This paper will illustrate what you have learned in this course. I expect you to use the course readings to make your arguments, but I encourage you to use external sources other than those provided in the course material. You are required to use a minimum of FOUR academic sources for this paper. Up to two of these four sources may be from our class readings and the remaining must be pulled from the list below of appropriate sources. If you are unclear if a source constitutes an academic one please email me the title and author (also if there is a link or website through with I can access it that would be helpful to include as well) and I will let you know. I have provided a list of sources that will count for your paper.
Appropriate sources:
Academic Journal Articles (access through our library)
Academic Press Books (access through our library)
Government Databases and Publications (publicly available)
Inappropriate Sources:
News articles (all of them)
Websites
Think Tanks
Non-academic data collection websites (Gallup, PEW etc…)
Blogs
Wikipedia
Anything not listed above under appropriate sources
How to write/organize your paper
You must provide a thesis statement. It is best if this occurs in the first paragraph of the paper. This will be your guide for the remainder of the paper, and it will orient me to the goal(s) of your paper. The thesis statement illustrates a relationship between different factors. This means you should clearly state that X, Y, and Z are related to A, B, and C. For example: Because of Structural/Systemic racism in our judicial system, Latinos are disproportionately imprisoned and have higher recidivism rates when compared to Whites of equal class status. In the remaining portion of this paragraph you should lay a ground work for how you plan to illustrate this relationship.
The paragraphs that follow should illustrate this groundwork. In each, you should explain readings and key themes illustrated by these authors. I recommend a discussion containing at least 1-2 citations per page. Also, you should organize your entire paper into several sub-sections (3-5 depending on your topic, argument, and citations) that all aim to underscore your main thesis statement. Each section should contain a sentence, preferably at the beginning, that makes this clear. These sections and paragraphs will be the meat of your paper and will be where the majority of your grade is determined.
End your paper with a concluding paragraph. This paragraph should summarize your paper, illustrate some of its weaknesses, and suggest ways in which these weaknesses can be improved. You may also suggest how your project can be broadened to address other questions related to your topic.
You will provide a reference page with complete references for each citation you use. You must use a citation style that is consistent with your major. As I stated on the syllabus, if you are unsure, always provide a citation otherwise it is plagiarism. Paraphrasing; borrowing ideas, words, and phrases; using maps, charts or pictures; copying and pasting from a website, blog, or other internet space all must be cited. Failing to do so is a serious matter and constitutes academic dishonesty. I will check every paper for plagiarized material.
Your paper will be a minimum of four full pages in length but may spill onto a fifth page as needed. You must adhere to the paper guidelines and for the formatting of this final paper you must adhere to the style of your discipline. I encourage you to start writing this paper as soon as possible. I also encourage you to come and talk with me about your paper before it is due (preferably more than a day or two before you need to turn it in).
Paper Topics
Topically, you may choose almost anything as long as it relates to Afrx-Latinx experiences. You’re welcome to select from some of the topics discussed in the class or you can investigate a topic you may have encountered in your everyday life. I recommend that you try to choose a topic that you can easily relate to a few of our readings; this will make getting started much easier and immediately provide you with a few articles to meet your goal of four. If you are having trouble deciding what topics to choose here is a list of possible topics to get you started (You do not have to choose from this list, its only suggestions to help):
Movies – You can choose any movie and/or genre, but I expect you to think critically about this/these film(s). If you choose this topic email me the film you want to analyze before you write your proposal.
Television – Just like movies, you can choose any show(s), but remember that you must think critically. Link the statements made in the readings directly to the shows. If you choose this topic email me the show you want to analyze before you write your proposal.
Sports – Race/Ethnicity in sports, college sports, professional sports, news coverage of sports, history of sports.
Criminal Justice System – Disproportionate representation of People of color in prison, People of Color and involved in white-collar crime v. People of Color involved in poor or working class crime, policing in White neighborhoods vs. neighborhoods of color, stop and frisk policies.
Biology & other sciences – Biological interpretations of race, class, sexuality, and/or gender; disproportionate representation of whites in the sciences.
News media – News coverage of People of color or whites, recent presence of People of color in politics, coverage of immigration before and after 9/11/01. (If you want to focus on a specific news show or network, please email me the specifics before you write your proposal.) News coverage of the relationship between immigration and gender, news coverage of Latinx gay marriage issues v. hate crimes committed against the LGBTQQI community.
Education – College admissions, high school history textbooks, quality of schools, race and class segregation in universities, racism/sexism/homophobia on campuses.
Housing – Segregation based on class and race in cities or disproportionate representations of people of color in economically depressed neighborhoods.
Healthcare – Health disparity between Whites vs. People of Color, access to healthcare (reproductive, cancer based healthcare, diabetes, heart disease).
Internet – Differences in access to Internet among different races, presence of hate group blogs, chatrooms & other spaces where comments are available, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.)
What you should cover in your paper
I expect you to cover at least one major academic argument on the topic you have chosen. To accomplish this you should use books or articles found in the TAMUSA library or JSTOR search engine available through our library system. If you are not able to find these databases, please email me or contact someone at the library directly. Our course reading may cover these arguments, in which case I recommend trying to supplement this argument with articles available in these databases.
Providing the contours of this argument will constitute the majority of your paper. This means that you will use each subsection of your paper to illustrate a new theme or contour of this particular topic. I recommend trying to find other resources to supplement this portion of your paper.
In approaching this paper you should critically engage common sense understandings of the topic. You are required to do analysis supported by the sociological knowledge you gain from this course. In this analysis you will synthesize ideas, concepts, theories, and examples given in class and in your readings to address your topic.
Final paper Grading Rubric/Guidelines
