Reflective essays in this course are an important opportunity to connect course content with life experiences. It pushes us to pause, think critically and reflect. Moreover, it allows us to consider the social relevance of such historical and cultural developments for ourselves, our future learning in the class and beyond the class. This midterm asses your ability to identify key Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Studies terminology, historical events and people properly, which we have learned in the course to date. Moreover, it values your ability to think critically, organize your thoughts, and to be creative and original. Tasks: READ and REVIEW course readings, films, lectures from Week 1 to Week 6. WRITE a paper that 1.) engages in a critical reflection of the last six weeks, 2.) highlight three key Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Studies terms, historical events and/or people in the course, and 3.) lastly, discuss your personal, family, and/or community’s experience with these themes and concepts. Feel free to include your reactions and feelings about the materials relevance throughout your essay or in the conclusion. ( I am Armenian born in America and live an Americanized lifestyle however am still in touch with my culture, have not experienced crazy racism besides basic Armenian stereotypes, and the Armenian genocide not being recognized or known about by many countries.) THINK about the following essay prompts to help you develop your essay. Choose ONE essay prompt to write about. Essay 1: Stories play an important role in the way race is constructed. What is the significance of the Theodore de Bry’s 1952 engraving of Christopher Columbus arriving in America? How does it help us understand Indigenous, White Settler, and Latina/o/x history and identity in the Americas and . Southwest? Drawing from class readings and lectures, provide 3 examples to explain how stories/narratives of race played an important role in rationalizing inequality. OR Essay 2: In George Sanchez’s Boyle Heights and Genevieve Carpio’s book Collisions at the Crossroads, they demonstrates how settler colonialism and/or racial capitalism shaped people’s mobility in East Los Angeles and the Inland Empire’s citrus economy. What does she mean by racial capitalism and/or settler colonialism? How did they shape the region and relationships between Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Puerto Rican and Filipino families? Drawing from class readings and lectures, provide 3 examples. Your essay must be at least 1000 words in length, must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1’ margins, include page numbers, and your name clearly printed on the first page of your paper. Remember to include the following: 1.) BOLD your thesis in your introduction, 2.) identify which essay you are answering at the top of your paper, 3.) include a word count at the end of your essay, and 4.) lastly, include a work cited page at the end of your essay. Criteria for Success: Your essay should be concise (3-4 pages) and should reflect your personal analysis of the last six units. Your reflection should be well thought-out, incorporate readings and citations. Every essay must include at least two quotes from the assigned reading (from the textbook or chapters), as well as one quote/reference from the lectures (including mini-lectures, films, images, etc.) Use quotes thoughtfully to make a specific point, not fill up space — and cite, cite, cite the textbook, page number or lecture (. Week 2 lecture or Baker, 174). When citing, include the last name of the author of the essay. ., “Even though most of us do not like to think of ourselves as either believing in, or engaging in, such dominations, it is, in fact, difficult for a member of the dominant group to do otherwise” (Miller 94). Books to use would be: 1) Borderlands, La Fronters: The New Mesita by Gloria Anzaldua. (Chapter 1) 2)George J. Sanchez, 2021. Boyle Heights: How A Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy. (Chapters 1-4.) 3)Genevieve Carpio, 2020. Collisions at the Crossroads: How Place and Mobility Make Race. Oakland: University of California Press. (Chapters 1-5.) 4)Gaye Theresa Johnson, 2013. Spaces of conflict, sounds of solidarity: music, race, and spatial entitlement in Los Angeles. (Chapters 1-3.)
