Pick two of these topics and write an essay of no more than 1500 words on each by the end of finals. Please discuss with me any questions you have about how to approach these topics, and feel free to try out ideas in the Web Forum and in class.
1.Zawiya is Something Else
Pick a chapter from Adolescence in a Moroccan Town that describes an aspect of Zawiya adolescence you think is not easily understandable from the point of view of the classic theories covered in this course and explain an example from that chapter in terms of cultural, religious, socio-economic or other factors special to Zawiya.
2. Justin!
Many of the "adaptive stresses" (loss of parent, drugs and alcohol, sex/love, moral/political dilemmas, reflections on aging) we’ve discussed this term are present here, and in ways that invite epigenetic interpretation. Map out a piece of Justin-space where the personal and the social/political seem to you to come together in an especially fascinating/worrisome way, and explain why. How does the presentation of these materials on the Web alter your sense of what they mean (and why does Justin put them there?)?
3. Ego Hues
It's been suggested that adolescent media use is both mood-enhancing and ego-building. Most discussions of teenager fascination with popular music fail to engage the actual, moment-to-moment experience of the music, however. Collect some data on this important matter by getting a detailed account of some one’s reaction to two familiar pieces of music about which they feel very different (or which they use in very different ways). Discuss this individual’s reactions in terms of the key psychological issues in adolescent media use covered in the readings and class discussion.