Refugee research paper

SOCI 3508 Sociology of the Refugee – Dr. Dao Fall Semester 2019 Columbus State University

Welcome to the last weeks of the semester!

Refugees, Displacement, and the Media

For the culminating project for this class, you will

have an opportunity to produce a 3-4-page

reflection paper and a 2-3-minute audio recording

that moves beyond popular political and media

representations of refugees and immigrants.

There are 2 parts to this final project and both

must be submitted by Sat. December 7th 11:59pm:

PART 1: The Paper

A 3-4-page single-spaced essay that draws on materials posted in module folders throughout

the semester---you may also draw on the books What is the What and The Far Away Brothers.

• Your essay should present a clear thesis, a several points about how media

representations of refugees and immigrants has changed over time.

• How would you describe the common understanding of refugees, communities and

citizenship in the U.S.? What role does media play? Would you change media

representation? How so?

PART 2: The Audio Project

You will produce a 2-3-minute audio statement for your classmates to hear. In this statement

you may respond to these questions:

o What do you think most people believe about refugees in the US?

o How do you think refugees and immigrants are represented in the media?

o What are your personal experiences with refugees or immigrants (if any)?

In summary, you will carefully consider how the media represents refugees and immigrants in

the news and popular culture, then review the module folders for the most useful materials that

would help you construct your arguments and points. You will then produce a paper and an

audio piece about these reflections.

Some Suggestions for Writing

Find representations of media items in the news, movies, news websites and stories that depict refugees. For example, the Syrian conflict as well as Eastern European refugees, and displaced populations from West Africa (climate refugees) or Latin America (political unrest) have been profiled heavily in the news.

• Be sure to document where you find these stories and images of refugees

• Create a thesis statement on what your observations are for these media stories.

• Develop an outline of your arguments and main points—it is useful to use headings to keep your thoughts organized.

SOCI 3508 Sociology of the Refugee – Dr. Dao Fall Semester 2019 Columbus State University

• Review module folder items that you think will best support your points, or have a direct connection to your outline. In your writing, you should include these citations throughout the paper in the text. Any re-statements of other people’s ideas without citation is plagiarism.

• Produce a 3-4 pages, single spaced reflection paper. Use this format:

Student Name SOCI 3508 Sociology of the Refugee Final Paper 12/7/2019 Dr. Vy Dao

Some Suggestions for the Audio Piece

Your audio statement will be listened to by your classmates and the professor. You may keep it casual but it should have some structure and organization:

• Introduce yourself by name and greet the class if you wish.

• It is highly suggested that you type out or put in outline form what you’d like to say to keep from rambling or getting lost in your thoughts.

• You may use your cell phone recording or laptop audio recording---you can save the file as an mp3, mp4, or wav. File, whichever works best for you.

• Reflect on the questions above about your experiences and opinions.

• Students may have the opportunity to have their audio included in the first season of Refugee: A Podcast