What changes and cultural conflicts were created by the introduction of Christian missionaries and other Western influences into Ibo villages?

African Culture

In the first paper you will be asked to write, we will explore traditional African culture and processes of culture change as presented in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. As you read the novel, refer as needed to “A Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases” at the back of the book. This assignment will also provide an opportunity to explore the impact of European colonization and Westernization on Africa in greater depth than can be obtained from other required readings.

This paper should discuss one sub-Saharan African culture, that of the Ibo (in what is today southeastern Nigeria) “in its first encounter with colonialism and Christianity at the turn of the century” — about 1900. Have chosen Things Fall Apart because of the particular cultural insights it provides. As you read and take notes,be sure to pay attention to the following questions:

What major features characterized Ibo culture before the Europeans came?

What changes and cultural conflicts were created by the introduction of Christian missionaries and other Western influences into Ibo villages?

What seems to have been the net impact of the coming of the Europeans on Ibo culture?

Address the factors related to disadvantages,prejudices/discrimination against,stereotypes, special challenges,segregation,cultural concepts,assimilation,economics, etc.

Complete a qualitative reflective paper in which you talk about
your topic, what you learned, and how it affected you.

Address the factors related to disadvantages,prejudices/discrimination against,stereotypes, special challenges,segregation,cultural concepts,assimilation,economics, etc.

What are two things about this narrative that shocked you emotionally and why?

Format

Your essay should be formatted as follows: 3 pages, (not including the cover page) but no more than 3.5 pages, double-Spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font, MLA format, and your essay must have a cover page. If you are unfamiliar with using MLA format to write an essay, please Google it several examples will come up. Just so we are clear I have read and studied this essay many times so please do not write a book report. Just so we are clear, I am asking for a reflection essay that reflects your answers to the questions with analysis/opinion based on the historical evidence presented by the author. Remember to include your analysis in your answers in order to completely answer the question. Your opinion of the reading based on the evidence is the only thing I do not know. There is also a Rubric attached so you can understand the grading scale.

Resources
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave
(chapters 1 – 10) online in the Course module labeled “Additional Readings”.

Essay Directions
After reading the essay, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, please respond to all five of the following questions and be sure to keep your answers in essay format flowing like a normal essay, which means numbering is not necessary. You can answer the questions in any order just be sure to include your analysis in each answer to receive credit. The questions for your essay are as follows.

1. Historians, when analyzing black history, often focus on the psychological effects of slavery and racism on black people, but what does the narrative of Frederick Douglass reveal about the negative psychological effects of absolute power on the white slave master, give analysis with examples on his shocking observations of the transformation of his masters?

2. Frederick Douglass notes his mental evolution of going from a boy to a slave and then from a slave to a man. By using examples give analysis to his process of becoming enslaved and then finding freedom, noting specifically when he became free?

3. As a house slave Douglass and his aunt were treated very differently. Describe the gendered difference in the master-slave relationship Frederick Douglass’ aunt had with the master as an attractive female house slave, and that of Frederick Douglass and his mistress when he moved to the city. What are the similarities and what are the major differences and what does that tell us about the unique trauma enslaved women had to endure?

4. What are two things about this narrative that shocked you emotionally and why?

5. Why does Frederick Douglass withhold the names of the slave masters and the white people that abused him despite writing this narrative as a free man and what does that say about the emotional power of fear is it perhaps reminiscent of post-traumatic stress syndrome?

What are the two opposing forces that Dr. King stands in the middle of in the Negro community?

Article Assignment

“Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Read the letter (article) carefully and respond to the following questions:

1. Paragraphs #1, #2, and #3. Dr. King explains why he is in Birmingham. He goes on to state that he does not consider himself to be an “outside agitator.” How does he counter the “outside agitator” viewpoint held by the Birmingham clergy?

2. The Birmingham clergy claimed that the demonstrations in the city were “unwise and untimely.” In Paragraphs #5 and #6, Dr. King responded to this claim. What did he say to the clergy? What did you think of his response?

3. In paragraphs #7 and #8, Dr. King discusses the difference between “just” and “unjust” laws. What is his view?

4. Paragraph #9. Why is Dr. King “disappointed with the white moderate?”

5. Paragraphs #10 and #11. What are the two opposing forces that Dr. King stands in the middle of in the Negro community? Explain his point.

6. Paragraphs #12 and #13. Why do you think Dr. King was “disappointed in the white church”?

7. Paragraph #14. How did Dr. King respond to the clergymen’s belief that the Birmingham police department maintained “order” and “prevented violence”?

8. Last paragraph. Who, according to Dr. King, are the real “heroes” in the American South and why?

9. Detail your impression of this Birmingham letter by Dr. King. Did it have any lasting affect on you after reading it?

How seriously did the author treat counterarguments?How convincing is the author’s own argument?

End The War On Black Americans: A Call To Defund The Police

This is a persuasive essay. The position for the paper is FOR Defunding The Police to protect Black communities.Would like for the writer to talk about the systemic and institutional racism in policing in America as a reason to defund the police.

