The problematization assignment is designedto help a student recognize disputed territory (areas of overlap for those who are on opposite sides of an issue) within a particular subject area. This can be very useful in "framing" a subject which will afford a quick and effective means of organizing material with regard to subject. Recognizing opposing sides of an issue allows a student to quickly align information with respect to each "side" of an issue.
The problematization assignment will require the following:
1) Identify two substantial (approximately 3-4 pages or more) articles on a particular subject area that embody some sort of dispute regarding the subject matter.
2) Annotate/Paraphrase both articles. Each annotation/paraphrase should exist under a separate heading.Each annotation should make mention of the title of the article summarized/paraphrased, the author of the article, and where (which publication) it was published [or if a web page, which institution it was affiliated with].
3) In a third paragraph, first of all, construct a potential thesis statement that would incorporate the main areas of discussion in a putative thesis-driven paper on the topic. Then identify the dispute(s) that occurs between those who have stake in the matter. To the best of one's ability, try to capture this dispute in one's own words. Also, in this third paragraph try to speculate about what other sources one might use to develop a longer paper around this disputed territory.You may also choose to evaluate the quality of the sources you have accumulated and what your next step should be.
Each problematization assignment should run approximately 700-800 words (however, if one goes over because of overzealous paraphrasing or discussion in paragraph 3, then so be it).
The final problematization project should consist of three sections.
Section 1: Annotation/Paraphrase of article 1
Section 2: Annotation.Paraphrase of article 2
Section 3: Discuss what you think the major areas of inquiry (i.e. what would be the topic sentences or subheadings in a thesis staement for a putative thesis-driven paper) would be if you had to write a longer paper framing this controversy.Identify areas of overlap between opposing sides of the topic. Speculate about other kinds of items (articles, books, interviews) that could be used to explore the topic and/or further substantiate the claim made in the thesis.