Write thesis statement
Introduction: In Paper 4, you will be taking a great leap forward (from an academic argumentation perspective that is). Building on the basic academic writing skills learned in the first three papers, in this paper you will use theories from multiple texts to analyze/explain an event. (In some ways, this may seem simple, but when you get into the nitty gritty, it often becomes complex.)
Assignment: From time to time, we hear of a person or people that has/have done something terrible to themselves or to someone else. Of course, when this happens, we always wonder, why? Instead of armchair theorizing, as we often do, in this paper, using some established theories, we will attempt to explain why, at times, people end up doing terrible things.
For this assignment, using the theories of Milgram, Darley, and Zimbardo as a staring point, you will attempt to explain (with limited information) why the soldiers stationed at Abu Ghraib behaved in an exceptionally terrible way. In order to do this, you will need to understand the theories above and be able explain how they may, or may not, apply to the situation at Abu Ghraib. It is not expected that the theories above will be able to fully explain (or even partially explain) what happened at Abu Ghraib. Part of the goal of this paper is recognize the importance of context as well as the limitations of theories/ideas in explaining the realities of the world.
As always, you should write your paper for people who are NOT in this class and are NOT familiar with the texts we’ve read. This means you will need to spend some time presenting key ideas and events to help your reader understand the context of the situation.
Texts for Paper 4:
“Perils of Obedience”
“Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility”
“The Mind is a Formidable Jailer”
“Torture at Abu Ghraib”
“Exposure”
Optional Videos:
“The Dangers of Conformity”
“Quiet Rage”
“The Torture Question”
“Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”
“Standard Operating Procedure”
Assignment Goals:
Argumentative Goals:
· Embracing the complexities of the situation, focus your argument with a strong, controlling thesis statement, which makes a claim, referencing the above mentioned theories, about why the soldiers at Abu Ghraib acted as they did
· Provide effective and developed support (reasons and examples) for your claim with ideas from the texts
· Effectively contextualize and explain the significance of the support to the claims being made
· Properly qualify and contextualize the argumentative claims and conclusions
· Organize the argument in a clear and effective way
