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THE GEOGRAPHY OF RACE IN THE U.S.: CRITICAL REFLECTION PAPER
AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
DUE: NOVEMBER 24, 2008 AT THE BEGINNING OF LECTURE
This assignment provides you an opportunity to build upon ideas in this class as they relate to your personal and professional experiences. This is called an “autoethnography” because the primary source of analysis is your experience and perceptions of a particular event. Keep in mind that your perceptions are not being graded. Rather, we will focus on your ability to thoughtfully employ class concepts from lecture and readings.
Objectives:
Apply concepts from class to your everyday life
Develop critical thinking and writing skills
Requirements:
No less than five pages and no more than six pages in length
Typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, 12-point font
Handed in electronically via instructor’s e-mail
Description:
Section 1 (one third of your paper): Describe in careful detail a “scene” from your everyday life, past or present, in which your racial identity played a role.
Section 2 (two thirds of your paper): Employ at least three concepts from class readings and lecture (see list at the bottom of the page) to explain how and why your racial identity mattered within this “scene.”
Grading criteria:
Thoughtful and detailed description in Section 1.
Proper use and application of at least three class concepts in Section 2.
Clarity of overall paper: must be well-structured (including introduction and conclusion, logically organized paragraphs) and free of errors (spelling, punctuation and grammar).
Helpful hints:
When using class concepts, make sure you are clear about the definitions we introduced in class. If concepts are used incorrectly you will lose points.
This is an autoethnography, not a personal narrative, so the focus of the paper should be on analyzing your experience rather than narrating it.
Class concepts (this is not an exhaustive list – just some suggestions):
Race, racism, privilege, oppression, colorblindness, denial, territoriality, immigration, citizenship, whiteness, assimilation, pluralism, model minority, perpetual foreigner, racial profiling, whitewashing, inequality, wealth, segregation, congregation, ghetto, enclave, predatory lending, environmental justice, identity, resistance…
