Sociology Paper on Ecstasy?

sidekick · #1 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

we just got out paper topics for my sociology class today.

one was taking a drug and analyzing its impacts on society. if i do this topic, i'm thinking of doing ecstasy and looking at how it's changed youth, rave culture, the club scene, it's impacts on depression, those in poverty and the drug trade.

thoughts?

Akeel · #2 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

i did a similar paper when i did my undergrad. There's a lot of resources out there, but I would suggesting narrowing down to one facet specifically. Right now you've got a broad enough subject to write a textbook.

sidekick · #3 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akeel

i did a similar paper when i did my undergrad. There's a lot of resources out there, but I would suggesting narrowing down to one facet specifically. Right now you've got a broad enough subject to write a textbook.

true, as far as i know right now this paper is supposed to be just a broad quick and dirty look at it's affects on different parts of society.

i want to ask her if i can narrow it down and just focus on it's impact on youth.

sidekick · #4 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

ps. if i did youth then i could include little bits on depression and homelessness.

yoko* · #5 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

I was going to do "rave culture" as an anthropology topic.. I'm no longer doing that, but just to let you know, though I didn't find many books on raves (and would probably have better luck findin journal articles), there was one book I found that was published this year. It was called "Rave culture and Religion" and explored the drug aspects of "rave cultre" as well, if you're interested.. it's available at sfu lib.

"personal is political". It can be a good paper if you're interested in what you're writing about.

sidekick · #6 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

yeah, that's why i was thinking about this subject.

i'll definitly have to check that book out, i've also seen two other books on rave culture and one book on ecstasy at Chapters that i'll have to look at. Although raves would be a pretty central part to my paper, i wouldn't want it to be the whole part. i know that youth encounter ecstasy in other places than raves.

ebbomega · #7 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

I'd say, if you're going to do something ethnobotany-related, look somewhere else in the world.

Check out any books by Wade Davis. You should find some in any Uni library, and if you can't it's a damn shame.

sidekick · #8 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebbomega

I'd say, if you're going to do something ethnobotany-related, look somewhere else in the world.

i think i get what you mean, but explain?

wundergirl · #9 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sidekick

we just got out paper topics for my sociology class today.

one was taking a drug and analyzing its impacts on society. if i do this topic, i'm thinking of doing ecstasy and looking at how it's changed youth, rave culture, the club scene, it's impacts on depression, those in poverty and the drug trade.

thoughts?

i'd like to read this paper when it's finished.

sidekick · #10 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by wundergirl

i'd like to read this paper when it's finished.

haha well, IF i choose to do the paper on this topic, i'll let you know when it's all done. end of november is when it's due i think.

mojo · #11 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

imma do my soc paper on house music:)

wundergirl · #12 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sidekick

we just got out paper topics for my sociology class today.

one was taking a drug and analyzing its impacts on society. if i do this topic, i'm thinking of doing ecstasy and looking at how it's changed youth, rave culture, the club scene, it's impacts on depression, those in poverty and the drug trade.

thoughts?

now that i've thought about it, i'd take this topic and do a legal antidepressant like prozak and discuss the culture of apathy being spawned by its epidemic prescription rate...

sidekick · #13 (**permalink**) Oct 15, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by wundergirl

now that i've thought about it, i'd take this topic and do a legal antidepressant like prozak and discuss the culture of apathy being spawned by its epidemic prescription rate...

that was actually my other idea. do the SSRI drugs and their effects on society.

did you know that doctor's are actually prescribing SSRI's to children UNDER 6 YEARS OLD?!

you can't even diagnose depression that young.

wundergirl · #14 (**permalink**) Oct 16, 04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sidekick

that was actually my other idea. do the SSRI drugs and their effects on society.

did you know that doctor's are actually prescribing SSRI's to children UNDER 6 YEARS OLD?!

you can't even diagnose depression that young.

there's a really good article about this in the last adbusters mag (i terrorist)
you should check it out....it's hella interesting.

Moon · #15 (**permalink**) Oct 16, 04

e would be a cool thing to write about

you could do an indepth study of the massive demand for e between 1999-2000 during the short but crazy rave boom in Vancovuer. there are MANY people who used to drop that shit every weekend, week after week during this time period...

i think most people who did the drug back then were overwhelmed of how much fun they were having and just went all out.... but luckily you can say it isn't actually addictive and the effect goes downhill... so people will eventually give it up.

alot of the people who dropped every weekend have turned out very normal as well... in fact, incredibly bright and driven. but many have found new gateways to other harder drugs like crystal meth, heroin, cocaine etc etc.

and there have been many social concerns over the deaths caused by overdosage and many laws have been passed to prevent raves from getting any bigger. most of the ravers back the in day have moved on to new things, feeling that the purpose of going to these events has shifted completely, and the new era of ravers are pretty much the scum of the area.

but yeah thats a cool topic to write about for sure... prolly will have to do quite a bit of research of academic sources though.....

DJ Ponz · #16 (**permalink**) Oct 16, 04

There is a relatively large literature on rave culture and club culture in the discipline of geography. Do a geobase (journal catalogue search engine) search from your institution's library page.

I sucessfully wrote 2 papers on raves when I was an undergrad; one on the "globalizing ethic of PLUR, and its consequences for cosmopolitainism" and the other looked at music as a creator of space - a space that fit into anarchist perceptions of escape and liberty. Damn they were good.