.
EVALUATION
Please refer to the rubric for evaluation criteria. This assignment is an opportunity for you to fulfill the following course expectations:
Students will select topics relevant to the social sciences, develop and execute research plans using appropriate social science research methods
Students will communicate the results of their research clearly and effectively, according to social science protocol.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of major theories, perspectives, and research methods in anthropology; psychology and sociology.
Students will be able to explain, from the differing perspectives of the 3 disciplines, how diverse factors influence and shape human mental processes, culture and behaviour
Students will be able to explain patterns of human socialization from the perspectives of all 3 disciplines.
This assignment is due _____________________________________________________
