Disability and Social Justice Essay
Final Essay “Exam” FAQS
What is the Final Essay “Exam”?
It is the final assignment of our class. Two things to keep in mind: (1) It is worth 100points. (2) It is mandatory.
In other words: If you do not do the Final Essay “Exam” you will lose 100points off your final grade. So, if humanly possible, try to do it.
What are you asking us to do on the Final Essay “Exam”?
I am asking you to write an Op-Ed about a topic of your choice in which you draw on at least
some of the course content to make your argument.
What is an Op-Ed? It is the kind of thing you find here, here and here. It is an opinion article submitted to a newspaper in which the author makes an argument about a topic of public relevance. I am asking you to do the same:
(1) Pick a topic that interests you and is publicly relevant (in some way).
(2) Make an argument about that topic drawing from some of our course content (how much
and what you use is entirely up to you).
(3) Try to make this argument in less than 2000 words (usual length for an Op-Ed).
Can we use non-class resources?
Yes! Absolutely you can. But if what you write about has some (even remote, distant, tangential) connection to our course material (in some way) then I will know it and I will expect you to draw that connection, even if you primarily use non-class resources.
Keep in mind that this Final Essay “Exam” is done in lieu of a “normal” Exam for our course. So show me what you know about sociology (something I hope) by putting it to creative use.
How will you be grading us?
On whether or not your argument convinces me!
How well do you make your case in your Op-Ed? How bold and creative is your argument? Does your argument show a reasonably good grasp of the “sociological lens” we’ve been reading about and discussing this semester?
These are the questions I’ll be asking myself as I read your Op-Eds. Who knows, if you really like what you write, feel free to submit it to a newspaper of your choice!
If sociology is a lens, then whatever you write about, it will have some sociological relevance, so keep that in mind.
Disability and Social Justice
Name
Institutional Affiliate
Disability and Social Justice
Introduction
Equality and justice for all individuals across the social, political, and economic domains are integral for the establishment of a stable society or state. The recognition and appreciation of everyone’s freedoms and liberties as echoed by the diverse social structures embraced by societies, nations, or regions worldwide also function to uphold the elements of equality and justice in society. Developing a society characterized by such principles and ideological perspectives of freedom, equality, and justice for all demands the integration of social, political, economic, and cultural institutions or frameworks towards embracing the outlined elements of an ideal society. Unbiased political, economic, and socio-cultural representation of individuals and groups in society, for instance, makes for an excellent depiction of the inclusive approach towards forming a just and fair society. The integrated approach towards equal distribution and access to the wide range of elements defining each of the social domains form the concept of social justice. Though finding its way across various discussions in current society, social justice is an ancient phenomenon whose main function is to establish an ideal society or state. According to Plato, the perceived ideal society is characteristic of courage, wisdom, justice, and moderation CITATION Fra98 \l 1033 (Fraser, 1998). Failure to uphold the aforementioned principles and ideologies characterizing a fair and just society often leads to the marginalization of various individuals and groups. People living with disabilities make up one of the groups facing biases or marginalization across the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions in society. A comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the correlation between disability and social justice indicates that people with disability still suffer marginalization in the process of implementing the key principles of social justice.
Social Justice and Correlation to Disability
Social justice is an ancient concept characterized by various transformations to its meaning or definitions due to its equally diverse applications in societies. Plato’s argument that forming an ideal state or society depends on the extent to which such entities embrace courage, wisdom, moderation, and justice in carrying out their daily operational activities formed the basis upon which developed the concept of social justice. Its evolution over time accounts for the different definitions of the concept existing across the social, political, and economic social domains. In the political dimension, for instance, social justice is most pronounced in the quest for equal representation of all individuals across the social, political, and economic divide defining a given social structure. In essence, social justice refers to the philosophical framework embraced by societies to promote equality and fairness across the social, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of society. It transcends the superficial differences of race, gender, ethnicity, and even disabilities in advocating for the freedoms and rights of all in society.
Disability of any kind may pose a challenge towards the realization of social justice and its common objective of ensuring equality and fairness for all across the outlined social domains. According to Pineda advocating for social justice for people with disabilities is a complex process characterized by the uniqueness of the needs of individuals with varied disabilities CITATION Pin20 \l 1033 (Pineda, 2020). The different nature of disabilities among members of the group poses a major challenge towards an equitable and fair distribution of resources and other elements characterizing the social, political, cultural, and economic dimensions of society. It is, therefore, advisable to develop an effective framework for the evaluation of disability and its correlation to social justice. Social justice theories such as utilitarianism, Marxism, Rawls’ theory, and libertarianism are some of the frameworks for effective evaluation and understanding of disability’s correlation to social justice CITATION Pin20 \l 1033 (Pineda, 2020). The common theme of creating ideals situations for the realization of equality and fairness for all or majority of members of society emerges across the outlined theories of social justice. The utilitarian theory, for instance, advocates for justice and fairness in favor of the majority in society while libertarianism recognizes the integration of individual, institutional, and government processes and inpu...