For the final paper, students will read Molina’s How Race Is Made in America and ONE of the other two books: either Dow’s American Gulag OR Kahn’s Other People’s Blood. Students should be reading the two books periodically throughout the semester. The final paper will be time consuming because of the reading material so please plan accordingly and avoid waiting until the last moment. The final paper must incorporate TWO books in order to receive a passing score.
After reading Molina’s book and one of the other two books, students will write a 2,000-word paper responding to the prompt below. There will be no penalty for papers that exceed the word count up to 1,000 additional words. The paper should be well-written, well-argued, well-edited, and properly cited. Further information about paper guidelines can be found on page 9 of this syllabus. The rubric for the paper can be found on page 10 of the syllabus. The final paper will be worth 400 points.
Prompt: (there are 3 parts to the prompt)
1 Molina’s argument centers around what she calls “racial scripts.” First, explain what Molina means by racial scripts (What are they? Where can they be found? Why does she use the concept?).
2 Then, analyze Molina’s argument of racial scripts in the book (What evidence does she use to make her argument? Is the evidence persuasive to you? Why or why not?).
3 Finally, incorporating the additional book you read, analyze whether or not Molina’s argument of racial scripts can be seen in the other book (How can we see racial scripts playing out in the context of immigrant detention? Is Molina’s argument strengthened by the other book? Why or why not?).
NOTE: Remember to begin your paper with a strong thesis statement that addresses ALL parts of the prompt. If you’d like feedback on your thesis statement and/or first paragraph, please email a draft to the instructor before Friday, April 19 at 6pm (one week before the final paper is due