provide an analysis that does more than summarize, and you should aim for an original view of how the material combines—or doesn’t—to you

Module 1 Prompt

Writing Prompt: Please provide a response to the information provided in module #1.  PLEASE REVIEW THE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS PROVIDED IN THE MODULE #1 GUIDE AS WELL.  You should provide an analysis that does more than summarize, and you should aim for an original view of how the material combines—or doesn’t—to you.  You are free to use parenthetical citations (ie, Forbes, 4; Wolf, 8).  Please draw from the material but be sure that bulk quotes do not take the place of your own analysis. Your essay will be graded on its clarity, organization, originality, use of multiple sources (including both film and writings), and the presence of a clear argument/thesis. You do not need to cite the lectures or PowerPoints, although that material is certainly material you can incorporate.

The following questions are meant to guide your inquiry, but you are free to go in your own direction.  Any of them might also serve as a topic from which to develop a specific thesis/argument.

Please answer 1 of the following. 

1. The colonization of the Americas by Europeans inaugurated new ways and systems of thinking about race. Give a brief overview of the concept of “race” as you see it developing between the 1500s and the time of the American revolution.
2. It is easy enough to see a “triangular” series of interactions that brought Europeans, Africans and Indigenous peoples together. Yet each of these groups was both internally diverse and interconnected. What sorts of connections do Wolf, Molina/Gutierrez/HoSang, and Forbes point us toward?

You can also come up with your own thesis/summary concept that links the material of module 1. 

1. Bonus question #1 (optional, 2 paragraph length)-Gomez describes the migration of Igbo people to North American during the colonial and antebellum period. What does he see as significant and important in studying Igbo history in North American during this time? 
2. Bonus question #2. Forbes argues that by the 19^th century, many Africans living in North America had “significant” degrees of Native American ancestry. How does he demonstrate this idea, and why does it matter to him?