Sensitive Topics Raised by Current Events

Examples of sensitive topics raised by current events (separate pages for each topic to be added):

• Racial equality, provoked, for example, by events like the murder of George Floyd. What explains racial inequalities today? How does a history of racism continue to shape contemporary inequality?

• Terrorism and national security, potentially raised by terrorist attacks like 9/11 or the Boston Marathon bombing. How do we balance the demands of protecting the rights of suspected terrorists and the safety of the nation? 

• Election results, which could provoke intense reactions and disagreements within a classroom. 

• Gun violence and safety, which could be provoked by mass shootings, especially those involving students and children. How do we understand the important constitutional right to bear arms in the context of crime and public safety?

• Immigration rights and border security, which balances two sets of concerns: How do we treat undocumented immigrants in the country, and how do we balance the demands of a just immigration policy and a secure border.

Shocking current events in the news should lead us to think about deeper and bigger issues. We want to pivot, for example, from a discussion about a particular mass shooting to the bigger debate over the balance between gun rights and public safety, or to pivot from George Floyd in particular to larger questions of racial inequality and policing.