A 4000 word essay that examines a social issue that you understand to be an example of social injustice, and engages with one or more theoretical perspectives on social justice
The Topic: Poverty and policy: Understanding social and political determinants. The essay must address the question: How does theory X help us understand social issue Y? in respect to the named topic and come up with a specific question.
Ensure you are very clear and specific on the social issue that you would like to
discuss. Try to be as specific as possible. What is the problem? Why does it matter?
How is it related to social justice? What is the context? How and why theory is relevant to the social issue?
Give a brief account of the social issue you are considering and its wider sociopolitical context.
Take one theoretical perspective on social justice discussed on the module and
explain how and why this is relevant to critically understand the social issue. If you want, you can also show the potential limitations of a theory and use further literature to complement.
Demonstrate critical analysis of the social issue, not just description. Critical analysis means that you don’t just describe, but you discuss and unpack what it’s usually taken for granted about an issue. It has to do with distance – the ways you distance yourself from common wisdom. It means, for instance, to use theory to examine how a social issue emerges and becomes a ‘problem’; to consider broader social and political contexts; to challenge what is established as the ‘status quo’; to elaborate on
definitions that are often taken for granted and left undefined; to examine issues from different perspectives and angles; to discuss how we can think differently and how we can address injustice in our society.
