Paper #2 Assignment and Research Tips (Paper #2 due Monday by 5pm)

Remember, when doing research for Paper #2, start at ECU's website!

1. Go to the "Library" tab first 
2. In the bar at the top, click on the "articles" tab and then use the appropriate search terms: "immigration," or "reparations for Native Americans," or "Muslims in US history," etc. 
3. Click on "Full Text" to make sure you get the entire article delivered to your computer.
4. Find articles that expand your knowledge of the conversation and offer naysayer perspectives as well. The more you read about the subject, the easier it is to write about--since you only have to respond to what you know. 
5. Remember, too, that on the right hand side of the EBSCO website it has a "Cite" function, that shows you how to cite the article. 

In general, when citing on-line sources, list the author, the article title, the source of the article, and the date you accessed it (the URL is optional for me). 

You can also find great sources through Wikipedia but ONLY IF you ignore the article itself and instead, look at the Links and References at the bottom. That will help you find authored and well-researched sources to help your conversation. 

Here are some useful articles I found when exploring:

Bollinger, Stephanie. Between a Tomahawk and a Hard Place. Brigham Young Education and Law Journal. 

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. "The Case for Reparations." The Atlantic.

Mogelson, Luke. "The Impossible Refugee Boat Lift to Christmas Island." The New Yorker. 

Smith, Zadie. "The Embassy of Cambodia." The New Yorker. 

The Paper #2 assignment is pasted below:

Paper #2: The Cultural Conundrum

Choose ONE of the following themes/passages to respond to in your paper. The goal of your paper should be to write a persuasive discussion about your point of view balanced with other voices on the subjects (and at least one naysayer).

Option 1: “As many immigrants can tell you, sometimes a story about leaving turns into a story about staying” (Schulz 238). If America is a nation of immigrants, how do we define “American”? Is American defined by birth, by race, by language, or by philosophy? Does ‘Citizen Khan’ belong just as much as Citizen Billy Bob? And what if the “immigrants” have been here longer than we have? Who gets to decide who stays, and who goes?

Option 2: “Was laughing a sign of our complicity, or was it a strange way of seeking karmic forgiveness for the atrocities that some of our ancestors had committed against them?” (Griest 42). Do we need to make reparations for indigenous peoples and other groups who were mistreated in the past? Or is the past past? How do we make up for past sins to these groups? Through money? Museums? Or simply by treating them with respect (and how do we do this if we don’t already)?

Option 3: ““Even when sponsors and refugees become enmeshed in one another’s lives, they do not fully know one another. Not every family is open about its history, and many sponsors would like to know the worst but do not want to ask” (Kantor and Einhorn 100). How do we learn to accept and respect other cultures when we don’t speak the same “language”? Should we demand that immigrants and other groups assimilate into our way of speaking, thinking, and being? Is it their responsibility to learn to speak to us? Or do we have to meet them half way? What is the price of learning to communicate?

SOURCES: I want you to use at least TWO of the essays in class in your discussion, as well as TWO SECONDARY SOURCES—other articles, websites, or even a video that contributes to this discussion. Use one of them to introduce a naysayer to the party, a view that offers a different perspective than your own. A true conversation has many sides, and your paper should hint at a least a few of them.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 4-5 pages, double spaced
• At least 4 sources (2 primary, 2 secondary)
• Proofreading and attention to detail
• DUE MONDAY, June 18^th by 5pm (or in-class)