Course assignment: social justice in the media
Today, I retrieved an assignment I submitted for a course I just finished SOSC 1710 - People in Society. I was also very pleased to get an A+ on this assignment.
This assignment was to pick a topic related to social sciences, find and clip articles in the media and then write an introduction and a conclusion to the collection of articles. My axe-to-grind focused on social justice - in a broad sense.
I've included the text of my assignment in its entirety, or can be downloaded here (in PDF).
1. IntroductionMy collection of articles focuses on the general issue of social justice. Social justice is a very broad topic, including issues of poverty and homelessness issues both domestically and abroad, of environmental stewardship, of business ethics, of national security in the light of September 11, 2001, of the roles of religion and education, and on figures that have shaped the face of social justice and social welfare. In the light of the recent surge in terrorist activities, critics and experts have been trying to pinpoint root causes. After reading Thomas Dixon-Homer’s Ingenuity Gap, I am further convinced that poverty in the Third World is indirectly and sometimes directly contributing to the problems that we in the Western world are experiencing. Terrorism is largely a symptom of things terribly wrong in the world today. We in the West are so comfortable that we are detached from the reality of the situations around the world. We have and are continuing to contribute the problems that have helped shepherd in a whole host of global “situations”. Our inattention to poverty and our blindness to corporate excesses project a terrible image to a world that is growing angrier and more impatient with us.I am especially concerned in developing an informed perspective as an integral part of a contemplative faith. I realized my Christian worldview was completely inadequate to explain the problems in the world. It was inconsistent with a greater reality I was beginning to realize, as it was isolated in a bubble isolated from reality. I began to search for a faith and spirituality that is vibrant and relevant to the issues facing me at home and facing others around the world. As the theme song to the cartoon G.I. Joe so eloquently puts it, “Knowing is half the battle,” John Stott, a famous preacher exhorted his congregation to daily read the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. My contemplative faith plays in concert with my concerns in social justice. I have been volunteering with a downtown church to hand out bagged lunches to homeless people and pandhandlers in downtown Toronto. The meals have been a means to engage in conversation with people who are looked down as second class. My conversations with a huge variety of people have reformed my misconceptions about the poor. I agree wholeheartedly with the tagline “Everybody has an opinion, but is it informed?” taken from a previous Globe and Mail advertising campaign. My opinions were challenged as I engaged in conversation with the local poor, and in discussion with those passionately serving them. These articles are just a representative sampling of the threads in my thought processes as I contemplate and seek out living the two great commandments: Loving God and loving my neighbour. (Matt 22:37-40) 2. Article arrangement2.1. Poverty
2.2. Environment
2.3. Business, economics, ethics
2.4. National security issues
2.5. Religion, education
2.6. Influential figures
3. Concluding remarksMany of the articles collected are exclusively from the Globe and Mail. At first, this was an unconscious decision; since this would be making good use of the daily paper that I subscribe to anyways. I find that the Globe and Mail has a very balanced journalistic approach. I delight in the irony that journalists such as Naomi Klein, author of the anti-globalization movement’s bible “No Logo” is a (somewhat) regular columnist in a paper containing the regarded business institution, the Report on Business. I find that the Globe is very even-handed in its approach to social justice issues. I personally feel that it exhibits high journalistic integrity. I also collected articles from alternative media, such as Sojourner magazine. I also printed three book reviews from the Journal of Socio-Economics relating to larger social justice issues. I believe that addressing social justice issues positively means being stewards of the planet in a radically different way. The selection of articles seems eclectic, but I believe they are intricately linked to social justice issues. The abuse of the environment is just another aspect of willful ignorance of western consumers and corporations towards stewardship of the planet. The articles on national security issues reflect the symptoms of social injustices rearing its ugly head. Globalization is a phenomenon that is here to stay, despite what its opponents are trying to do. Globalization is creating many winners, but more importantly for us, is to realize is that it is creating a dangerous and disaffected underclass. From a quick skim through articles in several academic journals, most intellectuals agree that the current path of “business as usual” is a recipe for disaster. Spiritual guides throughout the world are pointing to social injustices that need to be righted if we desire to reduce conflict in the future. In business strategy planning, “win-win” solutions are sought. I believe that “win-win” solutions exist for the global population. However, there is no consensus on what these “win-win” solutions look like - there is a conflict in perspectives. Our rich western economies have shifted towards being shareholder-oriented. Many of the societies whose values we seek to subvert are stakeholder oriented. Unfettered capitalism, which is really economic Darwinianism, is leading us on a “race to the bottom”. As a “disciple of Christ”, I have found the Bible full of direct commandments to “take care of the poor”. The west will also be in a race to the bottom if we continue to ignore social injustices. I believe a critical examination of the principles found in Christ’s teachings reveal truth about the human condition and point toward developing creative and just ways to right wrongs and to restore humanity. The prophetic call has been and still is to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) |
Comments
Yo. Nice write-up. (small grammatical errors ignored) Although I was expecting more analysis. :) But then I re-read your the blog-post. Serves me right for skimming.
Good work. I may, one day, borrow your collection of articles! Since my 4th year Policy courses, I've been interested in putting together an applied Christian curriculum based on thought-provoking articles. Definitely, much of your collection of social justice and globalization articles would apply.
And now, with my recent re-conversion to introverted tendancies, I may actually get this done.
Blessing,
Alan
"And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6
Posted by: Alan | July 11, 2002 4:25 PM
More analysis, eh? Well, that was at the limits of the allotted length for this assignment. I know I can go on and expound quite a bit.
Anyhow, Brian Walsh, Chaplain of the Christian Reformed Campus Ministries at UT has a really great resource: the "Bibliography We Can't Live Without". It is quite a comprehensive collection of books and materials that are instrumental for those who practice a contemplative faith.
Yeah, I feel I have greater license to feed my introverted senses now.
peace,
dan
Posted by: Dan | July 12, 2002 11:23 PM