Outline Essay: Review the revised Essay Three Assignment Sheet and produce an outline that includes the following in bulleted format: • • • • o • • • In two or more bullet points, explain the danger of a single story (citing Adichie) and the power of our words to create our worlds (citing Postman). This will be the basis for your powerful essay introduction. In one or more bullet points, identify the addiction and the community you will focus on. In one bullet point: state your main claim, based on your more accurate new narrative about the addiction and community you're focusing on. For your main claim, youu can either argue that we need to adopt this new narrative as a society (if this is arguable) or propose how society and/or institutions should address this problem. In one bullet for each, identify a minimum of four subclaims that support your main claim. For each subclaim bullet, include a minimum of two accurately cited pieces of evidence. In one or more bullet points, identify a strong counterargument with an accurate citation. In one or more bullet points, rebut this counterargument. In one bullet point, share one further insight you can address in your conclusion. Essay: Review the Essay Three assignment on the following page and the FAQs to produce an essay that accomplishes the following: • • • • • Discusses the “danger of a single story” (Adichie) and the power of words to shape the world (Postman) in-text citations. Provides an introductory paragraph or section (this may be more than one paragraph, if necessary) with context for the debate to include the “single story,” key opposing thinkers, a logical lead-up to the main claim, and the arguable main claim. Provides arguable subclaims that support the main claim. Provides sound evidence and reasoning for each subclaim. Provides a counterargument/rebuttal. • • • Provides a strong conclusion. Uses our authors and other sources/citations as indicated, on the Essay Three Assignment Sheet and on the Week Twelve Assignment Sheet. Corrects all Essay Checklist items. Essay Three (Revised): The Narratives We’re Told and the Narratives We Tell We create the world around us, in part, by telling stories about it. These narratives can be fictional, like the Harry Potter series or non-fictional like the articles and videos you’ve read and viewed in this class. Fictional works include novels, short stories, plays, and comic books. Non-fictional works include essays, histories, memoirs, biographies, newspaper articles, scientific studies, and journal articles. Fictional texts are invented by writers; non-fictional texts are factual. While the sources for fictional and non-fictional works are distinct, both interpret aspects of human life and experience. Harry Potter novels help readers to explore the nature of friendship by immersing them in a world where friendship is important. Sociologists or psychologists study aspects of friendship, for example, through academic studies rather than novels. If insightful and accurate, both inform our knowledge and understanding and contribute to our understanding of our worlds. The knowledge we gain, in part, from well written narratives help us to lead more informed lives. It’s possible you’ve heard the expression, “knowledge is power.” Knowledge empowers us because it helps us to understand more, to make sound decisions, and to be more effective. Education is valued because we believe that the knowledge it provides empowers and improves our lives. It’s also helpful to consider the inverse of this expression: “power is knowledge.” This means that those in power have a tremendous ability to shape what we believe to be true, or what we consider to be sound knowledge. Governments, businesses, the media, and institutions like schools have a great deal of power to tell us what is “true” and they have the mechanisms to enforce this truth. In some cases, this truth is insightful and accurate. In other cases, it serves ends like greed, benefiting only a few through manipulation that takes advantage of our fears and short-term desires. In some cases, it’s just poorly informed. Careful and critical scholars and writers (like us) have the power to shape our worlds and help readers think more clearly and form more accurate conclusions through the narratives we tell (like the arguments we make). This means we play an important role in informing those around us. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll always arrive at the very best conclusion or that we’ll know more than anyone in the world, but it does mean that if we strive to be ethical, remain openminded, think critically, research well, and work hard to be accurate, we will have done something important. In our personal lives and in our academic and professional careers, when we make arguments –when we explain our positions, back them up with evidence and reasoning, and consider counterarguments - we’re telling narratives about ideas that help to shape what we (our readers and ourselves) consider to be accurate and useful knowledge. These narratives take readers from a starting place (the introduction of our essay where we provide some overarching context) and walk them through our thinking and that of others, to arrive at thoughtful, non-obvious, and accurate conclusions. After reading, our readers have hopefully learned something that contributes to their knowledge, and we’ve learned something through thinking and writing. For Essay Three, you’re going to consider the power of narratives (in this case, the arguments experts make about addiction) to shape our world. You’ll consider common narratives about addiction, question those narratives, and then work to arrive at truer and more accurate narrative that can better help us address the problem of addiction in our society. Essay Three Details: Essay Three is a 4-5 page MLA formatted essay. In Essay Three, you will accomplish the following, using the essays and video provided and at least two sound outside sources. PART ONE: Part One will provide very general context for your essay, drawing from Postman and Adichie. In PartOne, you will – o Reflect on and explain the power of narratives (our words, our stories, and our arguments) to shape our world. o Explain the ethical responsibilities we have as writers and thinkers when creating narratives. o Consider and explain why it is important for writers and thinkers to look below the surface – to look carefully at the complexities of any problem to arrive at meaningful and useful conclusions. o Explain the danger of a single story. In