Obama in his 2004 Democratic Convention speech decried “the slander that says that if a black youth walks around with a book in his hand, he is acting white.”
-John McWhorter, Forbes
On a biological level, “less than 1 percent of the human genome accounts for visible characteristics such as skin color. In terms of our genetic blue print, we are more than 99 percent the same.”
-Maia Szalavitz, Race and the Human Genome: The Howard University Human Genome Center
Think about how the above quotations help support the notion that racial difference is less biology and more sociology? How and why have Westerners insisted so vehemently on the empirical “truth” of race? And how do socially constructed notions of racial identities affect policy to enact social control and racial supremacy?
Let’s explore these questions while we practice researching for Historical Research: Racial Identity!
Imagine the following excerpt of the 1915 film Birth of a Nation is our media artifact:
Now pair this with the 1896 Supreme Court ruling in the famous Plessy vs. Ferguson case.
What research steps do we take to build cultural and historical context for these texts? How do pop culture texts like film affect social control and legal policies?
First, recognize that research can be fun.
There, I said it. Now before you have me committed, take a moment to think about the online “research” in which you already engage – what does it begin with? A question. A question that makes you curious to discover information – makes you want to “research”? Is Betty White still alive? What WAS the name of that Ben Affleck movie with Jennifer Lopez? Weren’t they married for a minute? What exactly does “exigence” mean again? This is really all you need to find in order to make Inquiry I an intellectual fiesta! No? You don’t believe me now, but you will.
Step 1:
And where do those questions usually lead us? Wikipedia. So let’s start our research and invention there.
And so is Wikipedia simply a battleground of meaning? Or can it be a useful source?
Step 2:
Wikipedia: Checking Source List
Step 3:
Step 4:
All you need to know after you finish practicing your research skills on our historical racial notes!
Proposal for Research Quest II and Conference Sign Ups! 🙂
English 104 