SOCIOLOGY 301: Fall 2008 

Written Debates and Oral Presentations

• Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legally Recognized?
• Does Divorce have Long-term Damaging Effects on Children?
• Is Increasing Economic Inequality a Serious Problem?
• Has Welfare Reform Benefitted the Poor?
• Is Competition the Reform That Will Fix Education?
• Is Street Crime More Harmful than White Collar Crime?

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legally Recognized?

• Focus on the Family
• Alliance for Marriage
• Traditional Values Coalition
• Same-Sex Marriage is a Feminist Issue
• Capitol Resource Institute
• 50-State Rundown on Gay Marriage Laws
• Attitudes About Homosexuality & Gay Marriage
• Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples
• Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature
• Freedom to Marry
• Human Rights Campaign Marriage Center
• Public Agenda: Gay Rights
• Public Agenda: Gay Rights Fact File

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Does Divorce Have Log-term Damaging Effects on Children ?

Print & Electronic Resources:
"Marriage and Divorce in the United States." 21st Century Sociology. 2006. SAGE Publications. 15 Aug. 2008
Children of Divorce John H. Harvey, Mark A. Fine Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004 (an electronic book accessed through NetLibrary)
Between two worlds : the inner lives of children of divorce. Elizabeth Marquardt New York : Crown Publishers, c2005. 306.89 M357b
Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage edited by E. Mavis Hetherington. Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999 (an electronic book accessed through NetLibrary)

• Focus on the Family
• Traditional Values Coalition
• Concerned Women of America
• American Family Association
• Family Research Council
• National Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning
• National Council on Family Relations
• National Center for Children and Families
• Families and Work Institute
• "The Emerging 21st Century American Family" (an online report)
• The State of Our Unions
• America's Families and Living Arrangements
• Public Agenda: The Family
• Public Agenda: Family Fact File

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Is Increasing Economic Inequality a Serious Problem?

• Inequality.org
• Understanding Poverty and Economic Inequality in the United States (from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative thinktank)
• Globalization and Economic Inequality (from Counterpunch, a political newsletter)
• Economic Policy Institute
• Center for Economic and Social Rights
• Center for Freedom and Prosperity
• G8 Information Center
• The Claremont Institute
• FairEconomy.org
• Capitalism.org
• Moving Ideas
• FreedomWorks
• Americans for Prosperity
• Public Agenda: The Economy
• Public Agenda: The Economy Fact File

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Has Welfare Reform Benefitted the Poor?

• Office of Family Assistance
• Moving Ideas: Welfare
• Welfare Reform Academy
• Urban Institute: Research by Topic: Publications on Welfare Reform and Safety Net Issues
• Losign Health Insurance: The Unintended Consequences of Welfare Reform
• Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues (from the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research institute)
• Welfare Reform May Inadvertently Harm Children
• Understanding Welfare Reform
• Poverty, Welfare, and Income Security: Institute for Women's Policy Research
• The Heritage Foundation: Welfare
• Alabama Policy Institute: Welfare
• ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)
• Institute for Research on Poverty
• Public Agenda: Poverty and Welfare
• Public Agenda: Poverty and Welfare Fact File
• The Continuing Good News about Welfare Reform (from the Heritage Foundation)
• Wefare Facts at a Glance (from the Economic Policy Institute)
• Welfare Reform: Michael Tanner Congressional Testimony March 9, 1995
• Hunger and homelessness continues to rise in US cities (from the City Mayors Society)
• Welfare Reform and Poverty (An American Prospect report from Moving Ideas)
• For Welfare Reform to Work, Jobs Must Be Available (from the Center for Economic and Policy Research--click on the "Report" link for the pdf)
• Why Welfare Reform has Failed ZNet article by Stephen Pimpare

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Is Competition the Solution to the Ills of Public Education?

• Homemakers for America: Education
• Friedman Foundation
• Cato Institute: Education and Child Policy: Vouchers
• Cato Institute: Education and Child Policy: School Choice
• Goldwater Institute: Center for Educational Opportunity
• Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: Public Policy: Education
• Coaltion Statement: National Coalition for Public Education
• American Civil Liberties Union: Vouchers are NOT Like Pell Grants (file to open online or download)
• Challenge and Opportunity: The Impact of Charter Schools on School Districts
• Rethinking Schools
• Charter Schools and Race: A Lost Opportunity for Integrated Education
• Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management: Trends and Issues: School Choice
• Coalition of Essential Schools
• Anti-Defamation League: School Vouchers: The Wrong Choice for Public Education
• Public Agenda: Education
• Public Agenda: Education Fact File

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Is Street Crime More Harmful that White Collar Crime?

• Legal Information Institute: White-Collar Crime
• White Collar Crime InfoCenter
• Overcriminalized.com
• Citizen Works
• What About Three-Strikes-And-You're-Out for Corporate Criminals?
• Sourcebooks of Criminal Justice Statistics
• Drug Enforcement Agency
• White Collar Crime: History and & Social Impacts
• Criminal Justice Links
• National Crime Prevention Council: Topics in Crime Prevention
• National White Collar Crime Center
• Public Agenda: Crime
• Public Agenda: Crime Fact File