My project will be examining why the academic field of history is lacking in ethnic diversity as well as the range of global history taught in secondary education. In terms of the employment of ethnic minorities in academia in the field of history, I wish to understand if the employment today reflect the reality of the population demographics of the West. For example, this project aims to discover the historical education curriculum in places such as Great Britain, and how much of it reflects the nation’s colonial past and the diverse populations that played a major part in the trajectory of the country’s modern history. A closer example would be the United States, and how much of the historic content taught in classes are spent outside of the domestic issues and the Second World War. This study will also look into the benefits of a more diverse employment of ethnic minorities who can shed new light on their experiences as well as their respective ethnic group’s contributions to the history of their adopted homes. Another topic this project will look into is how the history curriculum can change to adapt to a more diverse America today. Perhaps through this project’s research, I can present a better reflection for the field of history.
Tag: weekof8/9
Project Proposal-Caitlin
My project will focus on the stigma behind men’s mental health and the stereotypes that deter men from reaching out for help. The reason I want to research this issue is because throughout this class, I have mainly focused on how sexism affects women because it is something I can relate to, but I want to research men’s mental health and show that it is also very important too and a topic that needs to be talked about more. This issue is commonly ignored due to stereotypes such as men don’t cry, need to ask for help, or show emotions is incredibly harmful and untrue. It creates a more toxic scenario in which the person struggling refuses to ask for help resulting in the problems festering and getting worse. There is a reason why almost two-thirds of all suicides are by men. This is the first time throughout this class that I am looking into this problem so I currently do not have any sources, but I am sure that the Syracuse Library Database has many promising articles, and I plan on looking for informative TEDtalks that go further in depth on men’s mental health because I am sure some exist. Through this research, I want to show people that they are not alone in their struggles and that there is no shame in asking for help. No one deserves to struggle alone. I think my intended audience would be men in their late teens and early twenties who might not have had the courage to ask for help and still believe that there is something wrong with needing help.
Discussion 8/9
- The article How To Create a Culture Manifesto for Your Organization by Mollie West talks about various different companies that all take time to think about their culture manifesto and develop it as a team. Each company that explained their methods in creating these manifestos all went about it in different ways, and yet reached many of the same conclusions. West took these incredibly different organizations and accentuated the similarities between all of their approaches to manufacture these. Her article was separates by paragraphs, each concentrating on a company and their culture manifesto, specifically the way it came about and its main focuses. After speaking about the various ways they came about within these organizations, the article wrapped up by informing the reader of a beneficial way to compose one’s own culture manifesto, as the supervisor of a company. Through this last section of the article, it became clear to me that the intended audience are the managers/supervisors in charge of large groups of people, because men and women in charge should clarify the companies’ beliefs and expectations in terms of its workers.
- After concentrating the past two units on women’s mental health in reference to sexism in two different professions, I think that I am going to focus more on men’s mental health and the ways in which it is ignored due to toxic expectations for males. For my previous research, I wanted to delve deeper into topics that might affect me in the future as a female, but for this unit I wanted to switch things up. I have witnessed some of my brothers and my male friends struggle with various different mental health issues and have seen the aftermath of them strictly internalizing their problems without reaching out for help because of the belief that men don’t need any help. These stereotypes are very harmful because the ideas that boys should never cry or show emotion gives the notion that these potential answers are not viable for men. I think this research would mainly benefit men who might need a sign to ask for help and to realize that they are not alone in their struggles, so to do this, the information would be most beneficial on a platform where everyone would see it, such as popular social media sites. Many people my age find much of their news on their phone on sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Therefore, if research and reputable advice was posted there, the intended audience would have a high chance of seeing it and hopefully listen.
Project Proposal
My project will be examining the experience of women in the workplace. I am going to narrow my focus in on the discrimination and sexual harassment women endure every single day. I then would like to include information about BIPOC women and how that changes the experience even more. I hope to not only educate people on what this is but provide further information on how to identify it and how to not be a bystander. In other words, I would like this to do more than list off facts.
I want to present my information on an infographic because they are very informative and easy to read. However, space is limited so I will have to identify the most important sub-areas to cover. Since I did not cover this personally in Unit 1 or 2, I have to start from scratch with my sources. I want to include quotes of first-hand accounts as well as statistics to strengthen my argument. My audience will be young people entering the workforce.
As a woman, I think this topic is important to discuss because it affects our ability to feel safe, comfortable, and perform at our highest abilities. For some reason it is 2021 and this is still a daily issue.
