As discussed in the reading for Units 2 and 3. there may be some laws that are so unjust that instead of having a duty to obey such laws, we as "subjects' have a duty to disobey such laws. As a team we are going to work to explain the concept of civil disobedience in our society and determine its relevancy under the natural law theory.
For your Unit 3 assignment, you will collaborate with a small group of peers that your instructor defined at the end of Unit 2. As a team you will choose an event in history that illustrates the concept of civil disobedience and discuss how it might be viewed under the theory of natural law.
Each person will create a PowerPoint (of at least 5 substantive slides) describing such event, explaining the concept of civil disobedience, and presenting arguments as to why the conduct at issue would be justifiable under the theory of natural law as espoused by Thomas Aquinas, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others.
The example of civil disobedience you choose to discuss should be from the areas of civil rights (such as Rosa Parks on the Montgomery bus or Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Mexico City, Olympics in 1968), environmental activism, animal rights activism, socioeconomic activism (such as the Occupy Movement), or another area that has made or will make the history books.
In addition to describing the event you have chosen and explaining how it fits into the definition of civil disobedience, discuss in detail how such civil disobedience exemplifies the natural law theory that an unjust law is no law at all and therefore, should not be obeyed. Be sure to cite at least 4 sources to support your statements.
Your PowerPoint is due by the end of Unit 3. You will use this PowerPoint in 4 - 5 minutes long presentation during the Unit 4 Seminar (and possibly the Unit 5 Seminar). Your presentation will be followed by 2 minutes for questions from your fellow classmates. After all presentations are complete the remaining Seminar time will be devoted to determining whether civil disobedience exemplifies the natural law theory.
In addition to fulfilling the specifics of the Assignment, a successful assignment must also meet the following criteria:
Length of the PowerPoint presentation should be at least 5 slides containing substantive information along with a slide for your title and one for your references, so a total of at least 7 slides. Viewpoint and purpose should be clearly established and sustained. Assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). Writing should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as original and insightful. Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics. Appropriate citation style should be followed. Your presentation of the PowerPoint must evidence your understanding of the concept of civil disobedience and the key role it plays in natural law theory. Submit your summary to the Unit 3 Assignment Dropbox by the end of Unit 3.
Here is the Unit 3 Assignment Checklist.
Checklist:
Did you describe a key example of civil disobedience from the areas of civil rights, environmental activism, animal rights activism, socioeconomic activism, etc. in detail to illustrate an instance in which "subjects" felt it was their moral duty to disobey the law? Did you present arguments as to why such act of civil disobedience was justifiable under the natural law theory? Did you show internal citations in the body of the text as well as a proper list of references at the end of the paper, following APA style? Did you work as a team and in collaboration with your classmates to determine if such an act of civil disobedience exemplifies the natural law theory? Is your PowerPoint presentation at least five substantive slides, excluding the title slide and references slide?
Will upload a rubric as well Must use the book for one of the sources. Link provided below https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/user/signin
Book - Philosophy of Law: The Fundamentals by: Mark C. Murphy
Sample Solution