Sociology
Gang Research Paper
Gang activity is growing nationwide. Numerous gangs are active drawing from every American demographic. Gang related activity is also spreading nationwide, even in areas considered “safe.” You will choose a gang from those listed on this web page and conduct research culminating in a research paper. Below is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gangs_in_the_United_States
Avoid the choosing the overseas drug cartels since they tend to employ the gangs to distribute their product and rarely conduct street level business on American soil.
Directions: You will conduct research on a gang of your choosing from the link above*. Your research paper must contain:
A brief history of the gang chosen
Predominant location of gang activities
Discussion of the chosen gang’s activities
Discussion of the gang’s members
Initiation rituals
Norms and consequences (formal and informal)
Please choose a sociological perspective to examine from (see Chapter 1). Be sure to consult the textbook for more clarification of sociological topics.
Requirements:
Minimum of 5 pages
Minimum of 5 sources
Double-spaced
Citations done in MLA format (even though sociology is to be cited using APA format)
Everything else listed above
* Please do not cite Wikipedia as a source in your paper. It is used for this assignment because it succinctly lists active gangs in the United States. Other uses of Wikipedia will be discussed in class.
Helpful hints:
Your best resource will likely be the internet. Web sites will be helpful, but be sure to search the library databases. There will be recent journal articles there that will give you tremendous insight.
A plethora of gang related information is made available by the FBI here:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/gangs
Many of the gangs listed on the Wikipedia page have been highlighted on TV. A series by the History Channel called...