This assignment draws on Chapter 4 (Best 2017) to help you think about how and why experts become involved in the social problems process.
By identifying the experts in your list of sources, you will again think more critically about where information sources came from. You will also practice identifying what makes a person an expert.
Look at your list of sources from your annotated bibliography in Assignment 1. Identify those which you believe to have been authored by experts. Separate the “Experts” using a new subheading on the original Annotated Bibliography page. Sources should still be alphabetical within each subsection. On your bibliography page, you’ll now have your general list that contains all the sources you feel are authored by "Other," another that is just for the "Activists," and a section for "Experts."
Think about other experts who are likely to have an interest in your condition and search for information on them and their involvement with the condition. Add these new sources to your bibliography in the new section that is labeled “Experts.” Move all those sources you have identified as expert authored to that section.
Consider the role experts have played in the construction of your condition. Do there seem to be many or few experts involved? Are there experts from different fields involved? What advantages and disadvantages might drive the extent to which experts become involved in work on your particular condition? Why?
Extinction Rebellion. n.d. “Climate And Ecological Emergency (Declaration, Emissions Target And Citizens Assembly) Bill.”
Assembly bill for U.K. proposed by activist organization Extinction Rebellion.
Weyler, Rex. 2019. “The Youth Have Seen Enough.” Greenpeace.
News article authored by journalist in activist organization describing recent school strikes for climate change.
Oreskes, Naomi. 2004. “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change.” Science.
Academic article on current climate change science.
Warner, Keith Douglass and David DeCosse. n.d. “Lesson Five: Environmental Justice.” A Short Course in Environmental Ethics. Santa Clara, CA: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Web site lesson on environmental justice from an academic institute.
Wallace-Wells, David. 2017. “The Uninhabitable Earth, Annotated Edition.” New York Magazine.
Magazine article laying out current understanding of scientific details about the future of climate change.
Repeat part (1) [the Claims Analysis] of the Claims & Claimsmakers assignment for an expert claimsmaker.
Reliable sources to analyze for the Expert Claims Analysis are:
scholarly journal articles
white papers
Make a new page of your website titled “Expert Claims” for this assignment.
Your analysis should be approximately 300-500 words.
Strong assignments will:
Use evidence to back up your arguments (this should include quotes or paraphrase each group’s claimsmaking activity, or include other multimedia evidence);
Clearly explain using plain language; and
Compare and contrast claimsmaking activity and draw a conclusion.
See grading criteria for the final project here.
Instructions for peer review for this assignment are located here: