I need crazy ideas for my sociology paper!!!?

Question

I have to write a paper on social norms and I have to do something in public (at least 3 times) that isn't a social norm. For some reason I'm completely stumped on this and I have 3 days to write the paper. Any ideas???

I.E.: Trying to have a conversation with someone when they're in the urnal next to you, hugging someone you just met (or a stranger)....something that is not normal in our society.


GET CREATIVE!! I'm really excited about this paper!

LOL....keep in mind....I'm a woman! :)

Answer 1

Here are a few suggestions that are quite doable, because they are not too extreme:

1. You could go to a fancy restaurant and eat all courses with your hands. (NOT an Ethiopian restaurant though, where this is the norm!). Make sure you order something with a lot of sauce on it. Grab your glass of water without wiping your hands, etc. Lick your fingers afterwards and belch loudly.

2. Passionately kiss your boyfriend in public, preferably in a place where you don't normally do that (for instance, in a library; at a concert, at the theater, at the opera, anywhere where people usually behave "conventionally").

3. Paint your face in the colors of your favorite sports team, when you are NOT going to a match. Go to school, to work, to grab a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, to buy groceries,etc. and act absolutely normal, as if there's nothing unusual going on. (Make sure it's NOT Halloween! :)

4. Pick your nose in public; carefully analyze your "products".

5. Say "good night" to people in the middle of the day; say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter" in September. (You have to keep a straight face, though.)

6. Greet the people you know with a kiss on the cheek. (In other countries this is actually a norm.) Seeing how they get all stiff and confused is priceless! :) Even better, try to greet them with the usual greeting in Alaska, nose-rubbing! :)))

There are also more extreme options, like going grocery shopping topless, but that might get you into trouble....:)

Answer 2

Obviously, you can't know EVERYTHING that is in the book. As for the essay, it's always a good idea to write after you've organized your thoughts. I'm not familiar with Haralambos and Holborn, but I suspect that it's pretty much like most other introductory texts in sociolgy. So, try something like this: Haralambos and Holborn have produced a fascinating text about the scientific study of human populations. This is a major undertaking, and they've managed the task by dividing the book into four major sections (or however many). Section One deals with the origin of sociology at the end of the nineteenth century in France. The authors identify Auguste Comte as the founder of this new science. However, the first actual study was conducted by another Frenchman, Emile Durkheim.... (elaborate on others who are mentioned). The authors also introduce the basic language of sociology, a review of how the scientific method is utilized, and some basics about the concepts of society and culture.... Section Two deals with the development of human nature. Socialization is the process by which we internalize out culture....etc. Section Three is concerned with the major social institutions. Specifically, the authors elaborate on the family, education, religion, the economy, and the political strurctures of society....etc. Finally, in Section Four, Haralambos and Holborn turn their attention to factors that bring about change in society. The discuss the dynamics of populations growth, the development of urban areas, and some specific theories about social change. The book has given me the background that I feel will enable me to continue the study of society at the university level. Blah, blah, blah. Get the idea? . .

Answer 3

What I did when I had to do this was sang all the time whenever I had a conversation with someone in public; checking out in a store, ordering at a restaurant, whatever. The best/ worst part not only was I singing but I don't have a very nice singing voice. I got many different reactions.

Answer 4

Can be done in any restaurant. Easy to generate sound effects guaranteed to disgust all and sundry.

1. Slurp your soup real loud.
2. Gargle your throat with the water they give you, toss back your head and make sure you are heard. Then spit back into the glass; for extra gross, drink the water after that.
3. Re-enact the fake orgasm scene from When Harry met Sally.
4. Blow your nose loudly using the napkin, wipe your nose with your blouse sleeve or the table cloth.

Ahhh, maybe you won't last that long before they kick you out of the place :-).

Answer 5

One idea would be to just invade people's personal space...for example, you're waiting in line at a store and you stand really close to the person in front of you.

You could bark like a dog in public (or make some other kind of weird animal noise), loudly and for no apparent reason.

You could walk up to someone in a restaurant, take a little food off their plate, eat it, then walk away (that could get you in some trouble though).

You could go out in public with curlers in your hair or wearing a shower cap.

You could eat some kind of food that gives you really bad gas and then purposely go out and try to bomb strangers in public with rank bodily emissions to see how they will react (and act proud!).

Just a few ideas I had...enjoy.

Answer 6

You're a guy, right? Walk into a department store and go up to a woman in the lingerie department. Ask her any of the following questions: I'm trying to get my wardrobe together. Do you have any suggestions as to what my size of hose would be? Do you know what kind of chemise my boyfriend would like? Do you think my boyfriend would like to see me in these bikinis?

Another idea: Go into a regular (not gay, etc.) restaurant and tell your waiter/waitress that you heard there were sex change people in there, and you're wanting to meet someone "like that," and see what happens.

Or: Go up to a woman and say, "I'm a virgin, and I would so like to not be one. Could you help me?" (Understand that you might have the cops come on that one.)

Go into anywhere, start talking penis size, etc., and then say, "Oh by the way, I lost mine in an accident. Do you know anyone who could fix that?"

Answer 7

Elevator conversation/ or lack there of.
I have a friend that has to buy something if she goes into a restaurant just to use the bathroom
Using a toothpick/floss in earnest after a meal

Answer 8

You must not live in california ,, try to keep people from stepping on ants , although you'll need to bring them probably or place two rocks on the ground and try to get people to walk between them rather then around them .... I don't know you got yourself a tuffy there