Assignment 1. Researching & Understanding the University: Situated Position Paper

SOSC 2000: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Social Inquiry

Course Project Outline: Researching & Understanding the University

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:

The assignments, some key course deliverables and skills developed throughout this course will build on each other toward a comprehensive course project. The project encourages you to take a reflective approach as you build your understanding of, and explore your relationship with, social research. To do this, you will draw from the readings to ‘study the university’ – this is the one thing we all have in common… we a part of the York community (and you are all students in this class).

Below is a list of issues that York University has engaged in and/or attempted to address in recent years. Some of these topics have concrete policies, strategies or committee related to them, while others might be more heavily driven by student or faculty advocacy or activism (e.g. the divestment movement). I encourage you to choose a research topic that you are interested in and/or touches on an issue in your life.

From there, you will draw from the course material and class/group discussions to explore the issues, initiatives, and responses surrounding your chosen topic at York. Specifically, you can

choose

to investigate York University’s response to the following issues and topics:

• The global fossil fuel divestment movement: YU divestment campaign & Fossil Free Y ork

• Black Lives Matter and global calls to address anti-Black racism in the academy and on campus

• Calls to Action to address the impacts of colonization and work to decolonize the academy

• The needs and experiences of LGBTQ2S staff, faculty and students

• Issues of food access and justice on campus

• Student mental health and wellness

• Labour and union politics on campus

• Gender-based and sexual violence support and education

• Sustainability and climate change issues

• Transportation planning and ‘smart commute’

• COVID-19 response and experiences

• Neuro-diversity and/or autistic rights movement

  
  

  ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOWED – 

  
  

  PART 1: SITUATED POSITION

  Due: Friday, November 1 @ 11:59pm (submission link on eClass) Length: Approx. 750-1000 words / 3-4 pages (plus references)

  Start by clearly stating your research topic and draft research questions.

  You will be writing the research problem that you’ll explore in the proposal, and draft both a quantitative and a qualitative research question.

  • Briefly outline your research problem (that is, the who, what, where, when, and why of your research problem). 3 pages maximum.

  • Research Questions: Craft, state and clearly identify one qualitative research question and one quantitative research question

  • Draw from the course material covered to date to describe your own positionality/situated position, and then consider the ways that your social position and lived experiences (positionality) connects to and impacts your chosen research topic, the research question and your research objectives.

    Probing questions: How are you situated as a person (connection to place(s), gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, income/class), what are your relations (personal, family, community, institutional, university, political), and how have they shaped your approach to your topic of study? In other words: to what extent do your positionalit(ies) connect you to this research topic?

    You are welcome to touch on any feelings that may arise when reflecting on this topic (e.g. joy, fear, happiness, fear, anger, shame), and then connect these feelings to the following question:

  • Answer the question: Can research be objective? And do you think you could objectively conduct research on this topic?

  Note: Make sure to draw from and cite the course readings, lecture materials, and the extra academic literature specifically provided for this assignment that is posted in eClass.

  Please review the Assignment Resources tab on eClass. You will find two very important and useful

  things…

  • Articles: Positionality/Situated Position. These are the references (on top of regular

    course readings) that you should be drawing on.

  • Sample: Situated Position Paper

    Format Instructions:

  • No project title needed

  • Write in full grammatically correct sentences (point form is not permitted).

  • Format: Times New Roman 12 point font, Double-spaced

  • Use a separate title page. Type your full name, student number, tutorial number and tutorial

    leader at the top of the page

    
    

    1. Criteria for Evaluation:

    • Research Problem: Make sure that you clearly & precisely set out the relevant topic background

      regarding (ex. who, what, when, where & why)

    • Research Questions: The questions must be social scientific in nature, lend themselves to

      empirical study, clearly phrased and relevant to the course project (one qualitative and one

      quantitative), appropriate for the assignment (lend themselves to empirical study)

    • Writing: No errors

      
      

      
      

      I,VE ADDED THE IMPORTANT ARTICLES AND A SAMPLE PAPER YOU CAN GIVE A L;OOK