Diversity Project Directions
The biggest single project you have in this class is a Diversity exercise. It is expected that you will be thinking about and researching this topic throughout the course. Many of the activities we do should help you in this regard. Your project is not due until the Prejudice and Discrimination module that comes up near the end of the class, but you do not want to wait until the last minute to start this project.
Why are we doing this exercise? Often we need practice at understanding the worldview and experiences of members of social groups other than our own. This exercise is designed to give you some of that practice. You will share what you learned with the class in a discussion so that we will all benefit from your experience. Systemic racism is rampant in our world. It is not enough to not be racist, we have to do the work to become anti-racist. It is therefore imperative that all of us have some training in anti-racism and why it is important. This exercise should start you on that path.
The process:
Choose a marginalized ethnic group to which you do not belong. Please note: If you took PSY 1100 here at Sinclair and chose an ethnic group for your Diversity Awareness exercise, you should choose a different group for this project.
Spend at least two hours researching this group through Internet sites, books, or articles. You may want to start with these guides our librarians have put together: Equity and Diversity and Antiracism. Make sure to browse through the tabs that may be more useful for your group (Ageism, Gender & Sexism, or Religion for example) and will link you to other resources including videos. Here are some other websites you may find helpful:
Social Psychology Network
The Southern Poverty Law Center
Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance)
Find an individual who is a member of that group who is willing to talk with you and spend at least one half hour listening and asking questions about their experience. Be sure to ask about the advantages and disadvantages of being a member of their group and about their concerns and hopes for their group. Make sure that you ask them specifically about times when they or a loved one were harmed or held back in some way by a public institution. The focus of your interaction should be on how their different experience of life has made their world view different than your own as well as any similarities in perspectives you may have.
NOTE: The process of research, attending meetings, and talking with a group member should take at least 3-5 hours.
Submit these three items:
1. Submit a reaction paper as an attachment in the dropbox.
Answer the questions below in 3-5 pages typed in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format ( file type = .rtf). If relevant, include the URL of the home page of the web site you used as your principal source. Discuss what you have learned, your reactions to that learning, and questions/topics for your future investigation.
Questions to answer in your paper:
What social group did you investigate? Why did you choose this group?
Give a short background of your group, assuming that your reader knows nothing about it.
What is one thing about the life experience of your interviewee that surprised you?
What is one thing about the life experience of your interviewee with which you could identify?
How did you feel hearing about the institutional racism they have experienced?
What else did you learn as a result of doing this assignment?
Will you approach people who are members of this group differently as a result of your experience? How?
2. Include a reference list.
Be sure to include the URL’s of any web sites that you use in your research and include any interviews you conduct. Copy the URL (web address) of the home page of the website you used, if it is your principal source. When using Internet sites be sure to include the full address of the website.
Format the list according to a standard style (points will be deducted if this is omitted). Follow a standard style, such as the APA style or MLA style. Use whatever style for reference lists you have most recently studied. If you don’t have instructions for doing a reference, refer to Sinclair’s library web page for instructions.
3. Post answers to these four questions in the discussion:
What social group did you investigate? Why did you choose this group?
Give a short background of your group assume your reader knows nothing about it.
What else did you learn as a result of doing this assignment?
What was the most significant thing you came away with from the experience?
Support your opinions with information from your textbook, readings, or learning activities.
Scoring Criteria
This assignment is worth 150 points. Ten points will be deducted per week if your assignment is late. Any paper that is plagiarized will receive a “0” for the assignment.
Content (120 points):
Student indicated which social group they investigated. (10 points)
Student indicated why the social group was chosen. (10 pts)
Student provided brief, but adequate background information on the group. (20 pts)
Student indicated at least one thing about the interviewee that was surprising. (10 pts)
Student indicated at least one way in which they could identify with the life experience of their interviewee. (20 pts)
Student listed at least one additional bit of information learned from the interview/assignment. (20 pts)
Student explained whether they will treat members of the group differently in the future and how. (30 pts)
Grammar/Mechanics/Organization of Ideas (30 points):
Paper is logical, organized, and conveys important ideas clearly. (10 pts)
Paper contains few or no grammatical or structural errors. (10 pts)
References have been listed following a standard citation style. (10 pts)