Caribbean Politics

Lehman College – City University of New York African and African American Studies Department

AAS 335 Caribbean in World Politics

Assignment #2: Caribbean Power Analysis Objective: Identify the different systems that have power and affect the Caribbean community. This exercise will help recognize who are the decision-makers in the Caribbean region and who is the target of Caribbean people’s social actions. At the end of this assignment, students should be able to:

I. Provide a thoughtful reflection addressing elements of: 1) The world’s economy in the Caribbean

II. Incorporate your experience with neoliberalism as an individual. 1) Can you put yourself in lower and middle-class Caribbean people’s shoes? 2) How does this exercise change your perspective on power dynamics?

Instructions: 1. Think about the power systems in the Caribbean region and ask yourself:

• Who has the power in the Caribbean? How do the power dynamics work in the Caribbean? How does the systems of oppression work in this region? Who are above, who are under, and who are the ones doing something to change this? What are the key elements that need to be changed in order to eradicate social oppression in the Caribbean?

2. Brainstorm your ideas, draw a diagram (by hand or computer) of how you think power in the Caribbean trickles down (or up), and submit your image (PDF and/or JPG files or the like) into Blackboard. Format: This assignment is designed to reflect your thinking process. Your creation should be original (either by computer or by hand), and one or two pages should be fine. Be creative!

• Must upload to Blackboard, under Assignments, Assignment #2

• Filename: yourlastname_235_assignment2

• File format: .jpg, .png, .doc or PDF

Lehman College – City University of New York African and African American Studies Department

AAS 335 Caribbean in World Politics

Grading Rubric: The following rubric will be used to evaluate your work.

Reflection Paper Rubric

Exceeds Standards 1.5-2 points

Meets Standards 1-1.5 points

Unsatisfactory 0.5-1 points

Score

Format (1.5 pts)

Submitted assignment is neat and follows all formatting instructions.

Submitted assignment is neat but not all formatting instructions were followed.

Messy assignment. Formatting rules were ignored.

Organization (2pts)

Well-organized, well written/designed, easy to understand.

Well-organized but “flow” could be improved.

Organization lacking and difficult or impossible to follow.

Reflection (2pts)

Shows strong evidence of reasoned reflection and depth.

Shows evidence of reasoned reflection.

Lacks reflection and depth.

Completeness (2pts)

Addresses most elements of the assignment and extends beyond. Brings self into reflection in a meaningful way.

Addresses at least three elements of the assignment. Brings self into reflection.

Fails to address any of the elements of the assignment. Does not brings self into reflection.

TOTAL SCORE