I. INTRODUCTION to the ASSIGNMENT
Institutionalized Inequalities Persists
Sociology reveals that we live in a stratified society. An individual person’s access to social resources and opportunities varies markedly depending on numerousfactors, including thoseassociated with their social location at the always intersecting systems of institutionalized inequalities. Class, race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation are important predictors of patterned outcomes at the social group level, across institutions. Examining these arenas at a macro level allows sociologists to achieve a more sophisticated grasp of their workings and the larger social structural dynamics at play. This higher level thinking is also necessary to the creation of well-informed strategies designed to create new forms of justice. Half measures are arguably problematic. As Malcom X once said, “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out that’s not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made” (1964, but as relevant as ever today).
People Make History
Sociology also reveals that people make history. We are historical agents who help (re)produce and (potentially) transform institutions and culture moment-to-moment throughout our days perpetually. As historical agents, we have the capacity to contribute to positive change in our daily lives. A more just and sustainable world is possible and looming. “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” (Arundhati Roy)
Social Policy is an Excellent Avenue for Concrete and Critically Informed Social Change.
Social policy is an excellent avenue for achieving social justicebecause it moves human and economic resources and facilitates enacting concrete actions for concrete change. Importantly, it allocates our combined social wealth (tax dollars, human energy). We can continue to invest policy dollars and energy into war, policing, punishment, and corporate welfare–deepening the existing social relationships and macro patterns of unequal power. Another route, already underway, is to shift our resources toward policy efforts that address social inequities at their roots, and nourish healthy communities. Your readings in the final section of the class include policy platforms that you may consider models for this paper (though your proposal will necessarily be much smaller in scope, given word count limits).
Other strategies for social change include but are not limited to legislation(lawmaking by representative government or other governmental bodies),litigation(using the courts),research(the work of think tanks, universities, organizations, activists),community organizing(movement building; awareness-building; mobilization; protest; cultural, solidarity, mutual aid work;art and music(immensely important in social movements and social change), andeducating ourselves and others on histories and contemporary realities of racism from a critical race perspective(note: education, even critical education, is not enough, but it is an essential ingredient to transforming institutions). Any of above strategies can be driven by social policy. Social change is created and facilitated by people; we are the ones who can build a more just and peaceful future.
The readings in weeks 15 and 16 provide critically informed and carefully conceived and articulated policy proposals for social change.As Angela Y. Davis boldly said, “You have act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” The Latin root of the word radical is “rad”for “root.” Radical change, for Davis and many theorists of change, means addressing social problems at their deepest roots. Mass incarceration is an example of why we need to deepen and shift our thinking and responding to social problems from treating symptoms to long-term prevention and institutional transformation. We can see that broken windows policing and mass incarceration are bandages for many of our most deeply entrenched injustices of race and class, bandages that often (re)entrench racial injustices. Official responses to criminalized behaviors make members of certain racialized or otherwise historically marginalized groups vulnerable to devastating patterns of overpolicing and overincarceration, yet our governments continue to use them as a frontline response to vast arenas of conduct that have been criminalized in specifically racialized, gendered, and classed forms. To eliminate injustice, we will need to develop long-term, multigenerational strategies that address racial and other inequities in our institutions at their roots. With a critical understanding of the issues and the vision it creates, we could imagine policies and other community efforts that fulfill human needs and promote healing, justice, and flourishing communities long-term. For the purposes of this paper, I recommend that you put aside concerns of what would easily pass through electorates, legislatures, and courts and imagine and document policy ideas you think might actually help move us toward a more just future.
II.INSTRUCTIONS and MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Be up to date on the course readings from Section II of the course(See the Course Schedule in the printable syllabus):
Your essay requires you to select a minimum of 4 reading selections that substantiate your proposal for change. Your selections should include work with:
two of the three assigned policy platforms from the Week 15 and Week 16 Modules.
chapter 21 from OpenStax
One other reading from Section II of the course–either the third policy platform or an OpenStax chapter assigned after the Midterm due date. See the printable syllabus for the course schedule/reading list.
Read this entire document to frame and direct your essay writing. Come back to it often as you write to ensure your essay meets expectations.
