Reference no: EM132282221
A1: The Social Sciences and Modern Dilemmas
This assignment addresses course outcomes 2, 3 and 5. In this final essay assignment you will choose one contemporary dilemma facing humanity and explore how the social sciences have evaluated the dilemma and provided some, if any, possible solutions for the dilemma. You will also be evaluating whether the analysis and solutions are consistent with one or more social science disciplines or theories.
You may choose any of the social policy dilemmas described in the course; those with larger readings sets are the more obvious choices. For example, possible topics could be the rise of populism and democracies in peril; economic crisis and/or inequality in healthcare/income; war and other foreign behaviors; or energy use and global warming.
After choosing your dilemma, you will investigate how the social science disciplines can help identify the causes driving the dilemma, and what can be done to change it. You will also compare the utility of the disciplines and theories against the dilemma and determine whether any particular solution(s) conforms more with one discipline or theory than another. In this assignment, you will evaluate how well the social sciences have attempted to explain this dilemma, and where appropriate, you should use events and evidence that support your analysis, always being sure to cite everything properly using APA formatting.
Before beginning this project, please be sure you have thoroughly read and reviewed the content of Modules 6 and 7. Pay special attention to the readings and other materials that review significant social dilemmas confronting humanity, and choose one among them for further analysis.
Any of these dilemmas are acceptable (as is selecting one in consultation with your instructor): the rise of populism and democracies in peril; economic crisis and/or inequality in healthcare/income; war and other foreign behaviors; or energy use and global warming. After selecting your topic, write an essay addressing the following questions.
• Identify your chosen social dilemma and explain why you chose it.
• What is the state of social science knowledge on your chosen dilemma (e.g., its causes, likely consequences)? Does it vary by discipline (e.g., do economists look at the dilemma differently than sociologists)?
• Identifying at least two different theories or disciplines, do these social scientists evaluate the dilemma differently and come up with different solutions to it? How?
• Based on your own study of the social sciences, what assessments and solutions do you see as most likely to succeed in addressing your selected dilemma? Why? Do they conform to any one social science discipline or theory more than the others? If so, which?
• Finally, do you find this dilemma to be intractable, insoluble as it were, or do you believe that humanity and social scientists are up to this challenge? Be sure to provide and otherwise draw on examples from your experience.
Your essay will be evaluated in terms of how thoroughly you: answer the questions above, use resources to document your main points, and properly cite referenced work. Your essay should address all of the questions above and should consist of at least 1,250 words of text (at least 5 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text). Use in-text citations and a reference list will make up an additional page.
To successfully complete M7A1, you will need to organize your responses to the questions and then craft a formatted essay that includes each of the following:
• A title page;
• Well-developed introductory paragraph explaining the purpose of the essay and briefly referencing some of the main points/contentions offered in the essay;
• The body of the essay should consist of your effort to best answer the primary questions from the assignment prompt and should consist of at least 1,250 words of text (at least 5 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text). Though the method by which this is done is largely up to you, it is essential that the responses to the questions in the prompt be based upon scholarly readings and should remain at all times defensible (in an academic sense).
You have a great deal of information to draw from in creating your essay, including the assigned readings and hyperlinked sources in the module notes. As is the case with every assignment in SOC110, presenting any unsubstantiated, illogical, or indefensible position will have an adverse effect on the final grade. Please direct any questions regarding these expectations to the instructor;
• A concise concluding paragraph that briefly restates both the purpose of the essay as well as some of the primary argument offered by you, the essay's author. Be sure the concluding paragraph does not introduce new information;
• A list of all sources consulted the preparation of the essay. The essay should be formatted according to APA-style documentation. This includes the format of the list of references.
Read:
• Required
o Module Notes: Energy, Climate, and Humanity's Fate on Earth
o Hunt, E. & Colander, D. (2014). Social Science: An Introduction to the Study of Society (15th). New York, NY: Routledge.
Chapter 6: Technology and Society, pp. 111-116
Chapter 17: The Economy, Government, and Economic Challenges Facing the United States, pp. 350-351
D1: Global Warming and the Social Sciences
This discussion addresses module outcome 1. Global warming and climate change are so serious that the addition of more water to the seas has actually caused the earth's rotational axis to shift . In this discussion, you will confront the creeping ravages of global warming and climate change, while assessing whether the social sciences can help us solve this all-encompassing dilemma facing humanity.
Before beginning this activity, be sure to read the module notes and the assigned readings and viewings. You should also reflect upon the materials in Module 6, which went over other international dilemmas and the prospects for interdisciplinary research solving them. Use and cite as much detail from the readings and other learning materials in these modules as possible to answer the following questions:
• Drawing on your considered assessment and personal experiences, is global warming real and who is most responsible for this situation?
• Given your deeper understanding of the social sciences, do you believe the challenge of global warming and climate change can be effectively addressed by humanity? If so, how; if not, why not?
• Finally, can humanity avoid a tragedy of the climate commons? If so, how and who will do it (e.g., must the state police/punish the energy industry, or will the energy industry and society evolve on their own toward climate protection?)?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words and must substantively integrate the assigned readings with proper APA style formatting.
Read:
• Required
o Module Notes: Energy, Climate, and Humanity's Fate on Earth
o Hunt, E. & Colander, D. (2014). Social Science: An Introduction to the Study of Society (15th). New York, NY: Routledge.
Chapter 6: Technology and Society, pp. 111-116
Chapter 17: The Economy, Government, and Economic Challenges Facing the United States, pp. 350-351
• Bradshaw, M. (2014). Global energy dilemmas: Energy security, globalization, and climate change. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Polity Press, pp. ix-22. Retrieved from EBSCO database.