Importance of Civil Disobedience
Audience:
your peers and me—we’re familiar with the idea of civil disobedience, with Thoreau, Rousseau, and King, but not your other resources. Like you, we’re curious but naïve about your topic, and we’re anxious to learn more about both the process and your sources.
Purpose
to convince your readers that you have chosen an interesting and worthy research question and to help your readers understand your research process and how it helped you to expand your understanding, but perhaps not yet answer your research question.
Genre:
exploratory argument paper, using first person (I, me, my) throughout with an emphasis on process of learning and understanding as much as (if not more than) the sources.
ENGWR302 Assign 2 Exploratory Paper: Civil Disobedience
Your paper should begin with a first person (I, my, me) narrative description of your civil disobedience-related problem, how and why you became interested in it, how it’s significant, and then why it is problematic for you (that is, why you can’t yet answer it). Then, the rest of (and actually most of) your paper involves your reflective narrative of your thinking process as you investigate your research question. Along with an exploration of your own intellectual journey regarding your research problem, your narrative should also include a focused summary and exploration of EACH of at least three sources you’ve found AND of your choice of two of Thoreau, Solnit, Walker, and King for a total of 5-6 sources.
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Your reader is interested in your process, not your final product. You will be rewarded for the quality of your exploration and engaged thinking processes. Make your exploratory essay an interesting intellectual detective story—something your readers will enjoy. This paper resembles an “I-Search” paper (if you’ve written one in the past). If you haven’t written an “I-Search” paper, think of this essay perhaps as a narrative exploratory research paper. Either way, follow the model essays in the text handout to see what I’m hoping for on this assignment and ask questions sooner rather than later to help you succeed.
Specifics:
Length
: 1200-1500 words (double-spaced, typed, following MLA style throughout)
Sources: 5-6 sources total
Must include at least two of Thoreau, Solnit, Walker, and King’s essays
A stronger research
Question could be “did conscientious objection impact the national perspective on the Vietnam War?” (a question which is much more specific in place (United States), people (conscientious objectors, the US general public, politicians, military leaders), and time (1955-1975). Remember to test your research question by asking yourself these inquiries
a) is my research question a question?
b) does my question include specific time, place, and people?
c) why are you interested in this problem? Why should your readers be interested?
Does your paper’s research question focus on a specific angle of civil disobedience from a specific, time, place, and people? Is your research question a question?
Does your paper have an actual research question, probably at the end of the first introductory paragraph? Does your ENTIRE paper fit your research question? And vice versa?
: 1200-1500 words plus work cited listing (4-6 sources
including two of Thoreau, and/or King).
Please have at least 2 sources form Letter to Martin King and Henry David Thoreau, and use " I", "me" and "my".
Professor
Course
Date
Importance of Civil Disobedience
My most thrilling encounter with civil disobedience in school was a protest against racism and sexism that was ensuing in our country during the 2012 United States presidential election campaign period. We protested to counteract divisive rhetoric that was spreading during the entire campaign period. This rhetoric was threatening our peace as a nation, and nobody was doing anything about it (ACLU 1). But; are acts of civil disobedience safe and effective for individuals in middle and high school? Do they even effectively use this platform? Whether they effectively benefit from it or not, their increased level of engagement in the acts of civil disobedience in the past few years means something (Riveros and Fernald 1). Students are now walking out of classes, kneeling during important athletic events, and marching to show solidarity. Thus; why is civil disobedience so important? Although we people are concerned about safety, emotional-wellbeing, and effectiveness of civil disobedience use for students, acts of civil disobedience are important because they contribute to their political freedom by teaching the young generation that they can protest and the same time pass their message and achieve their goal without using violence.
When I was walking out of class in school, I did not incorporate much of the political aspect. Since joining college, I have understood that this is the real opportunity for me to become politically engaged as well as to express my opinions through acts of civil disobedience. I learned that although our protests back then made a political point, they are not protected by the First Amendment because they are unlawful when there is an aspect of violence. But: Can there be an act of civil disobedience with a glimpse of an aspect of violence? Is Rousseau idea of using violence warranted sometimes, all the times, or not at all? Is the disciplinary system of the university warranted to punish students for asking for their rights in just an “aggressive” way? Whatever the answers may be, I am not scared because civil disobedience is crucial parts of a democratic process as it acts as a driving factor that can enable me to exercise my right to free speech (Rousseau 8). It can also allow me to speak up against an unfair and unjust authority or law (Thoreau 1343). Many people have used civil disobedience to fight for something, and most of them have succeeded in achieving their goals.
Civil disobedience approach can function through many perspectives. Hence, as an unsatisfied student or citizen, I can use this approach or undertake its process in my specific, individualized way. However, the goal or outcome of a civil disobedience activity does not have to necessarily benefit me alone but my entire community (Riveros and Fernald 3). Therefore, the result of this act is more important to be society because civil disobedience functions to oppose a legal norm and the status quo. But; is civil disobedience outdated? Is its use justified in this new era? Many laws that have enacted in the past few years benefit the privileged, and the socially disadvantaged people need civil disobedience because it works for them (ACLU 2). Therefore, it will be a huge mistake to assume that civil disobedience is an unnecessary act or an old behavior for our contemporary ‘enlightened’ democracies. King Jr. stated that “‘passive resistance’ often gives the false impression that this is a sort of ‘do nothing method’ in which the resister quietly and passively accepts evil. But nothing is further from the truth,” (3). Also, the deceptive idea of ideal democracy cannot repudiate the necessity for acts of civil disobedience because in most of the social settings, people do not hold equal rights and they deserve t...