Term Paper Prompt
Michelle Alexander’s book is centered on the parallelism between our current criminal justice systems and the systematic racial subjugation of Jim Crow. It is an indisputable fact that minorities have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, but do our policies amount to a new era of legal social control aimed at perpetuating a racial hierarchy?
Your paper will begin by providing a thorough synthesis of Alexander’s argument. Why does she make the use the analogy of Jim Crow segregation? What evidence does she provide to make her case? What role does she say that media plays in framing our understanding of the problem?
After summarizing her argument, you will provide an evaluation/critique of her claims. One of major line of critique is that we are currently moving toward a post racialized justice system that focuses more on class inequality. The documentary, The House I Live In, does an excellent job of illustrating this shift, and you are encouraged to watch it to help with the paper. Use this line of critique as a jumping off point to conduct research evaluating the argument.
Keep in mind:
As a college student, you are expected to produce a quality essay. This means that you will provide the following:
- An arguable thesis, resources/data to back up claims and arguments
- Citations of the sources/data you use
- A clear understanding of the issues
- A completed essay that has been appropriately edited that clearly conveys your message.
This last point is important because you may spend a great deal of time learning and critically thinking about your arguments, but if you are not able to effectively communicate your thinking your work will be for not. Make sure that your paper is a clear reflection of the amount of work you have put into this and is something that you would be proud to show a perspective employer, school admissions committee, or your grandmother.
Requirements:
- Five pages in length (papers that are below the minimum will be docked a proportional amount [For example 1pg=20%])
- Twelve point font (Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria only…no you can’t make it wingding #5 because you find that it increases your length to the page limit)
- MLA or ASA format (see this link for more info on how to format your paper accordingly: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/Links to an external site.)
- You must use in text citations
- You need five sources, four of which need to be academic (if you need help conducting the research portion of this, the librarians are amazing resources)
- No grammatical errors! This is a college paper, so it should be of college level quality
Students will be graded on:
- How effectively they demonstrate an understanding of Alexanders’ thesis and supporting details
- Integration of outside sources to support their points
- Effective critique (even if you agree with the underlying thesis, you can still engage in critiquing aspects of her work)
- Utilization of course concepts and perspectives
- Clear articulation of their points and organization of their paper
- Following the formatting guidelines and prompt instructions