For this assignment, you will write an essay (600-800 words, please include the word count and see grading scale) in which you synthesize your learning and apply it to other contexts. I will provide detailed prompts and grading criteria in advance of the due date. This is a summative assignment, which means that I will use it to assess your mastery over the concepts and skills you have been practicing so far. The essay should be well-organized, polished, and accurate. You may write in first person if you choose. I will judge your response based on its complexity, completeness, and specificity.
Each synthesis essay must cite a MINIMUM of two different class readings + two lectures. Please cite different materials in each essay. No Works Cited is necessary, but do complete in-text citations using MLA conventions (LastName PG# or Timestamp). You can choose to answer the provided prompts in separate sections, or you can weave them all together throughout the paper. The prompts for this essay are provided below.
ANSWER BOTH OF THESE (you dont have to answer every single sub question, they are there to guide you into thinking more deeply about the main question which is bolded)
In your words, how would you define intersectional analysis? Why do we need intersectional analysis in order to analyze systems of oppression? Can you give some examples of how having multiple marginalizations like sexism and racism, or homophobia and ableism, etc. might affect someone? How about having multiple intersections of power, such as whiteness and economic privilege?
Tip: Analyze what kinds of experiences someone with intersectional identities, such as women of color or queer disabled people, might have. Maybe refer back to some authors who have discussed their intersectional identities, like Eli Clare talking about being disabled and trans, or Audre Lorde being a Black lesbian. You might also refer to some of your own intersections.
How is capitalism related to antiblackness, historically and in the present? What are some capitalist practices and material structures that reveal the afterlife of slavery?
It would be helpful to talk about the relationships you see between the slavery period, the convict leasing and Jim Crow period, the Civil Rights period, and today. You might also talk about how all of this relates to Eduardo Bonilla-Silvas idea of colorblindness, or to the racial wage gap. Another way to approach this is by talking about (ethno)nationalism and the construction of citizenship.
Class Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Rr3rmnDppB4wzpOMzsKBJG8mH-9kYNHAOM7d55O9jNg/edit#slide=id.p
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1b7xMfOHQyKCVKotLlo1jkjCl_kJsK_LEOqqlU1_tx2k/edit#slide=id.p
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KF8hkozN7UFOIZaQAab6bDhBuFmkPFS7wal6zdqhVb4/edit#slide=id.p
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Vqh3tNjycR0GB7Oi2KCXj_8JgfckiWjbqo5FmOaJj1U/edit#slide=id.p
