(1) talk about how race mattered in a class you are taking this semester and in

(1) talk about how race mattered in a class you are taking this semester and in your personal experience of living in New Orleans. You can do this in a multitude of ways. You can talk about the racial makeup of your class and the racial dynamics of it. You can talk about how often or little race was mentioned and under what context was it discussed. You can talk about the degree to which race seemed invisible and/or visible. These are just a few examples of how you can discuss how race mattered in your courses. When discussing your personal experiences in New Orleans you can talk about the racial make-up of the city and if your personal life reflects the diversity in the city. You can discuss if the places you live and hangout are segregated or integrated. These are just a few of the many ways you can think about the exam question.
(2) The essay should use course readings to offer an analysis of your experience. For example, it is not enough to simply say the definition that Bonilla-Silva gives us for structural racism, but rather you should demonstrate how the theory of structural racism provides us with a language to understand your experiences. This provides me with an opportunity to see how well you can take multiple theories and make sense of the everyday function of race.
(3) The essay should have a central thesis. Early in the essay you should communicate this. For example, “My thesis is that race produces uneven segregation in my classes. One of my classes is segregated because it is disproportionately white and in my diverse class students were clustered in different parts of the room by race.”
You will be graded on (1) how well your argument relates to what we have learned in class, (2) how well your sources relate to your argument, (3) the clarity of the essay, and (4) how interesting/compelling the topic is.