Human Rights Discussion

Human Rights Discussion

In this discussion, you will evaluate a media message created by a group currently advocating (to encourage, work towards) for human rights reform and action. You will watch a short video and then create a discussion post. Then, you will respond to another post on the discussion board.

If you need some help with posting and participating in a discussion, watch this video: How to Post a Discussion.

Context 

In the first part of this class, you learned about human rights and great leaders of the past who fought to ensure the protection of the most basic rights for people around the world. Their goals included ending segregation on the basis of race, religious freedom for all, the right to work for a fair and living wage. These are all elements of a good standard of living. While our past leaders made great strides, there are still challenges that exist to human rights today. 

Think back about the units covering the environment and climate change. You learned about the importance of geography, or location, to your life and work, and also about the current challenges our global climate faces. Some argue about the causes of climate change. Overwhelming evidence shows that extreme weather events like mass droughts, flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes are more frequent and stronger than ever.  Extreme temperature changes are creating challenges to the most basic human rights of adequate food, water, and shelter– a place to call home– for communities around the world. 

Just as leaders and groups stepped forward to call attention to human rights challenges in the past, new organizations are stepping up today. The Environmental Justice Foundation is a U.K.-based charity launched in 2015 that now functions around the world. Their global website states they are “working to secure a world where natural habitats and environments can sustain, and be sustained by, the communities that depend upon them for their basic needs and livelihoods.” 

Task 

For this task, you will view a video produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation called “No Place Like Home.” The goal of this video is to persuade the audience that more action needs to be taken to protect people who have lost their homes due to extreme weather changes. These people are also known as climate refugees. 

Your goal is not to decide whether or not you agree with the message they are sharing. Your goal is to evaluate how effective this video is at persuading its audience to believe its message. 

You will need to take notes as you watch! The video uses a combination of interviews, videos, maps and graphics, and statistics to create its overall message. For your final task, you will write a 4-6 sentence response following the format below.  You will identify and explain two persuasive pieces from the video. Or, if you believe the video is NOT persuasive, you will choose two pieces from the video you think were least helpful to their purpose. 

Click here to view the video: No Place Like Home.

Discussion Post Format: 

Introductory Sentence: 

Evidence #1: 

Commentary: 

Evidence #2: 

Commentary: 

Concluding Sentence: 

• Prompt:
• Your introductory sentence should clearly state your viewpoint on the persuasiveness of the video. Was it persuasive or not? 
• Each piece of evidence will be one of the persuasive (or least persuasive) elements you identified while watching the video. 
• Your commentary will explain how that piece of evidence impacted the persuasiveness of of the video. 
• Your concluding sentence should recap the reasons you gave for supporting your position in the introductory sentence. 
• Discussion Board

Post your paragraph to the group discussion board. Read and respond to at least one other post. Your responses should explain why you agree or disagree with their viewpoints. You will not be able to see other discussion posts until you submit your post