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.
Class consciousness is an awareness of one’s position in the class structure that can be shared by members of the same class. It enables individuals to come together in opposition to the interests of other classes and, therefore, can be important for people challenging inequality and exploitation. Although …
MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), more commonly called ecstasy, is the most popular in a category commonly called “club drugs.” Others are Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), GHB, and ketamine. First synthesized in Germany by the Merck Company in 1912, ecstasy is both a mild stimulant and a hallucinogen. The medical community initially embraced …
Cocaine hydrochloride (a white powder) and crack (a solidified version of cocaine hydrochloride) come from the coca leaf, grown mostly in the mountains of South America. Cocaine and crack are Schedule II stimulants that produce intense but short-term euphoria and increased energy levels. The chief active ingredient in …
The term codependency has two related uses. The first originated in the addiction treatment and family therapy discourses. Until the 1980s, the term described a person involved in a relationship with an alcoholic or drug addict. The codependent engaged in considerable effort, mostly unsuccessful, to manage the problems …
Cohabitation is a tentative, nonlegal coresidential union that does not require or imply a lifetime commitment to stay together. Perhaps as a result, cohabiting unions break up at a much higher rate than do marriages. Cohabitors have no responsibility for financial support of their partner, and most do …
The obligation to distinguish between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand and military objectives on the other is a central tenet of international humanitarian law (the law that applies during an armed conflict). Collateral damage is inflicted when a party to the conflict intends to attack …
Collective consciousness, also known as conscience collective, refers to a shared, intersubjective understanding of common norms and values among a group of people. The concept was developed by eminent French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). In his magnum opus, The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim employs the term …
Both the global magnitude of colonialism’s expansion and its abrupt, fragmented demise place colonialism at a pivotal phase in human history. Colonialism normally refers to the conquest and direct control of other land and other people by Western capitalist entities intent on expanding processes of production and consumption. …
Communitarianism, as a coherent body of thought, is a movement that seeks to resolve social problems by strengthening individual commitment to the broader society. The movement began to coalesce in the early 1990s among predominantly U.S. social scientists. Its chief proponent is sociologist Amitai Etzioni (president of the …
Theorists do not agree on the precise definition of community. Referents for the term range from ethnic neighborhoods to self-help groups to Internet chat rooms. What is broadly agreed upon is that community is a locus of social interaction where people share common interests, have a sense of …
Community corrections refers to the supervised handling of juvenile and adult criminal offenders, convicted or facing possible conviction, outside of traditional penal institutions. It includes a wide range of programs intermediate between incarceration and outright release, such as probation, parole, pretrial release, and house arrest. It includes diversion …
Community crime control refers to the use of criminal justice mediums in solving social problems or preventing crime. Examples of this proactive approach to crime control include neighborhood watch, community watch, and beautification projects. A primary assumption is that crime is a social problem, rather than an individual …
Community service is compulsory, free, or donated labor performed by an offender as punishment for a crime. This requirement is a community service order. An offender under a community service order must perform labor for a certain length of time (as determined by the crime) at charitable not-for-profit …
Until the late 1970s, an acceptable workplace practice was to pay men more than women, even if they did the same or essentially the same work. The 1963 federal Equal Pay Act mandated equal pay for equal work. Although this law helped those women who did the same …
The global growth in information technology—along-side unparalleled advances in productivity, commerce, communication, entertainment, and the dissemination of information—has precipitated new forms of antisocial, unethical, and illegal behavior. As more and more users become familiar with computing, the scope and prevalence of the problem grow. Computers and the Internet …
The theoretical foundation of the conflict perspective is the philosophy of Karl Marx and its expression in various schools of intellectual thought that include conflict theory, critical theory, historical Marxism, Marxist feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism. At the center of Marx’s analysis is an economic perspective of …
Conflict resolution refers to a process for ending disputes. A broad spectrum of mechanisms for dealing with conflicts exists across all levels, from interpersonal disputes to international armed engagements. These processes enlist a variety of problem-solving methods to resolve incompatibilities in needs, interests, and goals. Variations in both …
A conglomerate is a company engaged in often seemingly unrelated types of business activity. Two major characteristics define a conglomerate firm. First, a conglomerate firm controls a span of activities in various industries that require different managerial skills. Second, a conglomerate achieves diversification primarily by external mergers and …
The U.S. welfare state and its relation to domestic labor markets changed dramatically at the close of the 20th century. A new group of conservatives shifted the terms of welfare debate away from the logic of need and the logic of entitlement, promoted by Democratic politicians and the …
The term conspicuous consumption was coined by Norwegian American sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) in his 1899 book titled The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions. Conspicuous consumption refers to an individual’s public or ostentatious use of costly goods or services to indicate …
