English claim argument essay

Main Points by Course Readings

Course Theme: Language, Identity, and Power

Alexie

· Internalizing negative stereotypes: causes and consequences

· Stereotypes facing Indian kids and how they are perceived within and outside the community

· Challenging stereotypes: difficulties, consequences, rewards

· Low expectations from within culture: causes, consequences, solutions / remedies

· Rebelliousness: positive / negative, necessary trait / necessary for certain communities

· Double standards between Indian and Non-Indian communities

· How the community perpetuates negative stereotypes

· Role models: how they affect young people; parents as role models, positive / negative models

· Knowledge / literacy as dangerous: for whom? To what?

Douglass

· Knowledge / literacy as dangerous: for whom? To what?

· Effects of negative stereotypes

· Slaves as brutes, animals, property

· How language / literacy is used to oppress others / exert power over others / control others

· Knowledge as a blessing and curse

· Rebelliousness: positive / negative, necessary trait / necessary for certain communities

King

· (Distractions) TV as a negative thing if you want to be a writer / creative

· Having a singular goal versus diverse interests

· Talent versus passion

· Passion relationship to rudeness; it’s okay to be rude to pursue your passions / achieve dreams

· Reading as fundamental to writing / writing well

· (Role) models: bad ones can teach us as much as good ones can

Tan

· Language and intelligence: myth; consequences of believing the myth; power of the myth

· Stereotyping based on language and / or ethnicity: positive / negative stereotypes, positive / negative consequences

· Internalizing negative stereotypes: causes and consequences

· Broken language

· Making someone more adaptable versus hindering someone’s ability to succeed

· Impacts how society views and treats someone; consequences of possessing a broken language

· Are / can languages (be) broken

· Benefits and consequences (are they wrong?)

· Solutions / remedies

· Are they worth preserving; is a broken language worth keeping?

· Connection between language and family and culture / community

· Advantages / disadvantages to being part of multiple language communities / cultures

Official English + Positions in Favor / Against

· Should English be the official language of the United States: pros / cons

· Who does it benefit? Who does it harm?

· Are the benefits worth the costs / consequences?

· Effects to the gov’t and how people interact with the gov’t

· Should the constitution be amended to make English official?

· Language as a way to unify / divide

· Language diversity / lack of diversity in the US

· Benefits / consequences of being multi versus unilingual as a country

Anzaldúa

· Chicanos are a distinct people with their own language, history, culture

· Chicano Spanish as legitimate or illegitimate

· Border language: causes and consequences

· Who is responsible for making language accommodations / changes

· Broken language

· Making someone more adaptable versus hindering someone’s ability to succeed

· Impacts how society views and treats someone; consequences of possessing a broken language

· Are / can languages (be) broken

· Benefits and consequences (are they wrong?)

· Solutions / remedies

· Are they worth preserving; is a broken language worth keeping?

· Language as a personal choice related to identity, culture, family

· Connection between language and identity

· Internalizing negative stereotypes: causes and consequences

· Rebelliousness: challenging others, resisting the way things are

· Mixing languages: benefits and consequences

· Challenging reader expectations: risks versus rewards

· Impacts of low estimation of someone’s language

· Language demands: is it possible? Is it helpful / hurtful?

· Gender and language