Essay

HUM 2313 – Cultural Identification Essay

Due October 23, 100 points

1. This assignment asks you to confront your own sense of identity as well as your prejudices. Write a 3 – 6-page essay discussing your identification as a participant in a culture or in various overlapping cultures. Please indicate some of your own personal connections to major themes from readings of the course such as, but not limited to: home, family, heritage, beliefs, etc. Generally, how do you connect to some of those categories? With these categories in mind consider both your biological heritage and socialization. The following questions may help prepare your thoughts, before you begin the actual writing: “Who are you,” “Where did you come from” and “How did you get to be the way you are?” Specifically identify any prejudices you are aware of. How do you feel about terms like “ethnic” or “marginalized” or “real American” etc.? How did (and how do) your beliefs and understanding of the past (and present) compare or contrast to readings of the class? How have class readings been informative or instructional for you?

2. The paper should be reflective in tone and style as you attempt to honestly portray who you are, and how you feel about the general subject matter of the course, both analytically and personally. Try to make a unified, well-written statement rather than just a listing. Personalize your responses with some concrete examples or sayings or rituals, etc. from your experience, and connect those thematically with references from the readings of this semester.

3. In other words, who are you? How are you different from others? How do you feel about those who are different than you? Why do you feel the way that you do? How do you relate to those characters and situations read throughout the semester?

4. Be honest. Get in touch with your past and your current position. Demonstrate an understanding of yourself as developed to this point in your life by your family and society, your beliefs and knowledge. However, you are not permitted to be slanderous, racist or sexist in your responses. If you have negative comments to make concerning other groups, make sure you place your comments within the framework of your own growth and reflection rather than a general assault on people whom you may not like. Don’t try to anticipate what you think the professor wants to hear. Write an honest, reflective and original essay.

5. Also, use several, specifically referenced, well-placed quotes (from at least three of the readings of the semester) in a meaningful manner that help illustrate and substantiate your paper. You may want to talk to family members; you should accurately and effectively quote passages from the readings. When you do, make sure you document according to MLA standards (use slash marks to indicate line breaks in poetry, for example:

“Her very free,/ Her very individual,/ Unpliable/ Own” (p. 156-157; lines 17-20).

6. Make sure you provide some creative title that indicates what direction the paper is going. Make sure your paper is focused and unified. Make sure you revise, and edit the paper for both content and mechanics before handing in for a grade!