Project Proposal – Dylan
My proposed project is to create a blog focused on the ways artificial intelligence is being used in human resources with the mission of advocating for more transparency around how it is used and more accountability from the organizations that are using it. My goal is to create a “home” or resource center for this topic where interested parties can gather to get and share information and potentially mobilize to change public policy. My target audience would be anyone concerned with protecting worker and civil rights, including the workers themselves, but more specifically individuals who have some authority to make change, such as disability rights activists, social justice activists, journalists, people working in employment law, and elected officials.
Given the amount of time left in the summer session, I envision launching a basic framework for the blog that will include a welcome message to explain the major issues and stakes related to AI in HR and to inspire others to participate in creating a community with me. My message will include embedded links to relevant supporting sources. In the blog framework, I will also create a subsection for Recommended Reading, where links to important research and articles can be found, and a subsection for an Advocacy Toolkit. I’m still trying to decide exactly what would go into these sections, but I know I want to at least provide readers with a few recommendations for practical things they can do to help the cause. I would love to spark a movement that would lead to real change.
Project Proposal- Julia
For my project, I will be examining the reasoning behind why female underrepresentation in STEM exists. To accomplish this, I will be evaluating various elements that may cause female underrepresentation. I will be using different sources to help me analyze my subject, mostly from my research portfolio that I completed at the end of unit two. These include popular sources, scholarly/academic articles, media such as TED talks, along with anything else that I may stumble upon that may be relevant to by subject. These sources will then translate into a paper which is written in a popular article format, such as a magazine. It will be around two pages typed, in length.
For my analysis I will be focusing on something different than when I emphasized the gravity that biological factors have in unit two. For this unit, I would like to dig deeper into some of the social factors that may influence female underrepresentation. The sources that I gathered in unit two focused on these factors (social), so I look forward to sharing them more with the class. After presenting my evidence, my analysis will lead the reader to understand that various factors lead to underrepresentation. Although certain factors may not be controlled, many are determined by our own choices.
In order to be successful in conveying my thoughts surrounding the reasons behind the underrepresentation of women, it is crucial to determine my target audience. For this project, I will be targeting college students. I believe college students are a great audience to target because many often have preconceived notions surrounding the reasons why something is the way it is. I think being able to present information to my peers in a concise manner would be beneficial not only to the audience to learn more about the topic but also for myself. I think it would be great to understand how to convey a message that is important but also engaging with people my age.
I look forward to exploring this subject further and cannot wait for the end result.
Project Proposal – Sherri
My project will be examining what it means to have significant and purposeful equity and inclusion for Black people in the workplace. I’ll be working with sources that are first-hand accounts of experiences of Black employees as well as scholarly sources that provide historical context on how misperceptions about Black people in society at-large leaks into the workplace. I’ll also be using data that shows higher levels of inequitable treatment of Black workers versus most other ethnicities as well as how initiatives that work for other underrepresented groups may not work for Black employees, despite the reverse being true. Additionally, I will speak to several of the criticisms that some people will surely have regarding this topic. I plan on building a case for there to be objectives and policies put into place that address the unique needs of Black employees and why this might benefit an organization. Ultimately, I hope to offer concrete solutions on how to meet those objectives. My intended audience will be company leaders and executives because as we’ve all learned as a class, without the buy-in of those at the top, meaningful change to company culture will not happen.
Thinking some more about genre
In our discussion work this week and next, I’m asking you to think about genre and what shape your final project will take. You’ve got a lot of latitude here to decide that shape, and it’s worth thinking some more about how genre connects to audience and purpose as you do so.
How genres come to be as they are
First off, while it’s useful to think of genres as different types or categories (such as we use for sorting movies or music into meaningful ‘buckets’ or groups), genres are not static. Rather, genres are adaptive and organic. The pop music of today does not sound like the pop music of the 1960s. The circumstances, expectations, and preferences have shifted, and what is popular now is different from what was popular then.
Secondly, while genres have conventions and expectations (people come to a particular genre of movies expecting them to follow certain ‘rules,’ for example), these genre conventions aren’t written in stone. Users challenge them all the time, bending these notions to come up with something new. Think about the film Get Out–it was a comedy right? or was it horror? or was it something else altogether?
When it comes to writing, I think it’s helpful to think of genres as usable responses to recurring writing situations. Need to apply for a job? A cover letter gets the job done. It’s not fancy or exciting, but it contains the elements that a hiring manager would want to know, and in a pretty usable way that lets the reader go about their work efficiently. That didn’t just happen–the genre evolved as this situation (people applying for jobs) kept happening, and people kept responding in pretty consistent ways. Over time, this type of text took on a pretty predictable form. Now, people know what to expect from it (both the writers and the readers), and that makes it a pretty functional tool.
