Sociology 240: Gender and Society DVAAP Instructions

Assignment Objectives: By the end of the course, students in Sociology 240: Gender and
Society should understand how gender interacts with other forms of difference, how gender
inequality is maintained, and how it is challenged. The Domestic Violence Awareness Action
Project (or DVAAP) helps us achieve those goals by requiring research into a particular kind of
violence (one of the following: physical stalking, cyber stalking, child abuse, rape, neglect,
marital abuse, emotional violence, and sibling abuse; you will have options) and by working to
raise awareness of this very serious social ill. In completing this assignment, you will bring
together two importance pieces of sociology: 1) using data to make informed decisions and 2)
taking action with what you know.
Assignment Description: DVAAP has two components. One is the creation of an infographic
about gendered violence. These posters will both inform the public about the problem and
provide information about where to seek help. Students will work individually and in teams to
create and share the infographic with a wider audience. The second dimension of this
assignment is to raise awareness of gendered violence through participation in the Domestic
Violence Week of Action, taking place the last week in October.
Infographic Instructions: Groups should find a minimum of 10 statistics or other important
pieces of information about their assigned topic. These data should be presented on the
infographic in a way that is both easy to read and visually appealing. Graphics, data, and texts
should be integrated into the infographic. A title should appear at the top of your infographic.
Data should be cited (see citation instructions below). You must also have support service
information located on the infographic. To create your infographic, you can use any number of
websites. I recommend using one of the following sites: http://www.easel.ly/, piktochart.com,
venngage.com, or canva.com.

Color hardcopies of your infographic (using the color printer at the Help Desk or near the
DuHawk Market in the ACC) are due at the beginning of class Thursday, October 11. Late
hardcopies will be penalized 5 points every 24 hours they are late; infographics will not be
graded without a hardcopy.

Week of Action Events: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Each year, the
National Network to End Domestic Violence, or NNEDV, sets aside a Week of Action to help
bring issues of domestic, family, and intimate partner violence to the fore. This year, the week of
action is Sunday, October 14-Saturday, October 20th. NNEDV suggests the following course of
action, as seen on their website: (https://nnedv.org/content/week-action-2018/#).
Sunday and Wednesday: Set aside these two days to take action on this issue.
Monday and Tuesday: Speak up about relevant legislation and misinformation.
Thursday: Wear purple to raise awareness for this type of violence.
Friday: Examine popular culture surrounding domestic, family, and intimate partner
violence.
Saturday: Focus on technologies that help survivors.
You will work together to plan Week of Action events at Loras College. At minimum, a separate
event will be planned for each week day during the Week of Action. The guidelines suggested by
NNEDV should be used as a starting point, though some variations are expected.
Three days have been set aside to help plan the DVAAP events, and class during the Week of
Action have been cancelled to foster full participation and proper planning of the week’s
activities. All DVAAP activities should be approved by Dr. Garoutte and appropriate Loras
College staff/administrators before they are implemented. Activities that are not fully approved
by Thursday, October 11th cannot take place.
Points and a grading scheme for the DVAAP project will be determined as a class on Tuesday,
September 11th. Please note that your PP assignment for that day is to come with ideas for the
Week of Action.