1-2 Activity: Lens Exploration

For this activity, you will write a short paper on a diversity topic of your choice. Choose a topic in diversity that you are interested in. It could be a topic you have personally experienced or a topic that you are interested in knowing more about. Apply each lens to your topic by using its language and perspectives. 

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Describe your existing knowledge about your topic in diversity.
   1. You might describe your personal experience with the topic, what you learned in school, or what your assumptions are about the topic. Ask, what do I know (or think I know)?
2. Apply the history lens to your topic.
   1. Using the language of history as it is defined in your resources, and as it is used in history-focused journals, how would you write about your topic? Consider the following questions when applying the history lens to your topic. What events and dates have occurred that are important to your topic? Has the significance of the topic diminished or shifted with time? Who are the authors of the historical record(s) related to your topic?
3. Apply the humanities lens to your topic.
   1. Using the language of the humanities as it is defined in your resources, and as it is used in humanities-focused journals, how would you write about your topic? Consider the following questions when applying the humanities lens to your topic. What meaning does your topic have within cultures? How do people express themselves with regards to your topic? What are people’s lived experiences with your topic?
4. Apply the natural and applied sciences lens to your topic.
   1. Using the language of the natural and applied sciences as it is defined in your resources, and as it is used in natural and applied sciences–focused journals, how would you write about your topic? Consider the following questions when applying the natural and applied sciences lens to your topic. How might the scientific method be used to examine some aspect of your topic? How might your topic relate to the physical or material world? Are there any challenges to viewing your topic objectively?
5. Apply the social science lens to your topic.
   1. Using the language of the social sciences as it is defined in your resources, and as it is used in social science–focused journals, how would you write about your topic? Consider the following questions when applying the social science lens to your topic. Who is affected by your topic? How might your topic affect interpersonal relationships? What social structures and systems relate to your topic?

Submit your short paper as a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.