Impact of Course Materials on Personal Perception and Values

Think carefully about what we’ve studied in the course during weeks 2 and 3:  which of the course materials has had the greatest impact on you?  Which made the greatest impression, or seemed most relevant to your life?  It could be an article or a TED talk, or even a small group of materials.  Your task for this assignment is to write an essay to identify that material or topic and demonstrate how and why it’s had such an impact on you.  The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your engagement with the course material, and your ability to synthesize course material; apply it to your own situation; and infer how it might reflect your perception of what constitutes social value.

First, write a VERY BRIEF summary of the key idea of the material you’ve selected.  What is its main argument?  Next, introduce the notion that the material has had an impact on you, and then identify how you feel the material connects with your experience.  This will make up your intro paragraph.

Your two or three body paragraphs must give SPECIFIC, DETAILED EXAMPLES to support your claim that the course material has had an impact on your life.  What did you do previously that now you’re rethinking, and why?  How have you experienced something similar to what’s described in the material?  Is this something that conveys the kind of values you think contribute to a healthy society?  Etc.  Remember that your examples must be individual and specific to your life experience:  your response CANNOT look like it could have been written by anyone!

Your last paragraph is your conclusion:  use it to suggest how your observations so far reveal your critical thinking.  First, consider whether you’ve put your emotional attachment aside.  Second, establish if you’ve developed your own stance on the material or topic in the material based on reliable, reputable sources so that you can assess what’s true and evidence-based, rather than ideological.  Third, demonstrate that you’ve considered something familiar from one (or more) new perspectives (globalization, human rights, the environment, etc.).  You might also use your conclusion to suggest how your response to the course material might affect your future behavior.