Do you think this is an important social problem

Reference no: EM133416119

Paper Assignment: Thinking Critically about Social Problems

Introduction

This writing assignment gives you the opportunity to place into practice the concepts and techniques that you learned. The assignment requires you to critically examine and explain how social status and structures shape the construction and experience of a particular social problem. You will find evidence of the scale and scope of the problem as well as identify the key social "risks" for experiencing the social problem. You will interpret information (including claims-making) about the problem using the objectivist and constructionist perspectives and then suggest policies for mitigating the negative consequences of the social problem.

Instructions

The paper should be 3-5 pages in length.

1) Select a social problem of interest to you from any of the following learning units: (Selected- Poverty)

Poverty
Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Gender Inequality
Sexual Orientation and Inequality
Aging and Ageism
Alcohol and Other Drugs
Crime and Criminal Justice
Spring Break
Sexual Behavior
Health and Health Care
Schools and Education
Work and the Economy
Population and the Environment
The topic you select can address either a general problem (e.g., "poverty") or a specific

problem (e.g., "homelessness among women" or "the race/gender pay gap").

2) Find and read carefully:

- If you try to find newspaper articles from general search engine such as Google or from newspaper web sites.

3) Critically interpret and analyze the social problem based on the information in the articles by addressing the following issues:

a. The objective characteristics of the social problem (as reported). Specifically:

What portion of the population experiences it?
How is the problem distributed by at least one social status (gender, race/ethnicity, class,
nation of origin, sexuality, age)?

b. (The text and the supplemental text are particularly important for this step.) Briefly analyze

how or why it seems that the social problem has been constructed as a problem. In other words,

explain why the issues is on the "radar screen" of public concern or outrage? In your explanation,

make sure to address:

Who are the claims makers and counter-claims makers? Do they have high social status?
Do they have political power?

What strategies did the claim makers use to construct the problem? What strategies did the counter-claim makers use?

Do you think this is an important social problem? Why or why not? Here, reflect on your own social status and background (such as race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class

[you do not have address them all]) and think about how those things might affect people's inclination to agree with the claim makers.

Drawing on your analyses above and course materials on the constructionist perspective
suggest:

c. One way that you would try to get the problem on or off the radar screen of public concern.

I.e., how would you make effective claims or counter claims?

d. One solution to the social problem such as a policy, law, changing social norms, providing resources (e.g., putting in numerous filtered water systems around cities to reduce the use of non-refillable plastic bottles, raising the minimum wage, or developing a public service announcement to change people's perceptions of healthy portion sizes for food).

5) Briefly comment on how doing this research paper changed or affected your own perception and/or understanding of the problem.

6) Attach the reference list (does not count toward the 3-5 page limit)

You do not need to attach copies of the articles and report but make sure that you have provided full citations in a "References" section at the end of the paper. Format the reference list using the ASA style (see details in the following online document:

Reference no: EM133416119

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