Consider a public issue of identity – gender, race, class, etc. – about which you care. One that addresses, in some way, an issue of socially constructed bias. Use what you know to analyze two texts that address this particular issue. Then, conduct in-depth historical research with an emphasis on uncovering or tracing the root of the social constructions that affect this public issue.
Steps:
- Choose a contemporary public issue related to what you feel is a social identity. Make sure this issue is one about which you have genuine questions, about which you are undecided and uninformed, but highly interested – something that has relevance in your life.
- Locate TWO primary sources to read closely. One “text” must be pop-cultural (a book, poem, film, meme, song, television show, etc.) one must be a legislative policy or political speech addressing the identity issue of your choice. Complete a close reading for each text.
- Next, use what you have learned about scholarly research at Bracken Library to learn more about the history of this issue. Complete research annotations for at least four academic secondary sources.
- After learning more about the multiple aspects of the public issue you have chosen to explore, develop a complex position you want to argue in an essay of Cultural Interrogation. Once you develop this position, you will develop a position to construct, interrogate, question, challenge, or agree with the way your primary sources construct the identity in question.
- Build an organized, thoughtful, and deliberate 1000 – 1500 word persuasive argument, as an essay or speech, that demonstrates a sustained awareness of your intended audience in deductive style. Make sure to account for opposing views and arguments in your essay; you can’t simply ignore them. Rather, you need to acknowledge these views, demonstrate an understanding of them, and refute them
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English 104 