essay

role_play_contraception.docx

THST 3561/Jones

Contraception Role-Play

This is a role-play in which each of you will, to the best of your ability, realistically represent the world view, opinions, concerns, goals, etc. of the group assigned to you. Since you are not portraying specific individuals, you may give your character the virtues and qualities you would like her or him to have. Your task is to answer and defend your answer to this question:

Can and Should the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) end its moral opposition to funding efforts to make contraception easily accessible to women worldwide? Why or why not?

Round One – Determining your groups answer to and position on the question

In round one you will meet with other classmates portraying one group of persons with a high level of interest in the answer to this question. Your task in this round is to determine the position your characters would take on the question. It is a must that each of you arrives in class on time having read and thought about your position on the questions ahead of time.

Group assignments for Round 1

Section One

RCC Magisterium

John

Nadine

Jonathan

Victoria

Jasmine

Catholic Revisionist Moral Theologians

Mollie

Alexa

Sage

Mark

Isabella

(NGO) workers in Africa, S. America, Philippines, India, etc.

Moriah

Ahmad (this is me)

Hailey

Corrin

Katherine

Indigenous couples in S. America, Africa, Philippines, India, etc.

Erica

Kelcey

Megan T

Mateo

Dani

International FBO’s (Faith-Based Organizations)

Megan N.

Hannah

Mike

Procedures:

1. Gather together. Once you are all together, you may move just outside the classroom to meet if you like; but, stay where I can see you if I walk out of STR toward Malone.

2. Determine who will fill the following roles in the group

· Organizer -- will keep the group on task and on time

· Note taker -- will take notes and turn them in to me at the end of class for me to post on Connect

· Encourager – be sure everyone in the group is interacting equally. You may prompt members by saying, “We haven’t heard from (fill in the blank). What would you like to add?” When the encourager calls on you, you must add something substantive to the conversation.

3. Be sure everyone in the group shares an understanding of the purpose and goals of your character. Who are the members of your organization or whose interest do you represent? What are your religious affiliations and those of the people you represent? What are the ethnicities of your group and their economic status, etc. To whom are those in your group responsible? They may be responsible to more than one person or group.

4. Using the material assigned to your group, develop the best moral and rational argument you can to persuade your upcoming policy group to accept your answer to the question above. Note well: You may read or watch any of the materials assigned to the other groups to help you determine what they might argue against you and how best to rebut their objections.

Round Two – Agreeing on the policy

Your job in round two is to represent your original group on this policy-making committee, which will make the final decision on the question. You must do your best to persuade the other members of the policy group to agree to the policy that your original group decided to promote. However, you may agree to compromise or alternative if you can show during the debriefing that such a move was the most rationally and morally sound action you could make under the circumstances.

Groups for Round 2

Section One

Policy Group 1

John RCC

Alexa REV.

Moriah NGO

Erica IND

Katherine FBO

Policy 2

Jasmine RCC

Mollie REV

Ahmad NGO

Kelcey IND

Megan N FBO

Policy Group 3

Nadine RCC

Sage REV

Hailey NGO

Mateo IND

Hannah FBO

Policy Group 4

Jonathan RCC

Mark REV

Corrin NGO

Erica IND

Mike FBO

Policy Group 5

Victoria RCC

Isabella REV

Katherine NGO

Dani IND

Section two

Policy Group 1

Nate RCC

Callie REV

Jose NGO

Chris IND

Jessica FBO

Policy Group 2

Cierra RCC

Abby REV

Gunnar NGO

Will IND

Policy Group 3

Winston RCC

Edenne NGO

Lucy IND

Anastasia FBO

Dani REV

Policy Group 4

Shayne RCC

Jaimie REV

Jacquelyn NGO

Natalie IND

Policy Group 5

John RCC

Jasmin NGO

Bri IND

Forrest REV

Procedures:

1. Gather together in your policy group. Once you are all together, you may move just outside the classroom to meet if you like; but, stay where I can see you if I walk out of STR toward Malone.

2. Determine who will fill the following roles in the group

· Organizer -- will keep the group on task and on time

· Note taker -- will take notes and turn them in to me at the end of class for me to post on Connect

3. Be sure everyone in the group shares an understanding of the purpose and goals of this round, which is to agree to an answer to the question:

Can and Should the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) end its moral opposition to funding efforts to make contraception easily accessible to women worldwide? Why or why not?

4. Each member needs to remain true to the worldview, religious or otherwise, of the organization s/he represents at all times. You may use any and all rational and moral arguments to persuade the policy group to accept you answer to the question using the material you read/watched for support.

5. Prepare a statement of your answer and reasoning for the debriefing session to be held in our next class meeting. Someone must volunteer to type up the statement and bring a hardcopy to the debriefing session. You will have a few minutes at the beginning of the debriefing for everyone to sign the statement. Please sit with you policy group during the debriefing.

6. Before ending the policy group meeting, be sure to pick someone to read your statement at the beginning of the debriefing.