Individual Artifact Analysis / Paper
AP/HRM 3450, Section A+B, Fall 2020
Task: Individual Artifact Analysis / Paper
Deadline: December 9, 2020 (last day to submit written work for the fall term)
Weighting: 15% of course grade
Purpose and Basics
• The purpose of this paper is to provide you with an opportunity to further your individual
learning through in-depth examination of EDI aspects of a specific situation or example.
• You have flexibility is the way you approach the paper. You may build on your Dialogue Café
materials as a starting point or start fresh with a new idea.
o It is recommended, that you carefully read the expectations, so that your artifact/topic
meets those expectations. You do *not* need to get approval from Dr. Ophir for your
idea for the paper (opportunities for questions will be provided in drop-ins, if you wish
to ask questions).
• Students seeking alternate provisions are expected to follow York University policies and
guidelines regarding accommodation procedures.
Selecting a situation/example
• A situation or example would usually be a recent artifact(s) or description of a lived experience,
preferably from 2020 or late 2019. Many of you have had such in your Dialogue Café
preparation. If you had a very general approach in your Dialogue Café, you may want to look for
a specific artifact to work with.
• An artifact is a primary source in the form of written text, image or video. It can be an ad
(image, commercial, social media post), a company webpage, as well as a blog post or a
newspaper article that describes a person’s lived experience or a point of view.
• It is best that your artifact/situation/example go beyond non-dominant group such as women,
or general such as visible minority or people with disabilities. Consider other social identity
dimensions and intersectionality.
What to include in the analysis/paper
• Critical reflection of artifact, identifying 2-4 main themes/arguments that are the most
important in your view.
o For example, in the Intel Ad we looked at in Module 1, one theme can be labeled as
replication of white supremacy, as depicted in the relative positioning and poses of the
individuals in the picture, the use of identical pictures for the sprinters, and more.
Other themes could be the use of male models only (related in the analysis to the
specific industry), and ableism (how strength and speed are depicted).
o Another example, with the Victorian Hearing Aids we’ve looked at in Module 3, where
one of the themes we discussed was how stigma is portrayed in the ad (applying stigma
characteristics).
EDI in the Workplace (AP/HRM 3450 A+B) Fall 2020
© Ophir 2019 (York University) Page 2
• The discussion of the themes/arguments should include analysis of your artifact, where you
apply relevant theoretical concepts from the course (specific concepts, *not* “discrimination
based on X”, whereby X is a non-dominant group).
• In addition, expand on our readings by providing “added value” for your analysis. Identify and
apply concepts or aspects of EDI that were not covered in the assigned course materials.
o Good sources for such are scholarly articles or articles from practitioner-oriented
publications1 on EDI. How many sources? 2-3 such sources would be appropriate.
o Also, you may use any relevant concepts from eBook Chapters 8 (Immigration) and 9
(Multiculturalism), which were listed in the assigned readings but would not be covered.
topics are: Gender, ability, race, Indigenous Peoples
