Guidelines for Writing the Paper on Amreeka
Social determinants of personal identity such as racism, classism, sexism, and immigration status are often used to construct systems of privilege or systems of oppression. Those who benefit from such systems tend to exploit individuals and groups who are in positions of disadvantage. Efforts to promote equal treatment of all persons begin by recognizing, acknowledging, and analyzing the structural and cultural forces that underpin these social determinants, which manifest themselves in everyday social interactions.
Because of their unique ability to portray systems of privilege or systems of oppression in concrete ways, feature films and documentaries can be practical tools to raise awareness of such systems. Therefore, for this assignment, you should use the selected feature film or documentary that thematizes issues of racism, classism, sexism, immigration status, etc., and write an interpretative essay. In the essay, you should identify and analyze the underlying social and cultural factors that define the social identities of the characters portrayed in the film.
The essay must address each of the evaluation criteria specified below. The paper is evaluated by measuring how well it meets these criteria.
The paper should be 6-8 pages long, double-spaced, and typed in 12-point font.
You are encouraged to consult reviews of the film and use them as references to support your analysis. You should also use other references to support your analysis. Use scholarly publications as much as possible. For example, you should find sources that describe the social situation of the Palestinians and the discrimination experienced by Muslims in the United States. It is expected that you use a minimum of six references.
Organizing Your Paper
Use the following subtitles to organize your paper:
1. Introduction.
(State clearly what you plan to do in this paper)
2. Socio-historical Background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Provide a succinct description of the socio-historical background of the situation of the Palestinians, which makes them want to emigrate.
• Explain the social and political situation in the United States, which makes it difficult for Palestinians/Arabs to
gain acceptance here, such as strong anti-Arab sentiments.
• Mention the time period when the movie was made and the relevance of this particular time period to appreciate the movie.
3. Systems of Privileges/Oppression and Determinants of Social Identities
• Articulate some of the systems of privilege/oppression that determine the social identities of the main characters that the immigrant family encounters. How are these systems of privileges/oppression derived from racism,
sexism, classism, ethnicity, immigration status, physical appearance, etc.? How are they used to discriminate
against others?
4. Impact of Social and Cultural Practices
• Analyze the impact of the social and cultural practices both in Israel and in the United States, as portrayed in
the movie, which support systems of privilege/oppression.
• Articulate and analyze the assumptions that underlie such social and cultural practices.
• Explain how the immigrants in the movie learned about those practices. Give examples.
5. Conclusion
Summarize the main points of what you discovered from your analysis of the movie.
Sources include:
The movie, reviews, and any other useful documents documents
at least three sources should be used
