1.

PROJECT#1

Topicarea#1youwishtoexploreforCapstone:

Thelivesofoppressedpeople.

2.Listassortedquestionsthatyouwouldgenerateaboutyourtopic(feelfreetoenlargethe
boxbelowifyouneedmorespace).

Whoareoppressedpeople?
Whathardshipsarefacedbypeoplethatarearesultofwhotheyare?
Whydoessocietyholdcertaintypesofpeopleindifferentregards?
Whatarethedifferencesbetweenthelivesofprivilegedandoppressedpeople?
Whatcanprivilegedpeopledotominimizeoppressedpeoplessuffering?
Whatcanoppressedpeopledoforthemselvestominimizeissues?
Howdoeslocationaffecttheseverityofoppressedpeoplesproblems?
Howdosmallactions/mentalitiesofprivilegedpeopleaffectthelivesofoppressedpeople?
Whyistherelittlemainstreamtalkabouttheseissues?
Whyisthewellbeingofsomegroupsmoreprotectedthanthewellbeingsofothers,
specificallymarginalizedgroups?

3.Revisitthequestionsyouplacedintheboxabove.

colorthequestionsthataretoosimple/deadend:RED
colorthequestionsthathavesomepotential/possibilities:BLUE
colorthosequestionsthathavesignificantpotentialthosethatcouldleadtootherrich,
thoughtprovokingquestions:GREEN

4.Fromthequestionsyouvecolored,reformulatethosequestionsintoseveralpossible
questionsaboutyourtopicthatapproachwhatmightbeapotentialessentialquestion.

Whataretheissuesthatarefacedbythepeoplethatsocietytendstoignoreandhowlittle
dopeopleingeneralknowaboutthem?

Howawarearepeopleofhowtheiractionsaffectthelivesofpeopletheyhavesomesortof
advantageover?

WhatDothelivesofoppressedpeoplelooklikeasaresultofsystematicissues,personto
personaggressionsandtheirownlimitations?

Whydopeoplefindcertainpeoplesopinions/livestoahigherimportancethanothers?

5.Nowrefineyourquestionsintheboxaboveintoasingleessentialquestionthatyouthink
mightworkforyourproject.Putthatquestionintheboxbelow.

Whyarethelivesandopinionsofcertaingroupsinsocietyregardedasmoreimportant
thanthoseofothergroupsandhowarethedailylivesoftheseothergroupsaffectedasa
result?

6.Now,evaluateyourproposedessentialquestionaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:

Doesyouressentialquestionmeetthefollowingcriteria?

Youressentialquestionisopenendedthatis,ittypicallywill

nothaveasingle,final,andcorrectanswer.
xYes

No

Youressentialquestionisthoughtprovokingandintellectuallyengaging,oftensparking
discussionanddebate.
XYes

No

Youressentialquestioncallsforhigherorderthinking,suchasanalysis,inference,evaluation,
prediction.Itcannotbeeffectivelyansweredbyrecallalone.
xYes

No

Youressentialquestionpointstowardimportant,transferableideaswithin(andsometimes
across)disciplines.
xYes

No

Youressentialquestionraisesadditionalquestionsandsparksfurtherinquiry.
xYes

No

Youressentialquestionrequiressupportandjustification,notjustananswer.
xYes

No

Youressentialquestionrecursovertimethatis,thequestioncanandshouldberevisited
againandagain.
XYes

No

7.Basedontheaboveassessment,doyouhaveanyrevisionstoyourquestion?Ifyes,
reviseitintheboxbelow.Ifno,thencopythequestionyoustartedwithintotheboxbelow.

Whyarethelivesandopinionsofcertaingroupsinsocietyregardedasmoreimportant
thanthoseofothergroupsandinwhatwaysarethedailylivesoftheseothergroups
affectedasaresult?

Edgar

Abigprojectyouareproposinghere.Therearesomanygroupsinsocietythatcouldbe
consideredoppressedthattotakethemallonorevensomeofthemonwouldbeavast
projectthatwouldbemanyyearsinduration.

