February 17th. Blog Workshop

This is my post today, for our workshop. Some of us have had a lot of troubles with our terrible computers. Please send LSS new Computers….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

 

Assignment #5. Highway of Tears

Your assignment this week is to examine the Highway of Tears tragedy and critically analyze why this story has yet to receive the media attention that many stories of missing girl(s) receives. What does this show about inequality of the citizens in Canada? Try and find a current article on this story. What has been going on recently? Has there been more or less media coverage?Why is this the case?

Check out the website:http://www.highwayoftears.ca/

Create a post to educate others about the Highway of Tears and about some of the missing girls. What should be done? Post on each others blogs about this issue and about what can be done to gain more awareness and to solve this unsolved crimes.

Assignment #4. Silence is Consent

With respect to the reading “The cycle of Socialization” by Bobbie Haro, she writes when explaining how our actions affect predjudice and discrimination, that “our silence is our consent.” (pp 20).

What does  the author mean? Explain using examples, possible find articles that speak on this.

Give an example of a time you remained silent. What could you have done instead? What kind of direction for change could you or would you employ in the future? (refer to the cycle of socialization article)

Assignment #3. Explore Human Rights Violations

Explore current issues of human rights violations in the global sphere. Look through different watchdog organizations websites for information such as The United Nations, Amnesty International or UNICEF.

One website that would be a good place to start is3

http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/page.do?id=1041024

Explore the different countries and the potential human rights violations that are occuring. Write a 250 word summary of an human rights issue and the violations that are taking place in one of these countries. Read each others blogs and comment on how we could help raise awareness on each others blog.

Blog Assignment #2. Bias and Media Literacy

After discussing the growing importance of media literacy and understaning and identifying bias in our SJ class. I want you to examine a few websites about one of the most important and socially significant activists of the last 100 years. Martin Luther King Jr.

Visit the following websites and try to identify bias, facts and opinion. Answer the follow up questions below about the websites:

1. Does anything immediately come to mind about the website names or domains?

2. Did you find any biases in the websites? Explain how you figured this out.

3. If you were going to write a report on MLK jr. which website would you use? Why? What steps would you take in establishing what is fact and what is opinon?

4. Explain why media literacy is so important during these current times.

http://www.mlkonline.net/

www.martinlutherking.org

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

 

Social Justice 12. First Blog Assignment. Critical Consciousness

Paulo Freire created the concept of  a “critical consciousness”. Explain what this concept means. (use the links below to help you create a defintion)

http://www.hermes-press.com/freire1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_consciousness

Why do you think it is important for individuals living in both the developing and developed world to create a “critical consciousness”?

How does creating a “critical consciousness” within ourselves change our lives and our interactions with those around us?

1. Answer these two questions and comment on others answers from our class on each others blog.

This assignment is due monday.

New Social Justice Class Blogs!!!

Wow everyone has started up their new blogs…. how exciting. This is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait for our first blog assignment on Friday!!!!!!!

Assignment #9. Toward a definition.

The term Globalization is often defined in a multitude of ways with both positive and negative conclusions about its impact. One thing that we cannot argue is that our world is becoming more connected and globalization is not slowing down.
I want you you create your own unique definition of Globalization and whether you believe it is a positive or negative force. Obviously, you will be able to find aspects to support both sides of the argument, but choose one and explain why you believe it to be positive or negative.

Use the activities from class and the reading to help support your definition and viewpoint.

Assignment #8. Genders. Can our world have more than two?

After our lengthy discussions and activities this week about what it means to be male and female in our society we realized how polarized and opposite our definitions of the male and female gender are. Problematic.

Instead, if you think about gender instead as a continuous line with our definitions of our socialized male and female at opposite ends and most of our qualities and who we are lie somewhere in between (think about how similar our questionnaires were).

So the question I pose for you is. What happens to an individual in our society if they fall in between? What about if your sex conflicts with your gender Identity?

Here is a start:

You may be familiar with this story if not check it out:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/34037724/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

What other stories can you find on gender identity issues? Maybe you know someone?

Think about how our roles are set by being male and female and what happens to someone in our society if they can’t identify with these roles.

What happens to them if their identitied sex (having XX or XY chromosomes) don’t match to their gender?

Conduct some research on gender identity disorder or gender identity problems, find a story about someone and share. Answer the above questions in your post. Take this idea where you want. we will be studying this next week.

Remember this blog assignment is due Sunday evening.

Assignment #7 Hate Crime Legislation

One of the topics of legislation in BC lately is hate crimes especially toward sexual orientation targeted attacks.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/hatecrimes/

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100430/bc_kandola_hate_crime_100430/20100430?hub=BritishColumbia

Examine one recent case of hate crime in BC and post a link to the case (or newsreport) and explain who was involved the outcome and the impact on the community involved (not necessarily the gay community). How does this effect the amounts of hate crimes that may take place?

Do you think that the recent hate crime legislation is important for equality? How does it lead to decrease the impact of violence and oppression for minority groups.

Read each others blogs and comment.