M A J O R
E S S A Y
T O P I C S
AP/HREQ 3890 6.00A SOCIAL JUSTICE STUDIES:
THEORY, ANALYSIS, PRACTICE
DUE DATE: MARCH 21, 2013
IMMIGRATION:
BEGINNING IN THE 1970S, THE DISCRIMINATION THAT WOMEN FACE WAS CHARACTERIZED BY
RESEARCHERS AS “THE GLASS CEILING” EFFECT. TODAY THE PATTERN OF EMPLOYMENT
DISPARITY FACED BY IMMIGRANTS IS BEING CHARACTERIZED AS “THE STICKY FLOOR”
EFFECT. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION CONCEPT OF THE GLASS CEILING AND THE STICKY
FLOOR? EXPLAIN AND ANALYSE.
MULTICULTUALISM:
CANADA'S
POLICY OF MULTICULTURALISM HAS
BEEN CALLED A "MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY" BY ITS
BOOSTERS, AND IT HAS BEEN CALLED "MOSAIC MADNESS" BY ITS
CRITICS. COMPARE AND CONTRAST
THESE VIEW POINTS IN REGARD TO THE NEEDS OF A COMPLEX URBAN SOCIETY?
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE:
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT THE STRUGGLE
FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT AND FOR THE
SETTLEMENT OF LONG-STANDING LAND
CLAIMS ARE THE TWO DIMENSIONS OF
"NATIVE ACTIVISM" AMONG THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE IN CANADA IN THE
MODERN CONTEXT? EXPLAIN AND
ANALYSE.
GENDER JUSTICE:
THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT SINCE THE 1960S HAS
PRESENTED CHALLENGES TO THE CANADIAN
STATE TO REORGANIZE
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RELATIONS IN CANADA. DISCUSS
THE KEY STRATEGIES USED AND MAJOR ISSUES ADDRESSED IN THE MOVE TOWARD ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL JUSTICE.
THE
"RACIALIZATION" OF POVERTY: RACIALIZED SOCIETIES ARE SOCIERTIES WHERE CERTAIN IDEAS BECOME LINKED
WITH RACE. IN WHAT WAYS IF ANY IS
POVERTY LINKED TO PARTICULAR GROUPS IN THIS SOCIETY? IF VISIBLE MINORITIES ARE DISPORPORTIONATELY IMPOVERISHED IN NORTH AMERICA, SHOULD WE ASSUME THAT POVERTY IS PRIMARILY
A RACIAL ISSUE? WHY OR WHY NOT? WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON MINORITY
FAMILY LIFE? ARE THERE WAYS TO BEGIN TO "MOUNT A
WINNING WAR ON POVERTY"?
MEDIA AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: EXAMINE THE PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISSEMINATION AND
CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES WITHIN MAINSTREAM PUBLIC
DISCOURSE, IN REGARD TO THE ROLES BEING PLAYED BY A BROAD RANGE
OF MEDIA AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FORMATION SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC STEREOTYPES: HOW ARE RACE/ETHNICITY
AND POWER PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE
"CRASH"? GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES AND
EXPLAIN HOW THESE CONCEPTS HELPED/IMPAIRED SOME OF THE CHARACTERS IN FORMING
THEIR OWN IDENTITY. ANALYZE WHETHER AND/OR
HOW CERTAIN KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS (POWER RELATIONSHIPS) AFFECT THE FINAL
IDENTITY THAT THE CHARACTERS CREATE FOR THEMSELVES.
WORKPLACE
DIVERSITY: ONE OF THE MAIN POLITICAL ECONOMIC PRESUMPTIONS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION IS THAT THERE IS A ‘BUSINESS
CASE FOR DIVERSITY’. HOWEVER, MANY RESEARCHERS [SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, “SELLING DIVERSITY,” YASMEEN
ABU-LABAN AND CHRISTINA GABRIEL
(2006)] NOTE THAT THE CURRENT “MANAGING DIVERSITY MODEL” IS BASED ON AN
ECONOMIC RATIONALISM THAT HAS
RENDERED A PROFOUNDLY NARROW VISION OF DIVERSITY. EXPLAIN AND ANALYSE.
GLOBALIZATION:
SOME ARGUE THAT IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION, THE REDUCTION OF NATIONAL STATE
REGULATIONS AND THE PROTECTION OF
THE INVESTMENT OF CORPORATIONS ARE
KEY TO SUSTAINING ECONOMIC GROWTH.
