SOWK 201 Introduction to Social Work

Final Paper:

Exploration of Cultural Diversity Paper

Students will choose a novel listed below which explores some facet of cultural diversity. Students who wish to choose a novel not on this list must get prior permission from the instructor.

Read the novel and write a 4-6 page paper, which includes:

1) A brief description of a character in terms of age, personality, race, class, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, religious preferences and gender (only discuss what you know about the character). NOTE- this does NOT have to be the main character. Read the full guidelines here and then decide which character you want to write about. 

2) A description of the cultural identity of the character in terms of values, norms and beliefs. What shaped this identity? Did it change throughout the novel? How? (Give specific examples)

3) A description of the similarities and differences between you and the chose character in terms of human development, privileges/lack of privilege, values, customs, educational and vocational opportunity.

4) A discussion of the challenges that you would face in confronting your own biases, assumptions, values if this character were a client assigned to you. How would you confront those differences? Note: it is a sign of strength to recognize your biases, not a defect in character- we all have them… I won’t judge you!

5) A discussion of social work’s value, mission and ethics and how they would influence and shape your work with this character. 

6) Paper must be in APA format. Since this is not a research paper, you do not need to have in text citations or a bibliography, but the paper must be in APA format, which is 12 point font, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman, and double spaced. Do NOT include extra spaces between paragraphs. Pay close attention to grammar, punctuation and spelling. Use grammerly.com to check your paper, or go to the Writing Center. 

** Paper should be organized well. I would suggests using subheadings to identify sections. For example, before you answer each question create a heading for it, such as “Character Description” for number 1, and “Cultural Identity of Character” for number 2. Subtitles should be flush left and bold. Use paragraphs to separate different topics under discussion and INDENT your paragraphs. 

7) All papers must be uploaded to Blackboard by noon on the day due or will result in no credit. Please do not email me the paper. 

Suggested Novel:

· The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas – Racism