Ethnic Studies Research Guidelines
Ethnic Studies Research Guidelines
Read directions thoroughly. The number one reason students fail this assignment and the class is choosing race instead of ethnicity or researching countries instead of ethnicities in the US.
Part 1 Guidelines: Ethnic Studies Research
This is a cross-cultural project in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
This research will explore understanding the ethnicity not race. You cannot complete this research correctly if you do not read your textbook and review your lecture notes thoroughly…especially the first lecture and first chapters in module 1.
You cannot compare Japanese to Vietnamese or Mexicans to Guatemaltecos. You should compare Turkic ethnic group in the US to Cuban ethnic group in the US. The analysis must be in a U.S. context. You are not researching nationality or other countries. You are researching Americans, citizens and immigrants from diverse nationalities and cultures, that are now living in the US. This is very important for your research sources. You should not use articles, books, websites or other media that focuses on countries outside the United States. If you simply research Mexican culture, you will get information about Mexico and culture in Mexico, not necessarily on the experience of Mexican Americans or Chicanos. Likewise, the Japanese American experience in the U.S. is uniquely different from that of the Japanese experience in Japan.
You will identify and research your own ethnic background (Turkic)
You MUST research your own culture based on your ethnic group. It is your responsibility to work with the instructor and any family history available to learn what your ethnic background is. This is not based on how you grew up or lived in your private household. You may belong to a family that decided not to practice ethnic culture, which does not erase your ethnicity, but does mean you may not know very much to start out from. However, even people who know their ethnicity are limited because they have never “studied” their ethnicity possibly.
Every person has an ethnicity or several mixed ethnicities. Find yours and research it. If you are mixed or multiethnic, choose the ethnicity you want to learn the most about or the dominant ethnicity to research. If you are an immigrant, please focus on research about how immigrants from your ethnic group have lived in the US—not on your country of origin.
You must THEN choose an Ethnic Group that is racially different from your own (meaning they look different) (Cuban) from LatinX
Part 2 GUIDELINES: PowerPoint Slide
Sources and Writing for Research:
All research must be done using the Orange Coast College library or another academic library’s sources; this is not a Google or Google scholar research project and you will fail if you do not use an academic institution or library research unless pre-approved by the instructor.
2 academic or government websites (.gov or .edu),
4 academic written sources (scholarly books and articles in journals), and (including your text book)
2 other media such as a magazine article, newspaper article, documentary or non-fiction film about one or both groups.
Optional source: You may also include an interview from a member of the ethnic group, but it will not replace required sources.
Writing Structure:
You must include at least 14 slides with a maximum and minimum of 6 images.
Your 14 slides include the following:
Title Page
Sources Page in APA citation format for all 6 sources required. You can use more references, but not less.
The remaining 12 slides WILL be overcrowded with lots of information. Do not skimp on information to make slides look nice.
Your slides will be graded and reviewed thoroughly for all the information required. You must have complete information on the slide. It is not sufficient to just have a name, phrase, word, image, etc. without explanation.
Research Themes and Headings: The following areas must be covered in your research and included in your PowerPoint as Headings. This is about 2 slides per Heading and every topic in the heading must be discussed:
Introduction of the Two Ethnic Groups (Turkic and Cuban): Unique description of the two ethnic groups. Include something interesting about the culture, why you chose them (including which ethnicity is your own (Turkic)), and any significant research questions you have before going into the research such as information you hope to uncover or learn more about.
Ancestry and Language:Discuss the ancestral background including historical origins of the group including how and why they came to the US, how long in the United States, and their mode of entry and push/pull factors. Discuss year the group first became part of the US and under what circumstances such as push and pull factors. Research both groups’ native languages and whether they remain bilingual in the U.S. or have assimilated into US culture to the point of only speaking English. If they are from certain regions of a country, make that clear in terms of dialects and differences from others. When discussing your own ethnicity, discuss whether or not your family is still part of the ethnic community and continues ethnic and cultural practices that distinguish your ethnic group in the US.
Religion, Holidays, Celebration, and Funeration: Explore the religious or spiritual beliefs of the ethnicities. Some ethnic groups have one religion, but remember that they may have more than one religion among the ethnic group. Research important holidays, celebrations, weddings, and the rituals and approach to death. Give specific examples of these cultural differences including names of holidays, important people, and customs and ways of doing things that are important to the culture. Do the cultures have special beliefs, superstitions, or rituals?
Music, Art, and Literature: Explore the variety of music and other artistic styles of expression such as painting, sculpture, dance, etc. Share where the musical and artistic people have made contributions to the US literature, music, and other entertainment or cultural areas. Share specific examples of music, art, cultural artifacts, or literature that you learned about during this research and why it is significant.
Food, Family, Gender Relations, and Extended Family: Give examples and origins of the cuisine and ways of cooking including specialty foods, favorites, and traditions brought to the US. Research family life, structure of family and whether it includes immediate and extended family living together, apart, close. How significant are multi-generational ties and generational closeness? Include ideas about gender, parenting, dating, relationships, children, marriage, divorce, intermarriage, etc..
Conclusion and Implications: Explain and apply at least 5 course concepts that helped in your analysis. How did these concepts help you in your research? What racism, discrimination, or challenges did the groups experience? What political organizations or movements did they use to overcome or assimilate into American society? What was the most significant finding and what did you discover that surprised you? Conclude with major ways the ethnicities are alike and different.
Final Note:
Please use academic concepts and terms mixed with your own jargon in the appropriate context while synthesizing the new content that you have find in your research. Do not fill this project with quotes unless it is an extraordinary quote that exemplifies the ethnic group. Excellent research presentations will use concepts from the course while introducing new information that applies. I am looking for your insight, ideas, application, and ability to recognize the implications of some of the insights you gained from the class, your research, and Ethnic Studies lens. Remember that this is an exercise and this assignment is intended for you to demonstrate what you’ve learned. You are primarily being graded for following instructions, completing the project, willingness to put in effort to learn as much as possible, and improving your Ethnic Studies depth of understanding, critical thinking and analysis. Do not try to do with AI or ChatGPT. I have been doing this for a long time and know the difference between good research and invested time compared to last minute work that was haphazardly put together with academic dishonesty.
