For your project, you will examine a specific topic, such as an issue or event in diversity, and how it impacts individuals and society. You will demonstrate your ability to think critically, investigate, and communicate clearly. Diversity influences society, and society influences diversity, creating a feedback loop between them. You will critically analyze a feedback loop in this project through social, historical, and theoretical approaches to diversity as well as the four general education lenses: history, humanities, natural and applied sciences, and social science.
For this assignment, you will select the topic you will be working on and begin to collect the required elements for your analysis. This assignment requires you to gather reliable evidence from varied sources and use them to introduce your topic effectively. All these elements will prepare you to complete the project, where you will need to use evidence to support your points.
You may use the topic that you worked with in the previous module or choose something different now that you have reflected further. Do some preliminary research on your topic to make sure you can address each of the required elements. Please remember that you will not be able to change your topic after the end of this module. You should begin to gather the sources you will integrate into your project, which must include two resources from course materials and two resources from the library.
You are not required to answer each question below the rubric criteria but may use them to better understand the criteria and guide your thinking.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Integrate reliable evidence from varied sources throughout your paper to support your analysis.
- It is important to draw from a more diverse pool of perspectives from varied sources to support the analysis. This is different from the Citations and Attributions rubric criterion.
- Reliable evidence from varied sources should be interwoven throughout the paper itself, while citing and attributing sources will be represented as APA in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your work.
- You will be evaluated on both criteria.
- Describe your topic with effective details and contextual information.
- What main points should you include about your topic? What other details are needed to ensure a thorough description?
- Describe a population significant to your topic. Include information such as demographics, cultural practices, social identity, and key challenges.
- Examples could include a population who is directly impacted by the topic, a group that works with those directly impacted, or a group that has strong feelings about the topic.
- Articulate how the topic has shaped the lives and experiences of your chosen population.
- What stories clearly illustrate how the topic has impacted the lives and experiences of your chosen population?
- Explain your choice of one general education interdisciplinary lens for analyzing your topic.
- What made you choose one lens over the others? Was it an easy decision? Why or why not?
- Construct a thesis statement that combines your topic, population, cultural situation, and choice of general education interdisciplinary lens.
- Your thesis statement should clearly and concisely state the relationships between your topic, population, cultural situation, and lens. It acts as a hypothesis proposing how these elements will work together during your critical analysis.
Submit your short paper as a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.
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1-2 Activity: Lens Exploration
Jacob Wright
Southern New Hampshire University
IDS 400: Diversity
Professor Boyd
14 January 2024
Lens Exploration
Undoubtedly, the issue of diversity in the workplace has gained massive debate and attention in recent years. My personal experiences, societal discourse, and education have shaped my understanding of this issue. I have come across discussions anchored on the significance of enhancing diverse and inclusive workplaces. Consequently, this has helped me acknowledge the benefits of diversity in the workplace such as creativity, innovation, and overall firm success. My assumptions are deeply rooted in the fact that diversity encompasses different dimensions including race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, and socioeconomic and cultural background among many others.
Incorporating the history lens to workplace diversity shows a period characterized by important events and changes in societal attitudes. As times progressed, legal achievements including notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did play an important role in shaping workplace dynamics. It helped prevent different forms of discrimination based on sex, national origin, color, religion, and race. It is important to note that the importance of workplace diversity has changed as there has been increased emphasis on the value that it brings to different organizations, their culture, and performance. Legal scholars, activists, and organizational theorists constitute the authors who have massively contributed to the historical context of workplace diversity.
Moreover, looking at this issue from the humanities lens provides a cultural perspective on workplace diversity. It deeply digs deep into the meaning and expression of diversity and its applicability within diverse cultures. This leverages the lived experiences of people. Undertaking an in-depth analysis of art, narratives, and cultural practices related to workplace inclusion brings about the diverse nature of diversity. This shows that the issue of diversity goes beyond just mere statistics and that it also involves stories and experiences that determine workplace fabric.
Applying the natural and applied sciences lens to workplace diversity encompasses a complex perspective. Despite not having a traditional focus on the natural sciences, the aspect intersects sociology and psychology. Additionally, scientific techniques can be incorporated to assess the effect of diverse teams on creativity and problem-solving. This can then help in linking diversity to measurable outcomes. On the flip side, the problems come from objectively assessing the subjective experiences of people within the workplace and also examining the nuanced impact of workplace diversity in organizations.
Furthermore, the social lens illuminates the societal and interpersonal aspects of workplace diversity. People who come from diverse backgrounds are massively affected by the social structures for example, systemic barriers, bias, and power dynamics. It is paramount that there be an understanding of how diversity in the workplace impacts interpersonal relationships and contributes to or challenges the current social structures. This would aid in creating inclusive environments in the long run (Roberson, 2019).
References
Roberson, Q. M. (2019). Diversity in the workplace: A review, synthesis, and future research agenda. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 69-88.