SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENT - INDIVIDUAL IN SOCIETY

Instructions:

We live in a world full of challenges. In many places, people are experiencing rising unemployment,political violence, poverty, and looming ecological disasters, most of these problems created by orrelated to human activity. As individuals living in a free society, we are also free to pursue our private satisfactions independently of others.

Yet we are embedded in a broader societal context that includes our family, our communities, and our nation - not to mention that it is common today to speak of an even wider global community. In addition to these challenges, consider how social media, new media technology and even automation are changing and shaping the world.

This assignment includes two parts:

Part 1) A 750 word written response [short essay] to the questions below and

Part 2) A screencast presentation of this written assignment based on your written response. Your presentation will discuss - using fluent, academic arguments (meaning ideas argued from academic sources with a creative, compelling, logical and an imaginative use of language) - the following questions:

In your opinion, what is the role of the individual in helping to solve some of the problems mentioned in the paragraph above?

Are we more likely to solve the problems if we embrace a sense of common purpose and public spirit focused on the collective good? Or,

Should we focus on our private pursuits and a market mentality that says our consumption is what makes the world go round? Does your argument account for a differing points of view? Explain.

Is there a balance between what the individual is responsible for and what our role should be in the public sphere?

To place the topic of this week's assignment into broader historical, political, and/or social context, search for three academic sources (e.g. books, peer-reviewed journal articles) and reference those sources in your analysis of the individual's role in society.

Your presentation should be organized in a manner that allows the reader to follow the logical progression of your arguments, your ideas are well developed, and they follow a coherent pattern from introduction (thesis), through the body of the presentation, to the conclusion.

Part I - Essay portion of the Signature Assignment:

1. Submit the written or essay portion of this presentation in the assignment folder labeled

You should include a minimum of 3 sources, and your sources will be credible academic sources (no Wikipedia, Ezine articles, Cliff Notes, or random stuff from the Web).

In other words, you will have to either visit a brick and mortar public/university library or use Brandman's Leatherby Libraries' website to find relevant articles that address the role of the individual in society and provide details regarding whether or not the assignment question presents a valid picture of our world by asserting or disputing that, in many places people are experiencing rising unemployment, political violence, poverty, and looming ecological disasters related to all the other issues mentioned on this short
list of problems.

Part 2 - Presentation

Create a well-prepared 5 to 7 minute PowerPoint screencast presentation highlighting the key points of your written assignment. There are tools built into PowerPoint 2010 and 2013 that allow you to record your presentation. You may also use Screencast-o-matic, Jing, Camtasia, PowToon among other tools, to help create your presentation. This is a presentation based on the information in your written
assignment.

Please try to stay within the allotted 5 to 7 minutes. Bear in mind that writing and speaking are two different things, and you will have to adjust your written reflection to better fit the screencast presentation. In other words, writing for a reading audience differs from writing that will be presented to a listening/viewing audience. Your presentation will consist mostly of images that reinforce and clarify
the written text.

The images should be compelling; they can include interesting graphs or charts, and they must somehow complement the written text (not replace it). Your narration should be clear and intelligible, as if you were presenting in person to an actual audience. Do not weigh down your slides with text. Make this a visually interesting presentation about an interesting subject.