You will write a positionality paper examining your life through a critical social justice lens. This assignment
aims to articulate your personal experiences to the theoretical framework of the course textbook. You will
draw upon the chapter themes (socialization, oppression, racism, privilege, etc.) to provide an analysis of what
shapes your perspectives, values, expectations, and beliefs as a member of the various social groups you belong
to. It is not meant to be an unanalyzed narrative of your life story or your opinions about the various
groups you do or do not belong to.
You will build upon the resonances stories to develop a critical analysis of our identity as a member of a
dominant social group and a minoritized social group. In your paper, explain how your social group memberships
shape and effect your life. Describe how key influences have been formative in your thinking about social
memberships in the different groups (key influences include but are not limited to family, friends, schools,
communities, ideas, values, your culture(s), and/or wider society). You should select one identity in which you
are part of a dominant group and one in which you are part of a minoritized group to focus your analysis,
moving forward to articulate your experiences to the concepts and ideas discussed in this course.
Some guidelines for working on your paper and questions to stimulate your thinking:
? You must be a member of the groups you are writing about.
? Consider the historical, institutional, ideological, and cultural dimensions of your groups? position in
societal level (for instance, in U.S. or Canadian or other society that also influence your understanding of
each group).
? Name a minoritized group that you are a member of. (Women)
o How the authors? concepts and ideas define characteristics and experiences of the social group?
o What kind of experiences do you encounter in your daily life as a member of this group?
o What kind of feelings do you experience as a member of this group?
o In which ways is your group made visible or invisible? In what circumstances?
o How has oppression manifested in your life as a member of this group?
o How have resistance and/or solidarity experiences manifested in your life as a member of this
group?
o In what ways does this group membership affect your daily life?
o What is the dominant group in relation position to your group? How does membership in this
group affect your understanding of and attitudes toward the dominant group?
o How the scholarship discussed in this course can be articulated and/or discussed in light of your
personal experiences?
? Name a dominant group that you are a member of. (Citizens-Became citizen of Canada)
o How the authors? concepts and ideas define characteristics and experiences of the social group?
o What kind of experiences do you encounter in your daily life as a member of this group? What
privileges do you have as a member of the dominant group?
o What kind of feelings do you experience as a member of this group?
o How is your group powerful? What forms of power does your group hold?
o Who are some agents of this power? What institutions are used to exert this power? In what
ways?
o How does membership in this group affect your understanding of and attitudes toward the
minoritized group?
o Do you notice a difference in your ability to identify experiences and feelings when thinking
about dominant group membership compared with minoritized group membership? In other
