Paper #2: Circles of Interest: due in 2 weeks!

Not only is our planet surprisingly poorly understood, but we’re also less adept than we might guess at gathering these threads of local knowledge and experience scattered across the globe and frayed by borders, language, and economics, and weaving them into our collective understanding of the human experience. Our understanding of life on this planet is still mainly projected from narrow, elite concerns” (MacGregor 166).

For your Paper #2 assignment, I want you to focus on the idea of our ‘circles of interest,’ which often exclude issues that have wide-reaching consequences (like Siberia or Chernobyl), or seem small and local, but are part of the legacy of history (Australia, Haiti). So for this assignment, I want you to write about a local or regional issue which is somehow endangered. This should be something well-known to your family, town, etc., but someone outside the town, or state, or country would know nothing about (and might not care to). Some issues off the top of my head are: the teacher shortage in Oklahoma, tribal rights, the loss of indigenous languages, the loss of regional hospitals in  Oklahoma, the marketability of college degrees (in Oklahoma and elsewhere), access to healthcare for college students (or twenty-somethings), the loss of cultural traditions (Halloween, etc.), music education (or the lack thereof) in schools, and so forth. But you can write about anything that you feel is important.

To write this paper, you’ll have to explain the “so what?” or “why does this matter?” factor to your audience, who you should assume know nothing, or almost nothing, about this issue. How does it affect you and your region? What are the consequences of its ‘extinction?’ How might this issue be connected to larger cultural and historical forces? And how does it represent a larger conversation which does matter to everyone in your audience?

To help you do this, you MUST connect your issue with one (or more) of the essays from class, using it to help introduce your topic. Show how the essay explains that we should widen our circles of interest, and how issues such as culture, history, and the environment affect us all, no matter where we live. Additionally, you must find 3-4 SECONDARY SOURCES that help you discuss your personal issue. These can be journal articles (I’ll show you how to find those), website articles, books or chapters in books, shows, videos, and podcasts.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 4-5 pages, double spaced
• Has to ask and answer the “so what?” question
• Must use at least one of the 4 essays in this unit as context
• Must use 3-4 sources for support (quote, discuss each one)
• Due Tuesday, October 20^th for Tuesday classes; Thursday October 22^nd for Thursday classes