Student Research
Many sociology majors also take advantage of the
opportunity to present their research in the Belmont University
Research Symposium. In the past two years, for example, students
presented papers on the hippie movement, media coverage of women
athletes, media construction of racial trends in youth crime,
racial integration of housing in the U.S., and economic correlates
of achievement in Tennessee public schools.
They also presented research on the social construction of
sexuality in movies, the effect of teacher's merit pay on
students' educational achievement, and the relationship
between the rapist to the rape victim and how this influenced fear
and accommodation behavior in the victim.
Brad Koch (Graduate, 2002) tries out accupuncture in the
'alternative medicine' section of his Medical
Sociology course. (And, no, it didn't hurt!)
Below are some of the more recent papers presented at
BURS:
Emily Tanner-Smith, Graduate, 2003
Inter-racial Violence in Blaxploitation Films
The early 1970s gave birth to a new genre of
'blaxploitation' films that were the first movies
to have mainly African American editors, directors, producers, and
casts. These films were made during a time of great civil unrest,
and usually employed the use of violence to address racial issues.
It is for this reason that I plan to compare the frequency and
proportion of violence done to whites and blacks in these
films.
The following films will be used in the study: Across 110th St. (1972), Black Caesar (1973), Black Mama, White Mama (1972), Bucktown (1975), Cleopatra Jones (1973), Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975), Coffy (1973), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Dolemite (1975), Sheba, Baby (1975), Foxy Brown (1974), Friday Foster (1975), Hell up in Harlem (1973), Mean Mother (1973), Shaft (1971), Shaft's Big Score (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), Superfly (1972), Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), and The Mack (1973).
I will code the acts of violence based on the motivation and
type of violence, and its corresponding rate of brutality. I will
then contrast the frequency and proportion of violent acts
according to character race, using every possible racial
combination. I will make use of existing literature on the subject,
such as Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks by Donald
Bogle, Framing Blackness by Ed Guerrero, That's
Blaxploitation! by Darius James, Cinemas of the Black Diaspora by
Michael Martin, and Representing Blackness by Valerie Smith.
Anna Margaret Edwards, Graduate, 2001
Racial Spectrum of Youth Crime
This study will shed light on the nature of our popular
depictions of race and crime by testing for significant racial
disparities in depictions of criminal violence in popular
entertainment. Twenty juvenile violence films released between the
years 1990 and 1999 were observed and coded for racial violence.
The hypothesis is most of the black movies contain violent acts
associated with street crimes, including, robbery, drugs, etc.,
while most of the white films deal with sexual crimes or psycho
serial killers. Giroux claims that Hollywood portrays blacks as an
oppressive subculture and reinforce the perception that everyday
black urban life and violent crime mutually define each other. The
same popular culture encourages sympathy and provides justification
for white hopelessness and desperation.
Rebecca H. Holladay (Anticipated Graduation, 2004)
A Theoretical Analysis and Application of Fight Club
David Fincher's film, Fight Club has provoked much debate
about current society. This paper analyzes Fight Club by applying
the theories of Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim, two of
sociology's grand theorists. Evidence of Marx's
conflict theory and the struggle between bourgeoisie and
proletariat are obvious themes in the film. Also prevalent are
Marxist ideas of use value and exchange value leading to estranged
labour, or the view of man as machine. A Durkheimian functionalist
approach is applied the development of an anti-establishment
organization, whereby the very nature of anti-establishment thought
is defied in the sense that an organization is created, reifying
Durkheim's idea that society has created structures which
are necessary for the continuation of social relationships. This
paper provides theoretically supported arguments that evidence that
the film can be seen in terms of its much larger social commentary
rather than the superficial elements directly presented to the
audience.
Bradley A. Koch, Graduate, 2002
The Don of the Box-Office: American Anti-immigrant Sentiment and
the Popularity of Mafia Movies
The purpose of this study is to test for the hypothesized
correlation between the amount of violence in Italian American
Organized Crime Films (commonly known as mafia movies) and the
popularity of these films as gauged by domestic box-office
receipts. The proposed cause of this relationship is the
ever-present anti-immigrant attitudes in the United States.
Citizens harbor bias against Italian Americans (Luconi 1999) and
further and reiterate this prejudice by supporting most those
movies that depict the Italian Americans ethnic group in the most
stereotypical manner. Further research topics are suggested.
Emily Tanner-Smith, Graduate, 2003
The Health Belief Model and Predictors of Breast Self-Examination
(This paper was the 2002 winner of Belmont University's
Alfred Crabb Writing Award for the best undergraduate research
paper.)
This study utilized the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model to predict breast-self examination (BSE) among university women. Namely, this research examined women's uncertainty, self-efficacy, and locus of control as predictors of BSE habits. Past research indicates that women who know other women with breast cancer will have more knowledge about the disease, and so the current study examined if such knowledge increased a participant's likelihood of practicing BSE. Fifty female undergraduate students completed a survey on their age, perceived vulnerability, level of knowledge about breast cancer, and relationships with persons who have/had breast cancer. Participants were also asked about their breast self-examination habits and reasons for not engaging in this preventive health care behavior. The data from the survey yielded interesting results concerning the relationship between women's familiarity with and exposure to breast cancer and their practice of BSE. The findings of this research will benefit the development of theories regarding coping mechanisms used to deal with uncertainty about breast cancer and other medical conditions.
The following are abstracts for BURS presentations from students
taking sociology courses at Belmont University.
Capital Punishment and Public Opinion
Brandon Childs
My study examines differences in public opinion on the death
penalty based on demographic differences in the population. I
hypothesize that race, sex, social class, and religion effect
peoples? public opinion on death penalty issues. To support that
hypothesis, I plan to determine these differences by analyzing
answers to questions about death penalty issues that were presented
to a random sample of Americans on the General Social Survey in
1996. My hypotheses are as follows:
*Minorities are less likely to support the death penalty.
*Men are more likely to support the death penalty.
*The higher the social class, the more likely one is in favor of
the death penalty.
*The more religious a person is, the less likely one is to support
the death penalty.
I will also look at the ways in which combinations of the above
variables may effect opinions on the death penalty.
Sex Offender Treatment Program Effectiveness
Brian Grant
I examine the effectiveness of treatment programs for sex
offenders, specifically pedophiles, as measured by differences in
recidivism. Research in the relevant literature seems to suggest
that no treatment program currently implemented is helpful in
curbing recidivism in sex offenders. Using secondary data from a
long-term study of treatment of sex offenders in Texas, I analyze
differences in recidivism patterns between pedophiles and other sex
offenders based on their treatment programs.
Why Your Child is an Honor Roll Student
Lisa Moore
I study the correlation between economic, social and political
resources and academic achievement in the Davidson County and
Williamson County school districts. I will be employing a
quantitative cross-sectional study using secondary data. Resources
do not automatically equate to increased educational achievement,
but they do provide an environment that allows academic achievement
to become more accessible. I hypothesize that the higher the level
of resource availability, the higher the overall academic
achievement in that school district.
Integration Patterns in Housing in the United States Since 1964
Matt Day
I examine the patterns of racial integration in housing in the
United States since 1964, concentrating on which cities, states or
regions have had the most success with residential integration.
Using quantitative research methods and U.S. Census data, I attempt
to debunk the stereotype that the South has the least success with
residential integration in the United States.
