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FINAL PAPER: “My Intersectional Self” Guidelines

Gender, Race & Class – SOC3320

OBJECTIVE

For your final paper, you will write an autobiography called “My Intersectional Self.” Your goal is to deeply reflect on your own experiences of privilege and marginalization/discrimination/oppression based on your gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, immigration status/documentation, religion, nationality, age, and ability (among other categories of identification!). You should reflect on how you’ve experienced access to education, health care, housing, employment, marriage and relationships, and encounters you’ve had with law enforcement. Keep focused on what it’s like for you to just generally move through the world (i.e., walking down the street, shopping, going to the bank or doctor’s office, encountering law enforcement, etc.). Carefully think about what you’ve learned in class this term and apply it to your own life and experiences. It is not necessary to disclose any personal information beyond what is comfortable for you in order to write a thoughtful paper. You may disclose as little or as much as you are comfortable with.

INSTRUCTIONS

The paper must be 4-5 pages of text (not including your work cited page) and be 12-point font. You must include 3 sources in a Works Cited page, and include in-text citations throughout the paper. You will be submitting the paper via TurnItIn, which checks for plagiarism. Any significant plagiarism (copying and pasting word for word from outside sources, lack of proper citation information) will result in a significantly lowered grade and could even result in a zero for the assignment. The paper is DUE Week 14. The final paper is worth 10% of your final grade.

* The reason you must include citations in your Final Paper is so that it is clear you have made broad connections and thought about outside sources or sources used in the course to inform your personal reflections on your life.

POSSIBLE STRUCTURES FOR THE PAPER 

Although you are free to design the paper however you like, here are some suggestions for areas you may wish to address, and different strategies for structuring your paper.

STRUCTURE 1 – Use Identity Headings

One way of structuring your paper is to break it up using different identity headings:

Race

Ethnicity

Class

Gender

Sexuality

Ability

Nationality

Documentation Status

Religion

Age

Physical Appearance

Body Shape or Size

Language

Educational Degree

Color/Shade

Reproductive Status/Parenthood

*REMEMBER – You do not have to discuss all of these. You should pick and choose the most meaningful identities that allow you to explore fully your experiences with privilege and oppression.

Then under each heading, you would discuss how each identity impacts/has impacted your experiences with, for example, walking down the street, going to the bank, accessing education, health care, housing, employment, marriage and relationships, and encounters with law enforcement. Pay close attention to both the privilege and oppression you’ve encountered based on these categories of identity. Be sure to reflect on WHY you think you’ve had these experiences.

STRUCTURE 2 – Use Institutional Headings

Another way of structuring your paper is to break it up using different institutional headings:

Public Life

Education

Health Care

Housing

Employment

Marriage and Relationships

Encounters with Law Enforcement

Then under each heading, you would summarize how your race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, ability, nationality, documentation status, religion, age, physical appearance, body shape, language, educational degree, color/shade, and reproductive status/parenthood has impacted your access to those institutions. Pay close attention to both the privilege and oppression you’ve encountered based on these categories of identity. Be sure to reflect on WHY you think you’ve had these experiences.

 

EXAMPLES of GUIDING QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF:

PUBLIC LIFE:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted my general experiences with public life?

· What is my experience like walking down the street or just generally being in public?

· Do I feel safe while being in public?

· How am I treated on public transportation or while driving?

· How am I treated when I go shopping?

· How am I treated when I go to the bank or post office?

· How am I treated in restaurants?

EDUCATION:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted me in school and in my educational experiences?

· Did/do I have access to the same opportunities as everyone else?

· Was/am I treated the same by my teachers/coaches?

· Was/am I treated fairly by my peers?

· What was/is the quality of my schooling – and my physical school - like?

· Did I get a “good education”? Why or why not?

HEALTH CARE:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted my access to health care and my experiences with doctors?

· How easy or difficult is it for me to see a doctor and get the care I need?

· Do I trust doctors? Why or why not?

· Am I treated fairly by doctors, and in an unbiased way?

· What is the quality of health care like that I have access to?

· Can I see any doctor I want, when I want?

HOUSING:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted my access to housing?

· What type of neighborhood do I live in?

· What is it like for me to find a new place to live?

· How do landlords or rental agents treat me?

· Am I limited, or can I freely choose the type of housing or area I want to live in?

· Who are my neighbors and how do they typically treat me?

· Do I feel safe where I live?

EMPLOYMENT:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability….etc. impacted my access to jobs and employment?

· What types of jobs or employment can I get?

· How am I treated by prospective or new employers (or current employers)?

· Do I feel safe and respected at my work?

· How am I treated by my co-workers?

· Do I feel like I can be myself at work?

· Do I feel like I have recourse to justice at work if I’m unfairly treated?

MARRIAGE & RELATIONSHIPS:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted my experiences with marriage, dating and relationships?

· Is it easy for me to date or be with who I want?

· Are my relationships socially accepted?

· Is it easy for me to marry who I want to marry, or have children with who I want?

· How have partners treated me?

· How have I been treated by the public when out with my partner?

ENCOUNTERS WITH LAW ENFORECEMENT:

· How has my race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability…etc. impacted my encounters with law enforcement?

· How often have I encountered police and in what contexts?

· If I’ve never had encounters with law enforcement, why is that?

· Is there a heavy police presence where I live?

· How was/am I treated by police?

· Did/do I feel respected when I encounter(ed) police?

*REMEMBER – these are just guiding questions. You do not have to answer all of them, and there are many other questions that were not included here. These are just examples of the TYPES of questions you should be reflecting upon as you assess how your categories of social identity impact your experiences with privilege and oppression.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

It’s critical you make connections to things we’ve been discussing all term. So, try to cite scholars we’ve been discussing, if relevant (such as Crenshaw, Marx, Weber, Gramsci, Bourdieu, Davis, Smith, hooks, Lorde, Hill-Collins, Alexander, King, Malcolm X, Baldwin, Rivera, Johnson, Connell, etc).

Also reflect on important terms, such as intersectionality, power, hegemony, hegemonic masculinity, patriarchy, redlining, social inequality, conflict theory, functionalism, elitism, cisheteropatriarchy, heteronormativity, biological determinism, structural racism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, economic capital, social capital, cultural capital.

After you describe your experiences with privilege and oppression based on your categories of social identity, provide some analysis and try to use the above terms and scholars to explain WHY you’ve had those particular experiences!

In your conclusion, reflect on how this class has impacted the way you think about your identities and experiences with privilege and oppression.

GRADING RUBRIC

The Final Paper is due in Week 14 at the START OF CLASS TIME.

LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Your intersectional autobiography, as a Final Paper, should reflect a semester’s worth of thinking, research and writing.

 

Your work will be graded on the following criteria:

1. The amount of time and effort you’ve spent: 50%

2. Your organization and clarity of expression: 25%

3. The integration of issues discussed in class and background research (so as to build a foundation for your writing and provide it with context; you must cite a minimum of three outside sources via in-text citations throughout the text): 10%

4. Works Cited page (in APA or MLA format; pick one style and stick to it): 10%

5. Meeting required 4-5 page length: 5% (does NOT include Works Cited page)

AND REMEMBER THIS CHART!!

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