Part One, you MUST use Postman and Adichie as sources and include at least ONE quote or paraphrase from each source with a signal phrase, accurate in-text citation, and explanation. You may also use other sources in this section. PART TWO: Part Two will provide context for your argument. In Part Two, you will – o Identify a common narrative we hear about addiction that you found in our readings (for example, that addicts lack will power, that they should be jailed, that medical treatment provides the best answer). o Introduce and explain the positions of at least two authors on at least two different sides of the debate. o Explain how one or more of these positions or parts of these positions may be faulty. o Recommend how our society should think differently and more accurately about addiction. o Recommend the most important factors we should consider when addressing addiction (for example, economics, race, will power, the law). o Draw a conclusion (your main claim) either defending your new narrative for the addiction and community you’re focusing on OR indicating what societal response is most likely to be effective. As a model for your own claim, ask yourself how each of our authors and those they report on would respond to this question. NOTE: Your goal is NOT to recommend treatment plans to addicts (Twelve Step programs, for example). Instead, think about the larger societal narratives about addiction and make recommendations about how US institutions, corporations, and/or the US legal system should think differently about addiction to arrive at large-scale change. PART THREE: Part Three will form the remainder of the paper. In Part Three, you will - o Fully defend your main claim, using evidence from the readings and at least two sound outside sources. o Include body paragraphs that lead with subclaims. These will support the main claim and be defended by evidence and reasoning. o Link each paragraph back to the main claim. o Identify and explain specific factors from the readings (which may be medical, societal, racial, economic) that we should consider when attempting to address addiction as a society. o Identify facts, principles, circumstances, or reasoning should we take into account that we may commonly fail to consider. o Consider how a new narrative around addiction that is more accurate and insightful might improve our outcomes. o Include at least one counterargument from a specific, cited source and your rebuttal. o Include a Works Cited list for outside sources. o Conclude the essay with a new insight for your reader to consider, rather than simply recapping what’s already been stated. o To support this section, which will be multiple paragraphs in length, you MUST – § Use Ross AND Duhigg AND Slater as sources and include at least ONE quote or paraphrase from each with signal phrases, accurate in-text citations, and explanations. § Include at least THREE citations (total) from TWO sound outside sources, using with signal phrases, accurate in-text citations, and explanations. Essay Development Process: Stage One: The Word Weavers/The World Makers During Week Nine, we’ll reflect on how language shapes our worlds, consider our ethical obligations when creating our narratives (our arguments), and evaluate the danger of looking at a subject with limited information (through a “single story”). KEY READING/VIEWING QUESTIONS: • How do humans “use language to create the world” (Postman 2)? • Why is there an “inescapable moral dimension to how we use language” (Postman 2)? • Postman cites the following as immoral uses of the language (2). Can you think of an example of each that you’ve recently seen in the news or encountered through social media? o Using language to defend the indefensible. o Using language to transform certain human beings into nonpersons. o Using language to lie and blur distinctions. o Using language to say more than one knows or can know. • Given the role of scholars as truth-tellers, what are our ethical obligations when developing our arguments? • What is the “danger of a single story” (Adichie)? • Why should we look deeply at a subject and consider the complexities of an issue, rather than just arriving at an easy conclusion? o How do the discoveries of scientists and other experts help us form strong conclusions? o How is our thinking enlarged and our judgments informed by learning about all sides of a debate? o What difference does the careful process of discovery make in the quality of ournarratives (our arguments) and to the world in which they are shared? KEY READING QUESTIONS: • What are the primary causes of addiction? • What are some unexpected causes of addiction? • What societal, economic, and mental health factors contribute to addiction? • What is the appropriate role of law enforcement in dealing with the problem of addiction? READINGS: (Sources) 1• “Dr. Robert K. Ross at 2017 YMCA of San Diego MLK Breakfast” (36:22) o Start this at the 1:53 minute mark to skip over the introductory remarks. o When viewing, think about the common narratives (or ideas about) addiction that Ross discusses, what he learned in his practice, the factors he thinks we should focus on in order to address the addiction problem, the population he has served and describes and how factors like poverty, the psychology of hopelessness, and institutional racism has contributed to the problem he sees. 2• “The Neurology of Free Will,” by Charles Duhigg o While reading Duhigg’s chapter, identify factors that contribute to addictive behavior, consider who should be held accountable for the consequences of addictive behavior and under what circumstances; and evaluate the role of free will. 3• “Rat Park,” Lauren Slater o While reading Slater’s chapter, consider what environmental and physical factors contribute addictive behaviors and, given these, what responsibilities individuals, governments, companies, and economies bear in curbing addiction; 4• “Jeff Sessions ‘Appears Intent on Taking Us Back to the 1980s’ and the ‘War on Drugs’” by Jeremy Berke o While reading Berke’s article, consider the role of law enforcement in curbing addiction and the position of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Under what circumstances, if any, is law enforcement the appropriate response to drug addiction? How might Ross respond to this approach? READING AND VIDEO: • “The Word Weavers/The World Makers,” by Neil Postman 6• “The Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Adichie (18:46) *Plus adding 2 outside sources. *you can find all these on the websites.