Choose a social justice issue currently affecting members of a social group or groups in your community or beyond.
It can be any social issue or case of injustice or discrimination based on social group membership.
Write: Construct and defend a hypothetical social policy effort in response.
Here is where the major writing and thinking comes in! Your proposed social change effort should:
Introduce your topic and establish its importance (your Intro)
Clearly articulate each aspect of your policy plan. Plan features will depend on your vision and the type of effort but should include a problem or vision statement (brief!) and concrete steps your plan will involve. The plan should be narrow enough in scope to allow you to describe and discuss it in the few pages allotted for the assignment. Be specific. Use our policy readings from Mijente, the Movement for Black Lives, and the Women’s March as examples to inform your selection and presentation of policy changes.
Defend the choices in the plan throughout the essay, using evidence from course contentespecially readings, but also discussions comments, films, and instructor comments. Dig deeply into course sources to substantiate your choices throughout the essay. If your proposal is inconsistent with arguments by other authors in Section II of the class, your proposal should engage with or counter those authors explicitly.
Ground your plan in long-term visionand a critical grasp and the institutionalized and historical nature of social problems.Remember that service provision is important but will not necessarily address social problems at their roots.
Analyze at the institutional levelTo understand social problems sociologically, we need to assess them in historical and institutional contextsespecially macro-level relationships of power. Be sure to maintain a critical focus on large-scale social forces like institutionalized racism, class inequality, cis-hetero-sexism, or other major axes of power, as you devise and justify your plan.
UPLOAD YOUR ESSAY In the following format by 12/13 at 11:59m:
1000 words in length, minimum.
edited and revised for clarity, conciseness, organization, and rigor in responding directly to the prompt.
written and edited to avoid plagiarism:Click here for very important guidelines on academic integrity.
deeply engaged with the texts and other course sources. The essay must engage with and cite:
at least four separate required course readings from the Section II of the course (two of which must be policy platforms from weeks 15 and 16, one of which must be OpenStax Chapter 21
at least two other sourcesdiscussion comments, film, or instructor comments from the Section II of the course
This assignment is geared toward assessing the degree to which you have mastered course sources. I highly recommend focusing on in-class sources.No need to use outside sources here, and doing so will take up precious time you need for synthesis and analysis of texts.Your references to these sources should involve in-depth engagement and show a comprehensive grasp of them.Try to go beyond in-passing mentions that do not delve beneath the surface, and instead dig deeply into sources.
Please BOLD *and* NUMBER all citations to make them easy for your instructor to find while reviewing hundreds of papers this finals week (R1 through R4+ (for readings]), F1+ (for film), D1+ (for discussions); I1 (for Instructor comments). Thank you!
III. Other Key Information
Straying from these instructions and minimum requirements could profoundly affect your grade or result in not passing the assignment.
Starting early will give you time to develop your ideas and refine the writing, analysis, and presentation. I recommend starting now and revising drafts for optimal results. You may drop in to Laney’s Writing Center for drop-in tutoring anytime.
DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS ESSAY!
Rubric
Policy Essay RubricPolicy Essay RubricCriteriaRatingsPtsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConstructs a policy plan, aimed at institutional change, grounded in long-term vision60.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefends the policy plan using evidence from course content60.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMeets citation and word minimum expectationsWriting achieves clarity, conciseness, and strong vocabulary, grammar, voice55.0 pts
Total Points: 175.0
at least four separate required course readings from the Section II of the course (two of which must be policy platforms from weeks 15 and 16, one of which must be OpenStax Chapter 21:
https://mijente.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Mijente-Immigration-Policy-Platform_0628.pdf
http://www.womensmarch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WM_Portrait_JAN17_2019_web.pdf
https://policy.m4bl.org/political-power/
https://policy.m4bl.org/invest-divest/
https://policy.m4bl.org/platform/
https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:MdGx6spW@5/Introduction-to-Social-Movements-and-Social-Change
https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:IRJvnGsS@6/Collective-Behavior
https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:zqE5zZje@5/Social-Movements
https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:vi4eB2eh@5/Social-Change
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