PromptFor this assignment, please write an analytical essay that shows how the course materials helpus understand the recent protests against racism and police brutality. Please use 4-5 sourcesat least three should be from the course materials, while the other 1-2 could also be fromcourse materials, or could be materials you find through your own research.
Possible Sources (all available through Moodle): Richard A. Oppel Jr. et al, The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequality of theCoronavirus, Patrice Khan-Cullors, When They Call You a Terrorist Angela Davis, Interview on DemocracyNow I am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck) W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk The Armchair Theorists, The George Floyd Protests, Looting, and Slavoj ZizeksViolence
Analyzing the TextsFor the body of your essay, you should make use of summarizing, paraphrasing, and especiallyquoting. Make extensive use of quotations that you think illustrate important points that theauthor makes. As a rule of thumb, for each quote that you give, you should first introduce it bygiving its context, second give the quote itself, and third provide your own analysis of thatquotation that is two to three times as long as the quote. For example, if your quotation is twolines long, you should then immediately follow the quote with four to six lines of your ownwriting that explains the quote, analyzes how it makes the point that it does, and perhaps linksit back to your overall argument. As you can see, entire body paragraphs can be built aroundtwo, or sometimes even just one, thought-provoking quotation, building up to yourinterpretation, analysis, and application. This is standard in analytical essays focused on booksand movies.
Argumentative ThesisYour essay should have an argumentative thesis about how the different sources that you usehelp us understand and talk about the recent protest movement. Remember the They Say / ISay format. These writers and filmmakers have a lot to say, but they are not necessarilyspeaking to each other, and in some cases not speaking to the year 2020. Explore where thedifferent sources agree or disagree, or where they might focus on different aspects of the issue.All of these various angles go beyond simply repeating what each source says. You want youressay to be comprehensible to someone who has read none of the sources; you also want it tostill be interesting and thought-provoking to someone who has read all of the sources. Youdont need to write the thesis when you first sit downinstead begin writing about the sourcesand develop your thesis gradually.
WRIT 313 NowakQuestions to help you write the essay:1. 1) What to you are the most interesting aspects of the texts?2. 2) How do you see them connected to the recent wave of protests?3. 3) Do these sources agree or disagree? Do they focus on the same question or differentquestions?4. 4) What are some popular misconceptions about police violence or anti-black racism inthe U.S., or what aspects are not receiving enough attention?
RequirementsSources: At least 4Page length: Minimum of 6 pages for main essay (plus title page, abstract, and References, for a9-page document)
