What provocative opinion pieces have you read lately?
September 11, 2014 9:52 AM   Subscribe

For a classroom exercise, I need a couple of mid-length (2-6 pages), somewhat provocative editorial-style essays. Difficulty: must be relatively self-contained (no extensive background knowledge required), of mid-level diction and conceptual difficulty (harder than the Daily Mail, easier than Malcolm Gladwell), ideally available online, and on a topic that might interest 18-20-year-olds.

I know, this is pretty much what the Internet is made of-- but I'm having a surprisingly tough time finding appropriate readings. Ideas, Metafilter? Any type of source-- blog post, online mag, print, whatever-- is fine.
posted by gallusgallus to Writing & Language (15 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Lakers legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar thinks that Atlanta Hawks owner's email was not racist.

You'd need a copy of the original email, and need to know that Jabbar is a black former basketball player as far as background knowledge is concerned.
posted by John Kennedy Toole Box at 9:57 AM on September 11, 2014


I'm a fan of Longreads in general. I did a search for opinion and this came up.
posted by Lardmitten at 9:59 AM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


David Brin has a lot of good essays on his site.
posted by Sophont at 10:12 AM on September 11, 2014


Almost anything Ta-Nehisi Coates write for The Atlantic.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:18 AM on September 11, 2014 [8 favorites]


Check out Slate... lots of stuff along the lines you seem to be looking for.
posted by cgs06 at 10:18 AM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


When I was teaching a writing class a couple years back, I was surprised that one of the readings the students found most engaging (selected by a student in the class) was a NYT opinion piece on hipsters.

I don't have a link handy, but in general you may want to check out the Fashion and Style section of the Times or other style publications for stuff that might grab your audience's attention.
posted by audi alteram partem at 10:31 AM on September 11, 2014


Speaking of Coates, this recent piece The Case for Reparations was amazing and should be right on point.

Here's a piece from TNR about not sending your kids to Ivy League schools that got a lot of discussion around the news media types and should be of interest to people around college-age.
posted by General Malaise at 10:35 AM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Too poor for pop culture.

Consider the lobster by David Foster Wallace.
posted by mareli at 11:22 AM on September 11, 2014


The opinion piece in The New York Times today concerning Ray Rice, the running back for the Baltimore Ravens, and his assault on his then girlfriend. It was one of the discussions the Times runs where 5 or 6 people with expertise in certain areas give their opinion. Would think that would interest 18 year-olds, both girls and boys.
posted by PaulBGoode at 12:26 PM on September 11, 2014


I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me.

(I do not at all agree with the author.)
posted by kprincehouse at 12:46 PM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


My students ALWAYS have plenty to say and write about the use of technology and distraction in the classroom.

Here are a couple of provocative pieces. Not sure if the reading levels are too high for your students, but they're definitely above Daily Mail type stuff.

Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops by Anne Curzan, The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom by Dan Rockford, The New Yorker.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:09 PM on September 11, 2014


If you want provocative, you can find that at The Matt Walsh Blog. He is a very conservative blogger who seems to get an equal amount of love/hate mail on most of his posts.
posted by tacodave at 3:37 PM on September 11, 2014


We've done Against Love, by Laura Kipnis with AP 11th graders and it was both interesting to them and a stretch of their ability. There is some sexual language though.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:45 PM on September 11, 2014


A theory of jerks: Are you surrounded by fools? Are you the only reasonable person around? Then maybe you’re the one with the jerkitude.

Where Are All the Women?: I am rarely a girl-hater. I have deep feels for bitches, and tomboys make me weak with envy (or lust, if there's a difference). But ladies? Ladies can eat me and call it a juice cleanse.
posted by unmake at 9:25 PM on September 11, 2014


The Gervais Principle series of essays may qualify. At least there is a pop culture hook used as the basis the discussion which folks of that age could gravitate toward. Warning: it may make them incredibly cynical about the working world they are about to enter.
posted by quadog at 12:04 AM on September 12, 2014


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