Category: Essays on Controversial Topics
Browse our collection of essays on controversial topics. Each topic in this category represents a controversial issue and thus is a good choice if you are looking for argumentative or persuasive essay topics. When writing an argumentative essay or a persuasive essay you should focus on picking a topic that is current and relevant to society and can be argued logically.
While a strong interest in a topic is important, it’s not enough to be interested. You have to consider what position you can back up with reasoning and evidence. It’s one thing to have a strong belief, but when shaping an argument you’ll have to explain why your belief is reasonable and logical. As you explore the topics, make a mental list of points you could use as evidence for or against an issue.
In an era of accelerating globalization, social and political activists increasingly operate beyond and across state borders. Their activities, commonly referred to as “transnational activism,” reflect broader changes in the global political economy. New communication technologies play an important role in fueling this type of activism and expanding …
Transnationalism refers to the web of cultural, social, economic, and political relationships, practices, and identities built by immigrants between their country of origin and their country of settlement. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many immigrants do not sever their ties to their homeland but rather deepen them over time. …
Transnational social movements are movements whose members, organizations, or actions involve more than one nation. Some examples of contemporary transnational social movements are the global justice movement, the women’s movements, the human rights movement, and the indigenous people’s movements. Many social movement scholars link the emergence of transnational …
Trickle-down is a political-economic term used to describe certain economic theories and policies. It implies that policies to help the wealthy directly will also have a positive impact on the middle and lower classes and the poor, with a trickle of the original largesse. The intent of so-called …
Twelve-step programs include the namesake organization, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and other mutual help programs that are modeled on the 12 steps of AA. Their unifying assumption is that the most effective and efficient path to recovery from alcoholism, addiction, and other problems is the dynamic of mutual help—one …
The underclass debate refers to a scholarly and public debate during the 1970s through the 1990s about the origins, character, and appropriate response to the problems of concentrated urban poverty in the United States, particularly among African Americans. The sociologist William Julius Wilson brought attention to this issue …
Underemployment refers to employment that is inadequate, inferior, or of low quality, relative to some standard. Researchers—mostly economists, industrial-organizational psychologists, and sociologists—agree that there are several distinct types of underemployment, although there is less agreement on exactly what counts as underemployment or how many types there are. Nevertheless, …
The term underground economy refers to economic activities that circumvent the formal system of rules and regulations that organize the processes of production and exchange. Underground economies are classified depending on either the particular set of rules that such activities violate or the nature of production, distribution, and …
The term undocumented immigrants is one that amnesty advocates prefer instead of the term illegal aliens, which is used by those who oppose both their presence and any official approval such as amnesty. Both terms refer to foreigners who either enter a country without authorization to do so …
Economists reserve the concept of unemployment for people who are involuntarily unemployed. That is to say, people are unemployed if they are actively seeking jobs but unable to find them, as opposed to people who have voluntarily opted out of the labor market to pursue activities like raising …
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is the basis for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) annual publication Crime in the United States. The UCR is the only official, standardized, police-based crime reporting program in the United States. The report measures the level and distribution of both serious and …
Urban decline refers to a process that includes population loss and the concentration in cities of major social, economic, and environmental problems, such as high levels of unemployment and poverty and the deterioration of housing and public infrastructure. Sometimes used interchangeably with the terms urban decay and urban …
Urban infrastructure is a broad term used to describe the civil engineering, architectural, and urban-planning projects undertaken in cities to provide inhabitants with the structures that are necessary for sustainable life. These interconnected structures provide the framework to sustain an entire urban area. They include transportation and communications …
Urbanization is the process by which a large number of people over time become concentrated in cities. However, cities, as permanent settlements where heterogeneous groups of people live, have existed since time immemorial. The existence of cities is extensively interrelated to the expansion of an efficient agricultural system …
In theory, urban renewal is any effort to direct city planning toward the improvement of the physical infrastructure. In practice, in the United States it has often meant the seizing of “blighted” property by the federal government and its redevelopment by private enterprise, underwritten by federal grants or …
In the early 21st century, urban sprawl continues to be a source of considerable controversy and political debate, yet many Americans quietly accept sprawl. They express their acceptance by moving farther away from central cities into housing and business developments on land that was formerly rural and undeveloped. …
Over the past 2 decades, the urban underclass has become one of the most controversial topics in the social sciences. As a sociological construct, the notion of an underclass can be traced to Marx’s lumpenproletariat, which he identified as occupying the lowest rung of the social hierarchy, beneath …
Values are constructs that guide human behavior, helping people distinguish between the desirable and undesirable. On the individual level, they are conceptions that motivate personal action. On the aggregate level, they reflect collective experience and provide general orientation to a society. Values have emotional connotations. We feel when …
Vandalism is the purposeful defacement or destruction of public or private property without permission. Because it does not usually materially profit the perpetrator or physically harm the victim, it is generally considered to be a crime of anger, alienation, protest, or statement. The term vandalism can refer to …
The vegetarian movement in the United States and Canada encompasses local, national, and international organizations that promote vegetarian practices and lifestyles. These organizations identify meat as a social problem for a variety of reasons, including threats to personal health, destruction to the environment, and the pain and suffering …
