What makes things controversial

You do not want your class to devolve into a debate of current events. Rather, use real-world problems to investigate what is at stake in the concepts of the class. In this regard, controversial topics can be useful pedagogical tools, for they can spark greater interest in the ideas raised in the lectures and readings. Moderate negative thinking and strong emotions in your students and in yourself. Model for your students how to reframe strong feelings into productive dialogue.

Sample ground rules for teaching controversial subjects You and your students only make statements about an issue, person, or group if you are prepared to make the statement directly and respectfully to a person to whom the issue is important. Encourage students not to argue from authority and to link their claims and assertions to appropriate evidence whenever possible. Reviews concept maps and provides examples of strong and weak ones.

Offers suggestions on how to integrate popular media into social sciences classrooms. Writing Consultations For graduate students looking for expert advice on planning, drafting, and revising their research paper, dissertation, presentation, or any other writing project.

McDougal Graduate Teaching Fellows Program McDougal Graduate Teaching Fellows at the Poorvu Center lead programs on effective and innovative teaching, develop teaching resources, and provide individual consultations for graduate student instructors at Yale. It still might seem challenging to take an original stance in a complicated and active debate, but never fear-here are some tips for writing a controversial thesis:. In addition, several of the bullet headings for the section on writing a controversial thesis were taken from Gordon Harvey's "Elements of the Academic Essay.

Skip to main content. Unraveling the Mystery of the "Controversial Thesis". What is a controversial thesis? How do I write a controversial thesis? It still might seem challenging to take an original stance in a complicated and active debate, but never fear-here are some tips for writing a controversial thesis: Consider a counter-argument Comparing or contrasting your interpretation to a standard view or even to a view that you used to hold can create a counter-argument. Define your terms and assumptions By providing your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with another's view, you highlight your motivation for making a similar or different argument.

Your reasons for making an argument are what distinguish you, and what makes your thesis arguable and controversial. Interpret, Don't Evaluate An evaluative thesis, such as one that presents your preference, is not controversial. I think that in order know whether or not something is controversial, they must look for what they think constitutes a good controversy.

Keeping these thoughts in mind,when looking to find a public controversy there are a few questions that needed to be asked. The first is is the issue controversial, are their two strong opposing views or ideas on a certain event or issue? Secondly, I think it is important to see if an issue is public, therefore affecting a large number of people in society. The more people that are involved in an issue seems to make it more controversial just due to the fact that each side has a lot of people to back it up.

Finally, it is important to decide whether the issue is relevant and held relevance in the past as well.