The four lenses of liberal arts, history, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, represent the approaches through which one can explore the world and the phenomena within it. The topic of voting rights is multidimensional and expansive, allowing for studying it from various standpoints. The history and social sciences lenses were chosen to explore the topic because they provide ample opportunities for research and understanding of voting rights as a phenomenon.
The historical lens offers an approach to learning about a subject through interpreting the past. For example, voting rights have a complex history, especially in the United States. Even though states have determined voting requirements, the federal government was continuously challenged by creating more equity and equality in the process. From the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to the signing of the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965, the history lens will show how voting rights issues developed as time went on (American Civil Liberties Union, 2023). Besides, connections can be made between past experiences and existing challenges that remain relevant within the realms of the topic.
The social sciences lens enables us to look at the topic at hand from the perspective of human connections and their actions in their social environment. The field is predominantly concerned with examining people’s behavior to better understand social institutions, politics, and culture that influence the formation of voting rights. The barriers that the African American population faced when trying to gain equality and the same voting rights as their White counterparts is a social sciences issue that can be explored in detail. Therefore, it is possible to draw a connection between voting rights and racism.
Reference
American Civil Liberties Union. (2023). Voting Rights Act: Major dates in history. Web.