Environmental Racism

This is a multi-modal assignment that allows you to teach the class something that you have found of interest from our readings and discussions this semester. Considering primary texts from our class readings and discussions, you will utilize a (free) digital platform to design an informative presentation (based in research) that will shed new light on ongoing racial disparities, inequalities, and injustices in America today. Bring our course conversations forward, showing how African American literature presents a history and contributes to the larger narrative of the Black experience in America.    Defining Your Topic: 1. Do you know, or can you learn, basic information about your topic?  2. Is your topic interesting to members of your audience?  3. Does your topic directly relate to the primary, secondary, and tertiary sources that you are using? 4. Create an outline w/ bullet-­?points to help stay on topic.   Digital Component: Organize your presentation using a digital tool such as Prezi, GoogleDocs/Drive, or Knightlab, even PowerPoint (make sure it a free platform) Each presentation must include: an introduction, a thesis that makes an argument that pulls one primary source from class readings and current event(s).    Working with a digital platform that is accessible to your classmates and me, you will create a presentation to teach your lesson. To complete this paper/project, you will rely on your acquired skills for the semester: close, critical reading, comparison, and evaluative/ethical research. ·      Close Reading: incorporate direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from primary and secondary (research) sources as evidence to support your thesis/argument ·      Comparative Reading: Use at least one primary source (from course readings) to compare (secondary sources) current racial, sexual, gender, and/or class conditions in America.  ·      Critical Research and Evaluative Analysis: Do some research based on the demands of your topic. Conduct a search for critical research that engages in the conversation you’ve developed (we will discuss research strategies at length in up-coming classes, but feel free to begin your search early).  o   As you gather research, rethink your argument. How does your research deepen, support, and/or complicate your argument? Adjust your ideas accordingly. o   Brainstorm and outline your main points, considering how you will integrate textual evidence and secondary sources into your presentation. What are you teaching us?    ***Primary Sources: In literature classrooms, primary sources are those sources that we read directly: usually this means poetry, novels, and plays, but it can also include letters from the period, essays and biographies, online videos, and music (hence the “multi-modal part).  ***Secondary Sources: Secondary Sources usually directly explain or discuss the primary sources. If you are discussing, for example, I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin, an essay or a peer-reviewed critique on the same primary source would work as a secondary source.  ***Tertiary Sources: These sources are not directly about your primary source but illuminate some aspect of your topic. A history of African American arts during the Harlem Renaissance would work as a tertiary source for an observation on imagery reflected in Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem, “We Real Cool.”  ***Note: some sources can be primary, secondary, or tertiary in one topic but switch their roles in another topic.    Once you have formed and researched your topic, form a central thesis, supporting arguments, illustrative examples (usually taken from primary, and sometimes secondary sources), and explanatory details (taken from secondary and tertiary sources). Identify two to three keywords that constitute the major concepts in your talk.    Design Your Digital Platform: 1. Learn as much as you can about your topic and become a scholarly expert.  2. Know your audience (not just me, but fellow students). What do they like to see online and in digital presentations?  4. Create visual aids that enhance your presentation. Some people do this in Prezi, others do it in PowerPoint or on GoogleDocs—but ALL will be submitted to class site (not Bb).  a.     No more than 10 slides. b.     You must have 1 image per slide, use each image only once, and can add no more than 80 words per slide. No one likes slides cluttered with bullet points and too many words.  c.     Repeat keywords and phrases at least twice. Distill your arguments into memorable phrases that your audience can remember.  d.     Remember to open with and conclude your main points. Just as you would a paper:                          I.         Slide one: Title, name, course;                        II.         Slide two: Introduction/Thesis;                      III.         Informative Body: Topic 1 (you can have more than one slide for each topic)                    IV.         Informative Body: Topic 2 (you can have more than one slide for each topic)                      V.         Informative Body: Topic 3 (you can have more than one slide for each topic)                    VI.         Second to last Slide: Concluding thoughts and “so what” reflection;                   VII.         Last Slide: Works Cited Page.    Written Assignment Component:   1.     Annotated Bibliography: I attached this    2.     At least Two-page Paper: Reflection of the information on which you have built your digital presentation. Write on your process during this project. Why did you choose what you did? How have you brought primary and secondary texts together to produce new information that advances the discussion on race in America forward? What worked well for you and what didn’t when putting this project together? What would you change if you could about this assignment? Essentially, a written (albeit abridged) version of your project. Be sure to follow MLA8 style, compose introduction, thesis, body (use topic sentences, transitional words, and well-constructed sentences), and a conclusion that compels your reader to think/question beyond the reading of your paper. Make it interesting—consider the “so what?”    3.     Works Cited Page: Upload a list of works cited to Bb; this includes outside, peer-reviewed research that you have read and consulted; this includes websites, images, and other multimedia found online. This list must follow MLA8 formatting and must be included on the final digital project presentation. (ex. Works Cited Slide)