. The article may directly be about the police or policing, or you can make a case for why the article is about policing. Please select one article from the following list of allowed articles:

List of Allowed Articles

1. The Trials of Alice Goffman:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/magazine/the-trials-of-alice-goffman.html?_r=0

2. Poor taste or Too Politically Correct? The Halloween Costume Debate: http://globalnews.ca/news/3033732/poor-taste-or-too-politically-correct-the-halloween-costume-debate/
3. Chicagoans See Fed Role In Fighting Crime Wave — But Not On Streets: http://www.npr.org/2017/01/25/511655839/chicagoans-see-fed-role-in-fighting-crime-wave-but-not-on-streets
4. ‘Fire his ass’: Protesters demand firing of Newfoundland police officer acquitted of on-duty rape: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/protesters-demand-firing-of-newfoundland-police-officer-acquitted-of-sexual-assault
5. Surveillance and Predictive Policing: Welcome to the ‘Safety State’ of Tomorrow: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/05/10/surveillance-and-predictive-policing-welcome-to-the-safety-state-of-tomorrow.html
6. End to Police ‘High Five Fridays’ at Schools Roils a Massachusetts Town: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/police-students-high-fives-northampton-massachusetts.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPolice&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=collection&_r=0
7. Policing Behavior in eSports and ‘League of Legends’: http://www.popmatters.com/post/policing-behavior-in-esports-and-league-of-legends
8. Ottawa Police Officer Charged with Manslaughter in Man’s 2016 Death http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/abdirahman-abdi-ottawa-police-siu-findings-1.4008142
9. Race Data Key to Ending Racial Profiling Among Canadian Police http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/siavash-v/racial-profiling-canadian-police_b_15049702.html
10. A Major Victory for the Right to Record Police: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/a-major-victory-for-the-right-to-record-police/533031/

Engage with one or more of the following sets of questions to develop an argument (some questions will be more applicable than others to the article that you pick – it is up to you to decide what your focus will be):

1. Which model or type of policing does this article represent? Why is it important to see the phenomenon/issue presented in this article as this kind of policing?
2. How does inequality (of race, space, or other dimensions) impact the kind of policing that is going on here? Why is this important to consider?
3. If not an obvious act of policing, what makes this issue a form of policing? Why is it important to consider it as policing?

A minimum of three readings from the course should be engaged with to help you form an argument about the media article that you choose.

Focus Tips:

More questions to consider when writing:

-What are the intended aims of the article?

-Which audience is the article directed towards?

-How is policing defined (or not defined) in the article?

-Which boundaries are being discussed?

-Which course concepts most clearly apply to the author’s argument? Can these concepts be used to interpret the author’s methods or conclusions?

Structure/Organization Tips:

Similar to Essay 1, you might find the following structure useful for framing your ideas:

–Paragraph 1: Introduce and summarize the media article that you have chosen.

–Paragraph 2: Introduction and outline of your argument. Be sure to include your thesis here and to directly link it to the article you have just outlined in the previous paragraph. If your article is not directly about the police/policing, be sure to make your case for why it should be seen as policing.

–The next few paragraphs (quantity depends on writing style): The heart of your argument. Based on how you’ve summarized your article and stated how and why it can be seen as a form of policing, systematically explain to the reader why your argument is both valid and important to consider. Do this by using evidence from at least three course readings, as well as (if you wish) academic articles not listed in the syllabus.

–The next paragraph or two after those: a counter-argument to the evidence that you have provided – for example, if you are stating that your chosen article represents an instance of police bias or demonstrates the use of community policing, consider how else a reader might interpret the article; could another explanation be given? Why is yours more compelling? Addressing these kinds of hypothetical questions here will give you a chance to support your own argument even further. (TIP: Once you have considered these kinds of counter-arguments, go back to your introduction. You may realize that your argument has changed!).

–Final paragraph: Conclusion. What is the major take-away of your essay? Re-state your argument here and offer potential implications it might have for one or more of the following: sociology, academic research more broadly, and/or policing (uniformed/private/everyday interactions).