Week 3: Implementing and Sustaining Social Responsibility

Consider the personal stories Loeb (2010) has shared about Virginia Ramirez, Julius Davis, and Alison Smith. Ramirez was enraged when an elderly woman died because her home did not have heat; Davis was awakened from discouragement after accidental exposure to a Malcolm X speech; and Smith witnessed unethical environmental practices in her neighborhood. Each event sparked something in these individuals to move them from emotion to action.

As you reflect on these stories and on your own experiences, pay attention to what sets apart the people who talk about things they care about and the people who act on them. Moreover, while it is one thing to take action one time, what goes into making sure that such socially responsible actions continue?

This week, you explore social issues that become social movements, and examine the factors that contribute to a social movement’s sustainability. You also conduct further research on your social issue topic, and write a literature review focused on potential solutions to this issue.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze commonalities in implementing social movements
• Analyze the sustainability of social movements
• Analyze multiple perspectives on a topic
• Write a literature review

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materialssection of your Syllabus.

REQUIRED READINGS

Loeb, P. R. (2010). Soul of a citizen: Living with conviction in challenging times (rev. ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin.

• Chapter 5, “Unforeseen Fruits” (pp. 105–124)
• Chapter 6, “The Call of Stories” (pp. 125–160)
• Chapter 7, “Values, Work, and Family” (pp. 161–194)

Black, K. (2007). Considerations in writing a literature review. New Social Worker, 14(2), 12-13.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Walden University Writing Center. (2015). Common course assignments: Literature reviews. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/as...

Document: Sample Literature Review (Word document)

Document: Course Project Overview and Guidelines (Word document)

REQUIRED MEDIA

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015c). Exploring social issues that become social movements [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

HOMEWORK:
1.Discussion: Implementing and Sustaining Social Movements

In large part, the impetus of a social movement is often a personal, emotional connection to a social issue. However, emotional connection alone is not enough to sustain the perseverance necessary to achieve social change. In this week’s Discussion, you analyze examples of social movements to identify common factors that can contribute to their success and sustainability.

By Day 1

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review this week’s assigned reading from the Loeb text.
• Select three movements of social responsibility from the reading on which to focus. What common factors do they share in terms of impetus to becoming a movement? How sustainable has each movement been and what has contributed to that sustainability?
• Read the Discussion Spark topic, question, or comment posted by your Instructor in the Discussion thread.

By Day 2

Post a response to the Discussion Spark post. Your response should contain at least two significant paragraphs. Read the Discussion Rubric, as it will inform your writing. Important Note: The Discussion Spark and the weekly Discussion topic below will be graded together. You will see one score in your My Grades area.

By Day 4

Post a response of 2 or 3 paragraphs that includes brief descriptions of the three movements you selected. Explain the common factors or conditions that contributed to the start of each movement. Select one movement and explain why it was successful in making a social change impact. Include contributing factors for the movement’s sustainability.

Support your assertions by making at least two references, in proper APA format, to your course readings.

2.Project: Course Project: Literature Review

A literature review is a written approach to examining published information on a particular topic or field. An author uses this review of literature to create a foundation and justification for his or her research or to demonstrate knowledge on the current state of a field. 

—Walden University Writing Center (2015)

In your Topic Exploration and Analysis Assignment in Week 2, you selected a social issue, analyzed its background information, developed a problem statement, and provided an explanation about why the social issue is important to investigate. This week, you examine multiple perspectives regarding potential solutions to that social issue.

Note: Even though you may have selected an issue about which you have strong feelings, it is important to work from as neutral a perspective as possible and try not to let your personal values and perceptions cloud your objectivity. In writing a literature review, your goal is to present information about a topic that already exists in the scholarly literature – not to share personal opinions. You will be expected to use evidence to support your statements by citing resources from the Walden Library.

To prepare for this Project:

• Read the Black (2007) and Walden University Writing Center (2011) articles and review the Sample Literature Review in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Use the Walden Library to research multiple perspectives regarding potential solutions to the social issue you selected in Week 2.
• From this research, identify a minimum of two potential solutions to the social issue.
• Select a minimum of two scholarly resources from the Walden Library to support each of the potential solutions you identified.

By Day 7

Write a 2- to 3-page synopsis (not including the cover page or references) of your resource findings. Address the following in your review of the scholarly literature and be sure to use evidence to support your statements for each component:

• Describe at least two potential solutions to the social issue. What are the key steps involved with each potential solution?
• Are the potential solutions feasible? Explain.
• Are there any conflicts among the various perspectives regarding potential solutions to the social issue? What are the conflicts that exist? If you do not believe there are any conflicts, explain how you arrived at this conclusion.
• What are the interests, rights, and values of all parties (stakeholders) involved with the potential solutions to the social issue?
• Are there ethical dilemmas involved with the potential solutions the social issue? Explain. If you do not believe there are any ethical dilemmas, explain how you arrived at this conclusion.

Be sure to include an introduction, body, conclusion, and reference page, using APA format to cite each of your sources in the body of your paper.

In order to receive full credit, all Assignments are due on time. Should you encounter an unanticipated and uncontrollable life event that may prevent you from meeting an assignment deadline, contact the Instructor immediately to request an extension. Your Instructor’s contact information is in the Contact the Instructor area in the left navigation bar. For a full description of the late policy, please refer to the “Policies on Late Assignments” area of your Syllabus.