Contemporary Urban Problems Analysis

In our analysis of society we see that exploitation and oppression both have continuity under the system of capitalism, particularly with respect to Black, Brown, and other marginalized peoples. This assignment is designed to highlight contemporary expressions of systemic issues within our socio-political and economic system that continue to adversely impact working class people. Students will identify and summarize current events impacting urban areas from a mainstream or social media platform (e.g., CNN, NPR, NYTimes, Washington Post, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) around the following topics:

• Exploitation & Oppression
  1. |economy, wages, poverty, government, police
• Power, Privilege, & Policy
  1. |white supremacy, race, gender, politics
• Technology, Labor & Society
  1. |automation, robotics, social media,