OTHERS CLAIM THAT RIGHTS OF CORPORATIONS SHOULD NOT TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER HUMAN
RIGHTS AND THAT STATE REGULATIONS ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE THE WELFARE OF PEOPLE. WHICH
POSITION DO YOU AGREE WITH AND
PROVIDE EXAMPLES TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM.
Reflecting the course, the major
papers will center on the sociological concepts of culture, social power and
ideology as the primary focus in the analysis of social change process. Two major
dimensions that I will evaluate your writing on are how well you substantiate
your statements and arguments and how rigorous and creative you are in dealing
with the material and the topic. Here are some suggestions which may be useful.
1. Substantiating
your ideas:
(a) Logical
argument (This is so because ...).
(b) Empirical
evidence (This is an experience or something that can be seen to occur in
society. You can base this on your own experience or descriptions from
empirical studies that you find in academic literature,
or other relevant reading material).
(c) Outside
sources (references, paraphrases and quotes from writers in the field that
lend support for what you are saying).
(d) Rules
for Internet Use: Only online journals and no NGO sites and publications
(unless pre-authorized by the Instructor)
2. Achieving
analytic depth and creativity:
(a)
Analogy (This is like ... e.g., comparing the
organization of society to the organization of a human body. Your articulation
of comparable characteristics adds a new and revealing way of seeing elements
[meanings, practices, and procedure] that make up the situation or phenomenon
that your analysing).
(b) Generating your own concepts (Thinking of
new labels for or a different way to express or explain a conventionally
understood situation, action or process, that brings out dimensions that make
it up but which may not be obvious or emphasized in our conventional
understandings.
A GOOD ESSAY NEEDS
TO HAVE A CLEAR, WELL FOCUSED
THESIS, REVIEWS RELEVANT LITERATURE, AND
IS ANALYTICAL (NOT SIMPLY DESCRIBING EVENT, BUT EXPLAINING WHY THEY HAPPEN).
YOU SHOULD SUPPLY EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR POSITION BY UTILIZING AVAILABLE
PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SOURCES.
YOUR ESSAY WILL BE
EVALUATED BASED ON YOUR ESSAY'S: ACADEMIC CONTENT, CLARITY, ORGANIZATION OF
IDEAS, PROPER USE OF SOURCES, PROPER QUOTATIONS AND
CITATIONS..
PLEASE REFER TO YORK'S
CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC WRITING <http://www.arts.yorku.ca/caw AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EQUITY STUDIES ESSAY WRITING
GUIDELINES FOR OTHER WRITING RESOURCES.
(1) ESSAY
SHOULD BE TYPED AND DOUBLE-SPACED.
(2) ESSAY
SHOULD BE TYPED IN THE "APA"
FORMAT (PLEASE REFER TO FILE
“MAJOR ESSAY FORMATTING REQUIRMENTS”).
(3) ESSAY
LENGTH: 8 TO 10 PAGES
(4) TEN
ACADEMIC SOURCES (MINIMUM)
(5) ESSAY
ON WHITE PAPER AND STAPLED IN THE
UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER. (NO
BINDERS PLEASE).
(6) MAKE
SURE TO HAVE A SECOND PRINT OF YOUR ESSAY (NOT ON THE DISKETTE) FOR YOUR OWN
FILES BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR PAPER.
(7) ESSAY
MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A COVER PAGE
CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING:
. STUDENT NAME AND
CLASS
. ESSAY TITLE
. DUE DATE
. NAME OF PROFESSOR
. NAME OF COURSE
NOTE ON
PLAGIARISM: PLAGIARISM
REFERS TO USE OF IDEAS, WORDS, SENTENCES, DATA,
ARGUMENTS, CALCULATIONS OR OTHER WORK
DONE BY SOMEBODY ELSE WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
PLAGIARISM IS CONSIDERED AS AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENSE AND CARRIES PENALTIES. YOU SHOULD PAY PARTICULAR
ATTENTION TO PROPER CITATION AND
QUOTATION RULES IN YOUR ESSAY. YORK UNIVERSITY
USES SOFTWARE THAT CAN CHECK FOR PLAGIARISM.
STUDENTS MAY BE REQUIRED TO
SUBMIT THEIR WRITTEN WORK IN
ELECTRONIC FORM AND HAVE IT CHECKED FOR PLAGIARISM.
***NOTE ON
EMAILING PAPERS: NO
EMAILING PAPERS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES