Critical Assignment
The purpose of this personal reflection is to help students identify and start to unlearn the biases, stereotypes and/or oppressive assumptions they have about substance use and “addiction.”
Share two biases, stereotypes and/or oppressive assumptions that you have about specific drugs, people who use drugs and/or the complicated concept of “addiction.” Explain these in your own words and discuss how you might negatively impact service users.
Next, students will reflect on where they learned these biases, stereotypes, or oppressive assumptions, using the tools gained in The Sociology of Power, Privilege, and Identity. Note that while students are welcome to share personal lived experiences, this is not required; students can successfully complete this assignment by looking at how they were socialized through cultural (e.g., the media, the educational system, etc.) rather than individual sources (e.g., their families or lived experiences).
Regardless, students must identify how intersecting forms of social oppression (colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy an/or ableism) contributed to the development of these biases and reflect on their personal social locations.
Finally, students will name one of these two biases that they would like to challenge and change this semester, explaining why they have chosen that bias, and the steps they will take to outgrow it. These steps must include specific ideas for what students can do in addition to basic class work.
This assignment can be done using a standard essay format (3 – 4 pages, in full sentences and paragraphs, no references required unless something is specifically cited) or as an oral presentation recorded as an audio or video file.
