This critical essay is required to be 3-4 pages (double spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman) and needs to include citations (APA Writing Style). You are required to include material from the readings, lectures, and discussions during the first half of this course, and outside sources if necessary. Be sure to engage with the various materials, quoting and citing where necessary, in order to create depth to your exploration and analysis. Use your weekly critical chapter reflections as development notes for this critical essay. You should also develop this take-home analytical essay with a personal narrative (using the word I) and by providing your opinions and perspectives on the topic and material.
Critical Questions: (Pick One Question to Answer)
1) White Supremacy and Immigration
Using white supremacist and immigrant groups as an example, how is the study of race and ethnic relations useful to society?
Use the theories and ideologies discussed in class and from the readings to examine how groups such as white supremacists and immigrants impact society and interact with each other. Explore how social factors and institutions create and reproduce ethnic relations between these groups in society and why race and ethnic relations studies are important.
2) Intersectionality
How has the dominant group in the United States influenced the concepts of class, race, and gender in US ideology and culture toward the various intersectional and people of color populations?
Explore how the concepts of “double consciousness” (a concept coined by W.E.B. de Bois that also relates to intersectionality) and the dominant class are created and reproduced in society by looking at social factors and institutions surrounding the Feminist/ Me Too, LGBTQ, and Civil Rights movements.
3) Kaepernick and Racial Justice
How have ideologies and theories of racial formation been used for the social classification of people of color and ethnic groups in the United States?
Explore the impact of racial formation on the social status of minority groups and how racial justice movements are created and popularized. Consider celebrities of color such as Colin Kaepernick with regard to football field protests against police brutality and the criticisms his actions have drawn.
How to write A Critical Response Essay (3-4 pages)
· Intro – Clear thesis statement and introduction of your argument and material. Combine course readings (with citations) and the themes and information from the lectures, discussion, and/or films to create a critical perspective of the question you have selected.
· Body of the Essay – Support your thesis with critical exploration of concepts and course material that shows depth of analysis. Be sure to cite material you reference and use transition that clearly support your argument/perspective.
· Conclusion – Clearly present your closing arguments and your personal perspectives on your exploration/analysis. Be sure to relate your thesis back to the question you selected.
Rubric
· Clear Opening and Thesis Statement – 50 Points _____
· Clear Support Paragraphs – 100 points _____
· Clear Conclusion Statement – 50 points ____
1) Omi Michael and Howard Winant. Racial Formation In the United States. New York: Routledge, 2016.
2) Peter Edelman. Not A Crime To Be Poor: Criminalization of Poverty in America. New York: New Press, 2017.
3) Martin H. Charles. Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890-1980 Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
