According to Eduardo Óbregon Pagán in Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon, what is the root source of the Anglo vs Mexicano conflict over the Sleepy Lagoon trial and the Zoot Suit riots? And more broadly, how are these moments connected, and what do they teach us about the development of race and racism in American history?
General Instructions:
Reading essays will ask you to take a position on a question (i.e., make an argument) and defend that position with evidence from one of the assigned monographs, the assigned primary sources for the class, and the textbook. Each essay will focus on the topic provided by a book-length reading (Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon and ¡Raza Si! ¡Guerra No!) and supplemented by the textbook. You may not do outside research for the reading essays; your source material will consist only of the assigned class readings.
Your responses to the question must be between 750-1000 words, or roughly 3-4 pages double-spaced (if you’re using Times New Roman, 12pt font with one-inch margins). It should begin with a concise thesis as a direct answer to the question; it should analyze the main ideas presented in the reading; and paraphrase/summarize specific supporting details from the reading as evidence. Where appropriate, reference your examples with where they’re found in the text.
