Looking Deeply at a Social Problem
Pinpoint a systemic problem that you once saw in shallow ways. This may a problem you experienced or witnessed others experiencing. Write an essay to help your reader see the problem in deeper ways. Draw from the course materials and use the course tools to give your reader a view that redirects their misdirected blame, anger, or ill will. Use these guidelines if you need help building your essay:
Recount the problem as you experienced or witnessed it.
Meet your reader where they are in that moment by acknowledging their shallow view of the problem. Help them to see ideologies or patterns of thinking that contribute to the shallow view.
Reveal the deeper story: What social conditions give rise to the problem? What history helps us understand the problem?
Reveal possible path(s) forward: What can your reader do now that he or she has a deeper understanding of the problem?