Final Project for Introduction to Race and Ethnic Politics

You can choose either of the two options described below.

Option 1: Letter to a Loved One

Sometimes I think about the privilege I have to teach and learn in spaces that my family doesn’t have access to. This informs the way that I learn and the way that I teach. There are some topics that I wish my parents, friends, or family had been given the opportunity to learn about because either they are important to me or I think they would be important to them. This final project gives you the opportunity to think about how you would share the knowledge that you have learned in this class with a loved one. How would you explain it to them? What is the most profound take away? Why should they care?

Guidelines:

• Write a letter to a loved one explaining a topic that you have learned about in this course, explain the topic to them in the letter (What is it? Why is it important? What have you learned about it?). The letter should address these three key questions:
  1. Why did you choose this topic?
  2. What are the stakes of this topic?
  3. How did the course material shape/challenge your understandings of the topic?
• You need to cite/make reference to at least three assigned readings, at least two need to be peer-reviewed articles and not news articles.
• Include a works cited page and appropriate in-text citations.
• The letter should be around 1000 words, font size 12, times new roman, 1-inch margins.

Option 2: Write an Op-ed.

We have learned about a diverse array of topics and pressing issues that racial and ethnic minorities are dealing with in politics. If you could control the news… What would you focus on? What is the most important or salient issue in Racial Politics facing our world right now? How can we convince people to care about this topic? This final project gives you the opportunity to write a convincing opinion editorial convincing the public to care about your chosen topic.

Guidelines:

• Write an opinion piece for an imaginary news outlet. The point of this opinion piece is to convince the readers that the topic that you have chosen is important and relevant. The point of this opinion piece is to persuade the reader that your points are important and convincing. In order to do so you need to address the background/history of the issue as well as the current status. The op-ed should address these two aspects:
  1. How does this affect the general public? Aka. Why should the reader care about your op-ed?
  2. How does this effect race and politics?
• You need to cite/make reference to at least three assigned readings, at least two need to be peer reviewed articles and not news articles.
• Include a works cited page and appropriate in-text citations.
• The letter should be around 1000 words, font size 12, times new roman, 1-inch margins.