Here is the grading break down:

Thesis (15%): How clear and relevant was your argument, and how did you back it up with evidence?

Analysis (20%): Did you give a relatively complete account of the topic? How much thought did you put into adequately discussing and analyzing the relevant theories and evidence? Did your paper go into much depth? Or did it just scratch the surface? The point is to establish, using evidence and argumentation, the relevance of your project: Why is it important to study? What can we learn from it?

Argumentation (30%): How thoroughly did the paper identify the different sides of the argument?

How seriously did the author treat counterarguments?How convincing is the author’s own argument?

Sources (15%): How appropriate were the sources that you used? How well did your sources back up your arguments? Did you cite enough sources?

The following link may be useful to understand the goal of defunding the police.

Discuss your initial understanding of the passage and how the reference material changed that understanding of the passage.

Connect reference material to the passage in Jazz

First, read the passage in which the reference occurs: pp. 7-8 in Jazz by Toni Morrison. Then read the material in the reference link (http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/health/hospny.htm). Then reread the passage in light of the new information. In 350 words, discuss your initial understanding of the passage and how the reference material changed that understanding of the passage.

refernece material: http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/health/hospny.htm

What significant similarities or differences do you find in their approaches?Are they in different disciplines,do they use different types of evidence,is the form that their writing takes different in any significant way?

Wayward Black Women

In a 2-3 page paper, compare and contrast two readings that we have read so far. The point of this paper is to invite you to think comparatively about how scholars have approached the big question that animates this course: What does it mean that the black woman is positioned as “wayward,” that is, in opposition to the normative? As you write this paper, your main goal is to demonstrate what new or compelling insights we gain from comparing these two writers’ approaches.

Some questions to explore as you make this argument are:

What significant similarities or differences do you find in their approaches?Are they in different disciplines,do they use different types of evidence,is the form that their writing takes different in any significant way?

Are they directly “in conversation?” By this I mean, does one of them cite the other? If so, how do you see the influence of one scholar’s work on the other?

Do they cite any of the same sources? If so, is their treatment or interpretation of these sources similar or does it differ in an important way?
If they are writing about different locations or time periods, what might we learn by contrasting their accounts of black womanhood?

This list is a starting point but is by no means exhaustive. You may find other points of comparison on which to center your essay.

Papers will be evaluated on:

A cohesive thesis statement which explains what you learned from considering these two texts alongside each other. For these types of papers, don’t worry about setting up a fancy introduction. You have limited space so jump right into your thesis statement!
Development of the thesis with clear examples from the texts cited throughout your essay.

Insight which demonstrates your own engagement of the texts outside class and in our in-class discussions.

Proper formatting (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, double-spaced)

Proper citation (APA, MLA, or Chicago.

HAVE ATTACHED BELOW BOTH OF THE AUTHORS WHOS WORK I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IN THIS ESSAY *****
WOMEN INTERRUPTED BY LYNETTE A. JACKSON – WAYWARD LIVES, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS by SAIDIYA HARTMAN

How does the author connect the women’s suffrage debate to other historical events and social issues?

Primary Source Analysis

LENGTH: 5 double-spaced pages with 12-point font and 1-inch margins
VALUE: 20% of course grade
Justice is not fulfilled so long as woman is unequal before the law. We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

Frances E. W. Harper at the Eleventh National Women’s Rights Convention in New York City (May 1866)
write an essay in which you analyze at least three (3) of the assigned primary sources to explain why and how different groups of Americans supported and opposed women’s right to vote in the early twentieth century.

The purpose of this assignment is not to summarize the assigned primary sources. Nor is it to argue whether or not women should be able to vote (you already had an opportunity to do this in class during our debate). Rather, you are being asked to examine the content of the assigned primary sources to see what they can tell us about a particular historical event (in this case, the national debate surrounding women’s suffrage the Nineteenth Amendment in the early twentieth century). Using evidence extracted from the assigned primary sources and relevant secondary sources (lectures and the textbook), you will make a historical argument about the movements for and against women’s suffrage and flesh out this argument in several body paragraphs.

As you re-read the assigned primary sources, consider some of these questions:

What was the author’s argument or message about the prospect of women voting?

Who constituted the intended audience?

How does the author’s social background (race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, political belief, etc.) inform their perspectives?

What kinds of evidence does the author cite to support their argument?

What about the silences — what does the author choose NOT to talk about?

How does the author connect the women’s suffrage debate to other historical events and social issues?

You must support your argument with direct quotations from both the primary and secondary sources you draw upon.

Use Chicago Style Citation (footnotes) to cite your sources. You can find the Chicago Manual of Style here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html

Discuss how the episode helps you understand the context or background of Beloved more.

Discussiion on Into the Fire episode to Beloved

Discuss the aspects of “Into the Fire (1861-1896)” from the PBS series, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross that help you understand the context of Beloved (PART I chapter 1-chapter11) by Toni Morrison. Compare and contrast; what are the similarities between the episode and the book, and what are the differences. Also discuss how the episode helps you understand the context or background of Beloved more. (context of Beloved only up to PART I ch11!)