The final assignment will be an opportunity to demonstrate your abilities to articulate your own perspective on an issue of your choice, recognize and make sense of the perspectives of others, and to inquire into a topic that is related to those we have already explored in class.
Sharing Your Own Perspective on an Issue (4 points)
Think about the a chosen race/ethnicity related (potentially conroversial) topic and the corresponding questions below, and share you full response to that question/topic, based on the information you currently possess without doing any additional research or inquiry into the matter. You should certainly do some careful thinking and reflection on the issue, and have that reflected in the first part of your paper.
Specifically, what is your bottom line, what are the reasons you are using that result in your coming to your conclusion in regards to the topic, and what are the values operating most in your perspective? How might various aspects of your own social identity, such as your race/ethnicity, etc., inform your perspective? What are one or two questions that, if you could answer them, would make you feel more confident of in your conclusion? Make sure that if you use any terms or phrases that are unclear or ambiguous, you clarify those by defining or explaining them.
Diversity of Perspectives (9 points)
Next, seek out articles, editorials, video clips (such as C-span), etc. that represent three other perspectives addressing the issue you’ve chosen, and describe those perspectives, using the framework above. No more than one of these can be derived from an interview you conduct. (Jeff’s Ed: I suggest finding reputable sources from the library databases – check out http://jag85.com/soc380/#s1 section 5 scouring for articles)
What is the bottom line of each of the other three perspectives concerning this issue? What are the main reasons they are relying upon to get to their conclusion, and what might you say are the values informing their perspective? You might need to speculate on this latter part, so make your most informed guess, and justify your decision. What else, other than their preferences, (such as aspects of their social identity – race, class, gender, national origin, belief system/faith, political orientation, etc.) might be informing their perspective? If they are using abstract terms or concepts in their perspectives how are they defining them?
Find a diversity of perspectives, which could mean finding some stories that end up in the same place as you, but by different reasons, as well as stories that are truly divergent (even radically different) form your own.
Note: When sharing the reasoning of others, as in this part of the final project, it is imperative that we acknowledge that each perspective is held by someone who is as fully human as we are, and that they have come to their conclusions as thoughtful, intelligent, and rational beings. Further, no alternative perspective is a saint because they agree, no a demon because they disagree with our own perspective. IN light of these provisions, make sure that you think critically of every alternative perspective you examine, identifying what makes sense (from their frame of reference) as well as where their perspective is less clear or persuasive.
Analysis and Reflection (3 points)
Finally, explore how your earlier perspective has been informed or affected by your research into the perspectives of others. What surprised you about those other perspectives? How have the helped you to clarify your own perspective on the issue, and how have they raised questions for you concerning your own thoughts and beliefs about the issue?
References
Include details about the references you are using to generate your understanding of alternative perspectives. These references must be clear enough to allow us to find and review them if we choose. Contact information of anyone you interview must be provided in this section, including a phone number.
