You have walked through just a small part of the African-American cultural legacy. As always I urge you to explore African-American studies and history in more depth as you move through your academic career.
Your final exam will ask you to synthesize what you have learned.
About ten years ago, sociologist Michelle Alexander published a book, The New Jim Crow, which compared the modern police state to Jim Crow America. As the title suggests, Jim Crow never died it just morphed.
1. I want you to read (read the whole book if you can you won’t be disappointed): The New Jim Crow.pdfDownload The New Jim Crow.pdf
2. Write an essay (1000 words minimum) that addresses the following question: To what degree does African-American culture reflect rebellion or resilience? Choose a side and use any of the sources you have encountered in the course. You must address Alexander’s work as well.
Thesis/Intro
20 pts
A
Strong thesis; clearly stated. Original, creative, thoughtful. Interesting (answers the “so what” question). Broad enough to convey importance of discussion to follow, narrow enough to support with available materials.
17 pts
B
Clearly Stated. Interesting (answers the “so what” questions). Factually correct.
15 pts
C
Ambiguous or unclear wording. Simply describes topic of the paper. Does not answer the so-what question. Factually correct.
13 pts
D
Ambiguous or unclear wording. Topically unfocused. Does not answer “so what” question. Factually correct.
11 pts
F
Missing, unrelated to topic, factually incorrect.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeArgument/Analysis
30 pts
A
Persuasive, well organized and balanced. Develops and supports thesis. Contains cogent analysis that demonstrates a command of interpretive and conceptual tasks required by assignment and course material.
26 pts
B
Persuasive, well organized and supports thesis. Few to no factual errors. Solid understanding of the texts, ideas, and method of assignment. Minor gaps in reasoning.
23 pts
C
Fair organization. May not move logically from paragraph to paragraph in support of thesis. May contain minor factual errors or omissions of historical specifics. Shows an understanding of the basic ideas and information involved in the assignment; a tendency toward recapitulations or narration of standard chronology.
20 pts
D
Simply recounts chronology or series of events with little factually correct, but lacks relevance and/or importance. Inadequate command of course material. Fails to respond directly to the assignment.
17 pts
F
Simply recounts chronology or series of events with little effort to form an argument in support of thesis. Contains major factual errors, omissions, or both. Does not understand class material. Essay may not respond to question.
30 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDevelopment and Support
30 pts
A
Excellent choice of examples relevant to thesis. Insightful analysis or interpretation of relevant portions of chosen documents that play an important role in the argument. Does not neglect documents relevant to thesis.
26 pts
B
Accurate use of examples relevant to thesis. May have neglected other relevant documents. Exhibits clear understanding of the meaning and significance of the documents and attempts to integrate them into argument.
23 pts
C
Refers to examples, but does not integrate them into argument in support of thesis. Overlooks important documents relevant to the thesis in favor of less relevant documents. Or, makes accurate use, as in B above, but with only one document.
20 pts
D
Use of document(s) out historical context or contrary to their historical meaning. Discursive and undeveloped. May digress from one topic to another.
17 pts
F
Neglects documents altogether. Little or no development. Lists of vague generalizations or misinformation.
30 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar and Structure
20 pts
A
Essay moves easily from one point to the next with clear with clear, smooth, and appropriate transitions, coherent organizations, and fully developed paragraphs. The author employs sophisticated sentences effectively, chooses words aptly, and observes all conventions of English grammar to craft an eloquent essay.
17 pts
B
Clear transitions and the development of coherent, connected ideas in unified paragraphs. A good command of English, though with occasional stylistic or grammatical problems.
15 pts
C
Some awkward transitions and weak or undeveloped paragraphs not clearly connected to one another. A tendency toward wordiness, unclear or awkward sentences, imprecise use of words, grammatical errors, and a vagueness of meaning brought on by the passive voice.
13 pts
D
Simplistic or discursive, tending to vague summations and digressions from one topic to another. Major grammatical problems such as subject-verb disagreement, obscure pronouns, and sentence fragments. Language
11 pts
F
Numerous grammatical errors that frustrate the reader’s attempt to understand the paper’s argument.
20 pts
