In your essay, you will discuss and analyze the institutions, histories, and identities that shape the experiences of Mexicans/Chican@s of the United States. All based on your readings, lectures, and multimedia in this course. Your essay must include an introduction paragraph, a clear outline, and powerful conclusion. Anything less will not receive a high grade.
Your answer (thesis) must incorporate responses to prompts below. Each prompt must be answered in 2-3 paragraphs. Your Counter Narrative essay must directly address all 3 of the following prompts:*
Describe the purpose and legacy Mexican Schools; and, discuss how Chicana/o students changed the conditions and purpose of schools. Questions to consider: What are Mexican Schools? What do they tell us about dominant culture or the legal system at the time? How does the concepts of race and racism help us understand the motives and consequences of school segregation? What are landmark court battles and victories that ended racial segregation of Mexican students? Did higher educational outcomes for Chicanos and Latinos change after ending school segregation? What happened in the late 1960s that improved schools and helped open college doors for more Chicanos and Latinos?
Describe the origins and contributions of the United Farmworkers (UFW); and, discuss how Chicanas/os organized to resist racism in the agricultural industry.Questions to consider: Who is Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta? Why did they organize to unionize the UFW? What does the need to improve working conditions and raise wages tell us about dominant culture and/or capitalism (our economic system) after World War II (post-1945)? How does the concept of social justice help us understand why farmworkers found a need to unionize? What were the strategies used to achieve the outcomes of the UFW? What are some challenges now facing UFW members (link)?
Describe the origins and contributions of the Raza Unida Party; and, discuss how Chicanas/os organized to resist racism in the political system. Questions to consider: What is the Raza Unida Party? What does the need for an alternative political party tell us about dominant culture or the political system at the time? How does the concept of hegemony help us understand the power behind politics? Did political outcomes for Chicanos and Latinos change after the Raza Unida Party? What landmark victories created access for more Chicanos and Latinos to have influence over local and national politics.
Paragraph 1
Introduction / Thesis
Set the stage in one paragraph. Introduce your reason(s) for selecting the quotes you will present and analyze. Based on your selected quotes, what is your argument/concluding analysis about the history, identity, and experience of Mexican Americans? Your thesis statement should answer “Based on the writings of various experts, what is your main takeaway about Chicana/o Studies”
Paragraphs 2-18
Quote Analysis. You will have about 11-18 quotes in all after answering 5 of the prompts above. When you do, write a paragraph using the following steps:
Introduce and frame the quote.
Write the Quote with citation.
Paraphrase the quote.
Analyze the quote.
Evaluate the quote.
Final Two Paragraphs
Closing Remark. Discuss the historical implications behind the historical origins of Mexican Americans.
The concluding paragraph doesn’t just repeat the argument. The last paragraph, sometimes two final paragraphs, reintroduce the argument in order to shed more light on the significance and implications behind such an argument.
Definitive Quotes
The quotes you select should support your thesis statement (“What is my main takeaway(s) about indigenous history 500 years ago?”). Never let quotes stand on their own—explain them. There is one skill for picking out relevant quotes from a text, and another skill involved in understanding what it says. For each you will present and analyze it. Be sure to pick quotes throughout the books and incorporate the different perspective of authors on the same thing. See this short guide to quote analysis by UC Berkeley.
Historical Dates
Your final argument concerns history and dates matter. Dates and events are crucial here. While the quotes you use will likely not have dates in them, it will be up to you to incorporate important dates and events into paragraphs to provide a sense of time and place in Mexican American history.
Thesis Statement
Your essay’s thesis statement is a sentence that answers the question, “What is my main takeaway(s) or lessons about indigenous history?” Your thesis needs to be stated upfront, usually at the end of the introduction. Your introduction should fit the body of your essay. The thesis ought to tell your reader exactly what you will be arguing in your paper. In addition, it ought to give the reader some hint about why you’re going to argue that way.
Academic Coherence
The organization of the essay is clear and academically cited. The essay is organized according to the narrative arguments made by the experts/authors used for this class. Throughout the body, the essay introduces and discusses analytic points that best support the thesis. Each paragraph is unified around a clear main point. Paragraphs each highlight a point in your argument and avoid unrelated topics. Quotations are punctuated correctly and integrated well into the essay to narratively support your thesis.
Course Concepts
This course has introduced you to a new way to think that includes how to makes sense of issues around American identity and experience based on historical evidence in order to improve your objective understanding of U.S. history. Analysis is different than opinion or commentary. Opinion is strictly what you think. Evidence or education is not required. Commentary is an elaborated form of informed opinion. Depends if it is an expert or layperson, a commentary may imply accepted known facts in its general argument. Unlike the opinions or commentaries, analysis considers the evidence at hand and draws meaning from it using theoretical concepts and frameworks. In your final exam, your writing needs to demonstrate your ability to apply course concepts in your quote analysis. In other words, use concepts discussed in class to analyze quotes and create a strong argument.