Sowethink

#1:youmustlimittheoppressedgroup.Focusononepopulationbecauseotherwisethe
projectbecomestoogeneral.Decidewhatformstheoppressiontakesforthatparticular
group(andyoucanbasethisoninterviewsyoudo).Identifywhatpeoplewhoare
oppressedseeastheformsofoppressionbothbigformsofoppressionandthesmall,
everydaythingsthatyoualludedtoinclass.

#2:Werealizethatyoumaywanttodoanarrativefilminspiredbythisresearch.That
wouldbegoodbuttheresearchthoughhastobethere.Ms.Freemanwondersifthatsthe
filmyoualludedtoduringyourIdentitypresentationinFacing.Isit?Orisitanewproject?

Youhadmentionedinclassthatyoumightwanttouseexistingblogsandonlinenarratives.
Whatifyouweretoeitherinterviewpeople(withoutfilming,ifthatstoointrusive)inthat
oppressedgrouporcreateablogandinvitepeopleinthatoppressedgrouptosharetheir
stories.Ifyougointotheblogsofpeopleyoudontknowandyoudrawconclusionsbased
onthoseblogs,itsaslipperyslopebecauseyouarethatmuchmoreremovedfromwhat
theirdaytodaylivesareabout.

#3:Weagreeentirelythattheultimategoalisgetaconversationandthinkinggoingabout
oppressiongenerallyandtowardspecificgroupsaswell.Thehopeisthatoutofthiswork
peoplewouldbegintoconsiderhowtheytreatoneanother.Soyourgoalislaudableits
howyougettherethatneedsalittlebitmorethought.

Sothinkabouttheseandgiveusyourthoughts.Welookforwardtoseeingyourrevised
versionofthisnextweek.

MrMandMsF

8.Now,answerthefollowing:

(a)Whyareyoupursuingthisessentialquestion?

BecauseIwanttofindoutwho/what/when/where/whether/why/howto:

Iwanttofindoutwhosocietyoverallwoulddeemmoreimportantthanothers,andwho
thosethatarenotdeemedasimportantare.Iwanttofindoutwhatthelivesofthesepeople
looklike,howthesocietysthoughtsonthemaffectstheirdailylivesandwhytheresbeen
littlechange.

(b)SowhydoIwanttodothat?

Inorderto:
i. helpmyaudienceunderstandhow/why/whether

dependingonwhotheyare,howtheiractionsaffectthosetheyhavesomesortofpower
over,whethertheiractionsareintentionalornotandwhyitsimportanttorecognizehow
otherslivesaredifferentbecauseofwhotheyare.

ii. makechangeinthisdirection:

Seeifandhowthewaytheylivetheirlifeaffectsotherswithouttheirknowing,topromote
discussionoftheseissues,andmakepeoplemoremindfuloftheirroleinthem.

iii. tocallattentiontothesethings:

Thedailystrugglesofmarginalizedpeopleandtheactionsthatallowthisstrugglingto
continue.

(c)Whyisthisrelevanttoanyoneintodaysworld,totheirdailylives,tothefutureof
theplanet?

Thisisveryrelevantintodaysworld,societysideasofwhichpeopleareimportantand
whicharenotisultimatelywhatdecideswhichpeoplewillbegivenabetteropportunityto
succeedandwhichpeoplewillstrugglemoretosucceed,oreventojustmakeendsmeet.

(d)Isthatreallythemostrelevantthingaboutit?Bottomline:sowhat?Whyshould
wecareaboutyourproject?

Thesearepeopleslives,livesaffectedbysocietysviewsonthemandtheirimportanceto
theworld.Peoplearebeingthoughtofaslessthanandothersaddtothiswithlittleregard
ornotice.Thisaffectpeoplehaveonthelivesofothersneedstobegrappledwithand
acknowledged.

(e)Seriously,isthatthemostyoucansay?Really,truly:whyshouldwecareabout
yourproject?

Peoplearesufferingbecausesociety,consciouslyornot,deemsthemnotasworthyas
others.Therearelittlethingspeoplecanbeawareofandnoticethatcanstartcreating
somekindofchange.

(f)Haveyouanymoreanswerstothequestionsowhat?Whatdoesthismatter?
Whyisitworthspendingyourenergyonthis?