Context:
Some of the most important work we do as humans is in advancing social justice and equity, and yet our ability to effectively communicate about these issues often lags behind our desire to engage in this important work. Sometimes it’s because the issues are intensely personal and highly charged, and conversation turns into combat. Sometimes it’s because of a genuine lack of understanding, a failure to acknowledge reality, or a fear of losing one’s own privilege. Unit 1 invites you to develop your written communication skills in this arena by honing the precision of your own language, advancing and/or critiquing other writers’ ideas, and clearly articulating your own personal understanding of the issues.
Overview:
During Unit 1 we’ll be doing quite a bit of reading (and discussing) as a class, in order to collaboratively build a common framework of ideas related to issues like oppression, racism, equity, and justice, to name a few. From this network of concepts and issues, you’ll choose one concept, term, or issue that you think society would benefit from understanding more clearly or directly. More specifically, you’ll select one key concept that you think is often overlooked, misunderstood, misused, or needs further refinement, and your paper will advance your own understanding and definition of this term as a means of clarifying and directing public discourse on the issue.
Let’s unpack what this means:
You’ll define your topic and narrow your focus
Identify/extrapolate a concept or issue that is related to the framework of concepts our unit 1 course readings address
Be specific! For example, a big concept like “racism” may be too broad on its own. You might narrow your focus to “the difference between racism and prejudice” or “systemic racism vs. individual racism.”
You’ll do some brief research on your concept for the purposes of evaluating and incorporating the voices of others who are also discussing the concept:
How are other people discussing this concept?
What kind of experience/expertise do they have to make these claims?
What do you find most/least compelling about their claims? What do they say that’s too general or misses the mark? What do they say that brings the issue into focus for you?
Where are other people holding these discussions? In published articles? On social media? In speeches? Etc.
You’ll identify examples that show the concept in action. You examples might include:
Published examples from other people’s experiences (in articles, podcasts, blog posts, speeches, etc)
Examples from your own life and personal experiences
You’ll carefully and methodically articulate your own line of reasoning in relation to the evidence you’ve collected
What are the most insightful and precise ways you’ve seen this concept discussed by others?
What do others often miss or overlook when discussing this concept?
You’ll ultimately develop a definition of your own that is rooted in your understanding and evaluation of the evidence you have amassed
What do you think is the most meaningful, useful, and accurate understanding of the concept you’ve chosen? Why?
How could public discourse around this concept be improved if others adopted the understanding you’re advancing in this paper?
Our class process:
We’ll spend lots of class time together working through each of these steps, helping each other brainstorm, and reading each other’s drafts. You’ll get guidance from a librarian for the research. You’ll meet with a Writing Center consultant to develop a revision plan. You’ll have the opportunity to review your classmates’ work and offer/receive feedback. You’ll get individualized feedback from me about a draft of your paper before the final deadline. In other words, we’ll engage in a collaborative process at each stage of the writing process.
Your final draft should:
Be 3-4 pages long
Incorporate 3 quoted sources + a Works Cited page
Include a thesis that drives your definition
Use MLA-style formatting and citations
Be double-spaced and written in 12-point font
Include an original title
Key skills:
Topic selection, hone and shape an idea/interest into a workable focus for the paper
Incorporate (paraphrase, quote, cite) the language and ideas of sources
Carefully read and analyze source texts
Effectively search for, and evaluate information online
Articulate reasoning and relationships between source’s ideas and the student’s own ideas or experiences
Make decisions about how to organize and order ideas in the paper
Understand how to take creative control of a fairly traditional academic essay style
