Social Problem: Assignment on Racism and Social Institutions
Purpose: Assignments fulfill two course goals:
application of sociological perspectives to the empirical world
the effective written communication of scientific arguments and evidence.
Instructions
It is possible to receive either partial or no points based upon the quality of your questions and responses. Each task in this social problem discussion assignment has points. You will be graded on your ability to complete each task.
Successful Assignments will:
respond to all elements of the prompt
explain and apply course materials and bold concepts.
be from a sociological perspective, meaning opinions, logical fallacies, and value judgements are avoided
Required Citations to Sources (The phrases below are formal citations). You NEED TO reference course materials every assignment and use a phrase below.
Submit essays as one of following files types: .txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx, .pdf. All file submissions need to be compatible with Turnitin.
Format: Write an essay (500-700 words). 500 words is a minimum word count requirement. Direct quotations will not be considered as part of the minimum word count. Direct quotations need to be kept to a maximum of two sentences. Questions you are answering, title of the assignment, and reference pages are not considered as part of the word count minimum. Direct quotations need to be kept to a maximum of two or more sentences. Please list the word count, without quotations or other writing, at the start of the document.
Per the syllabus policies ALL ASSIGNMENTS will be reviewed for plagiarism and AI writing
Writing Style: Academic and Analytical. Analytical means you use statistics, evidence, and citations to better explain racism from a sociological perspective. This means including your opinion will not count towards the required word count. This writing style means you rely on summarizing the information from the documentary or chapter you choose to review this week. Paraphrasing, meaning summarizing the author’s arguments in your own words, is required. See the handouts below for more information.
Information on Paraphrasing.pdf
Information on Direct Quotes.pdf
Here is further information on formal citations: ASA Citations.docx.
Prompt Requirements
The course materials you choose from are listed on the Module 12 Social Problem Discussion Materials page. You need to choose a source and visual aid. You are required to watch or read a source and choose a photograph, chart, infographic or graphic organizer to illustrate what you learned from the documentary or reading. You can do a Google search or use a chart from the PowerPoint. You need to include the image in your assignment.
Answer these questions using a sociological perspective on racism and social institutions and information from your source: documentary or Jim Crow chapter. Use in-text citations to indicate what documentary you watched or chapter you read. Only focus on the social institution that is described by your source. You do not need to focus on more than one social institution. Social institutions analyzed are healthcare, criminal justice system, or school systems.
Focusing on summarizing more than one social institution or documentary will not improve your grade, but will reduce your grade. I value when you make your writing detailed and answers questions about one documentary or chapter.
According to the documentary or chapter, how is racism reproduced over time within institutions through seemingly race-neutral, meritocratic processes and behaviors? See the recorded lecture for definitions and explanations of race-neutral policies and meritocratic processes.
According to the documentary or chapter, how do social institutions reproduce racial inequalities?
For Rios documentary describe the research study findings in educational settings when you answer this question.
For the chapter and documentaries Jim Crow of the North, 13th and Race Power of an Illusion include a minimum of three statistics when answering this question. You need to write about the statistics even if the visual aid is a chart or other graphic representing the information.
Statistics and visuals can be used from Additional Materials on Course Materials Module 12 page if needed.
Recorded lectures or class discussions
Format: According to the lecture [enter title of lecture found on title slide], …[finish statement].
According to the lecture on Racism and Social Institutions, …[finish statement].
Ms. Nummi explained…. or According to Ms. Nummi, …[finish statement].
Readings or Chapters
Formats: According to author last Name (Year of publication), …
I learned [enter information here] from [title or reading].
According to Alexander (2012), …. [finish statement].
Documentary
Format: According to [enter video title and channel title] (Year of Publication), …[finish statement].
According to Jim Crow of the North (2019), …[finish statement].
Direct quotations (wording copied from reading or video) should be used in moderation. Assignments that are 150-200 words can have one quotation. Assignments that are 250-800 words may use two quotations. Quotations need to have quote marks (“ “) around them indicating it is not your writing and include page numbers if you are referencing a reading. Each quotation needs to be at most a sentence. Two quotation are allowed maximum, but are not considered part of the minimum word count requirement.
Example: According to Alexander, “direct quotation here” (2012:Page number).You replace the words page number with the page number.
You need to watch one of the documentaries below or read the chapter by Alexander. You have a few documentaries to choose from and one book chapter.
Eyes on the prize: Documentary episodes about civil rights movement and how social change came about during 1960s. Available through library database Academic Videos Online (AVON).
Race – The Power of an Illusion (Episode 2 or 3) You only need to watch one episode. The exact titles are listed below. Episodes can cover several topics and social institutions.
Episode Two – The Story We Tell
Episode Three – The House We Live In
13TH | FULL FEATURE | Netflix Available on YouTube. Topic: Criminal Justice system and slavery. Length: One hour and Forty minutes in total. 50 minutes is sufficient to watch.
Jim Crow of the North – Full-Length Documentary YouTube video. Housing discrimination in Minnesota and the Midwest. 57 minutes long.
Victor Rios on ‘the Mis-Education and Criminalization of Black and Latino Boys’ Available on YouTube. 0-50 minutes is the most important part. You don’t need to watch the Q&A session. This documentary is highly recommended for future or current teachers and social workers.
Chapter: Alexander, Michelle 2012. “The New Jim Crow.” Pages 178-220 in The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New Press. Alexander New Jim crow 2012.pdf. This chapter does not have images or visuals of violence. It describes social processes and statistics well. Choose this documentary if you’d rather do a reading and have a list of sources
