Social Change – Solutions to American Social Problems

This semester we have focused on American Social Problems. In each section, we have learned that solutions have been proposed for a variety of social problems, some effective and others less so. In addition to policies, some individuals have organized and mobilized groups to create social change across the nation – they changed the culture. This assignment will focus on that social change.

The research has one major goal: to communicate how social change happens in society. You will describe the dialectic relationship between individual troubles and social problems by including the following information:

• Who is the person? And where did they come from? [Short Bio]
• What Social Problem are they interested in solving? Why?
• What did they do? What actions did they take? [Strategy]
• What was the outcome? [Did this affect policy and/or the US culture? How?]

Potential Topics

Reverend Billy – The Church of Stop Shopping

John Lewis – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Larry Kramer – Act Up!

Dolores Huerta – National Farm Workers Association

Woody Guthrie – Labor Activist

Naomi Klein – No Logo/ Occupy Movement

Paper requirements

Between 2 and 5 pages, double spaced, normal 12-pt font. Use research sources and not Wikipedia or an online singe source.