It’s important for writers to consider their readers’ needs as they write. This is all the more true outside of a classroom setting. A teacher reader has to read students’ texts–that’s literally their job–but outside of the classroom, readers seldom have that same requirement. Instead, we make choices about what, whether, and how well we read. When we bump into texts that don’t seem to meet our needs and interests, we often just don’t read them. Or we only skim them.
So what? Who cares?
In your project proposal (due Sunday), your task is to settle upon an objective that you think matters–you’ve learned information that you really want to share with people whom you think need it, and if you’re going to accomplish that goal of information delivery, then you need to think carefully about what your reader will expect, value, and want in a text. That’s why you’ve got so much latitude to determine the genre you use, and it’s why you’ll need to think carefully about it.
As you’re settling on a genre, it’s really valuable to look for examples of that type of text that you think work really well, and then to read them closely, paying attention to things like
- what kind of tone does this author use
- how long is this text
- how does the writer talk about/point to evidence
- what role do graphics play here
- what kinds of style and syntax does the writer employ
- how formal is the voice
- what level of detail does the text provide
- what sorts of word choices does the writer make
So start poking around to look at some of your options. For next week’s readings, you’ll be looking at sample texts in a variety of different genres, but I’d like you to keep looking for models, as well, so that you can see the above considerations in action and be able to draw lessons for yourself. Next week’s discussion work will ask you to share something you’ve found, so start looking now.
Discussion 8/9
1.“Individual Change Won’t Create Gender Equality in Organizations” By Alison Wynn is a blog post on the University of Minnesota’s Gender Policy Report page. The purpose of this article is to examin the need for equity in the workplace with a focus on gender. The format of the post clearly outlines key topics of Wynn’s claim through the use of headings. Wynn uses a numbered list in order to map out the “Steps Toward Organizational Change and uses hyperlinks throughout her writing in order to keep the reader engaged and clarify any unknown references. Another interesting strategy that wynn used was the direct quotation of the key pisces from surrounding paragraphs. By making these quotations in a larger font and different color, Wynn uses visuals to stress important aspects rather than rephrasing or adding unnecessary information. I believe that Wynn’s style of writing and meshed well with the form of media she was producing as well as the audience she was trying to reach. Most of the people who would seek out blog posts as a source of information would be more receptive to short engaging writing rather than long winded an impersonal texts. Because of this, Wynn is able to reach her target audience and spread awareness about the need for equity as well as the step needed to achieve it.
2.The topic of LGBTQIA+ equity in the workplace encapsulates a wide variety of both modern day and historical issues, Because of this I am going to create a one-pager that narrates the history and affects of inequity for queer indiviuals within corporate AMerica. I also plan on listing some helpful resources for members of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as articles for anyone who wants to become an ally. At my internship, one-pagers are extremely useful in conveying relevant information through brief bullet points and images. I plan on using some of the skills I have gained to create one about a Queer individuals in the workplace and spread some much needed awareness on the topic. If I feel as if there is more information than can fit on the one-pager, I will likely expand my project into an infographic so that I dont skip over any key details while keeping visual and concise elements of a one-pager.
Discussion 8/9
- In “How To Create a Culture Manifesto for Your Organization (And Why It’s a Good Idea)”, written by Mollie West, a workplace strategy for nonprofits, social enterprise, and benefit corps is outlined. West encourages her readers to implement a “humanifesto” that is composed of the organizations internal core cultural values. She provides examples of 3 companies (Method Products, Etsy, and Warby Parker) that have used this tactic and explained their outcomes. She also lays out the steps for readers to craft their own.
Writing/Rhetorical strategies
https://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/read12/toolbar/set02.aspx
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/effective-writing-strategies
Analyzing cause and effect
West tells the reader why companies should incorporate a “humanifesto” and the potential benefits of implementing it … foster innovation & collaboration, attract talent, etc.
Comparing and contrasting.
West compares and contrasts how companies approach a “humanifesto” differently.
Defining
West defines what a “humanifesto” is.
Explaining a process
West outlines how readers can implement this technique into their own organization.
Target your audience
West clearly states who this piece is intended for.
2. I was hoping to shift my lens towards the experience of women in the workplace. I have not figured out whether my focus will be on harassment/sexual assault and/or pay gap inequality and/or unfair health quality that does not support female needs like contraceptive and abortion access. Depending on the subtopic, the intended audience will change. However, I think I will ultimately present a media form intended for company executives on ways they can support women given the challenges they endure. I like posters and infographics; however, a PowerPoint presentation might serve as a more persuasive/appropriate method. I need to spend some time doing research on this area before I have a clearer idea of the path I want to take. I probably will start my search with google.