Assignment: Prejudice and Discrimination Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence?

Assignment: Prejudice and Discrimination

Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.

—Michael Crichton, State of Fear

Prejudice is an underlying complex mix of mental perceptions and associated emotions and attitudes toward members of another group that often result in social distance and manifest in overt acts of discrimination. An important first step in addressing the roots of prejudice and discrimination is to trace the historical sources and the psychological reinforcements.

In this Assignment, you will explore historical examples of prejudice and discrimination, drawing on how prejudice is perpetuated across generations, and analyzing the implications of persistent prejudice in society.

To prepare:

• Review this week's Learning Resources.
• Identify one historical example and one contemporary example of discrimination. Consider the underlying causes and the consequences of discrimination in these cases.

By Day 7

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper in which you do the following for both your historical example and your contemporary example of discrimination:

• Analyze the major cause(s) of discrimination.
• Analyze how discrimination has been manifested.
• Analyze the consequences of the discrimination. How has discrimination benefitted one group over another?
• Apply one or more of the theories of prejudice and discrimination (covered in Chapter 3 of the course text (Marger, 2015)) to analyze each example.
• Analyze any social policies that have emerged in order to address the acts of discrimination.