This activity is a two-part assignment that will unfold over a two-week period. The first step, which is due at the end of Module 5, is to choose a topic and create an outline for the second part of the assignment, which is an essay that is due by the end of Module 6. The process of creating a topic proposal and outline before your essay is a required step for all of the essays in this course. 

Part 1: Topic and Outline (due at the end of Module 5)

You have been examining the liberal arts disciplines throughout this course. You have also wrestled with complex ethical dilemmas, as well as issues and concerns around diversity and communication. All of these activities have required you to apply your critical thinking skills. In Essay 3 you will have an opportunity to explore a particular liberal arts discipline and examine the history of how that discipline interacts with diverse peoples, cultures, and groups.

Please select ONE of these disciplines:

• Fine arts: painting sculpture, and/or architecture
• Performing arts: you should most likely pick only one or two of these to focus your essay on: dance, theater, music, and/or film
• Literature (you may wish to focus on a country, region of the world, or continent)
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Anthropology (cultural anthropology would be best)
• The Sciences (these will be hard to research separately, looking at the natural science fields as a whole will be easier. Try STEM fields as well; including Engineering and Math with the natural sciences is a hot topic currently)
• Other discipline? Please discuss with your instructor

Outline Requirements:

• Construct a title, proposal, research question, and short outline around your selected discipline and the following statement: “The discipline of ZZZ has struggled with the ethical and fair treatment of people from diverse backgrounds and women entering or working in this field since it was founded.”
• Clearly identify the liberal arts discipline of your choice.
• Devise a clear precise research question around the topic of fair and equitable treatment for a specific group, such as women, racial or ethnic groups, different cultures, etc. within this disciplinary field. Not all disciplines will cover all groups, but most will cover at least 2 or 3.
  • Your outline should include:
  • Introduction
  • Historical data
  • Today’s data
  • Change over time
  • Be sure you examine the issues of minorities and women. (Your discipline may also include specific religious groups who were ostracized.)
  • Compare the discipline’s progress to others; how does it compare? What is the social context? (Ex: The civil rights movement of the 1960s had a huge impact on society, but what was the impact on the discipline or field? Think about baseball and Jackie Robinson.)
  • YOUR analysis and examination of possible solutions you have found, as well as your own ideas to build your conclusion.
• None of these components should be written in paragraph or essay form; you should just provide core ideas. Bullet-points are fine. You haven’t got all the facts yet, just show that you know where you will be going.