discuss and analyze the histories, identities, and experiences that led to the creation of Mexicans/Chican@s
Your answer (evidence-based thesis) must incorporate responses to prompts below (20 points each). Each prompt must be answered in 2-3 paragraphs. Your Counter Narrative essay must directly address 5 of the following prompts:*
Describe how the political, economic, and social structures left by Spanish colonization hurt Mexico.
Answer to #1 must be based on Readings: A, B, C.
Describe in detail the indigenous, Mexican, European, and African origins of California and the U.S.///Mexico border.
Answer to #2 must be based on at least three (3) of the following:
– Readings: C, E, F
– Lecture: 7A
– Video: 1, 2 4
Describe the impact of European colonization and the role of Christopher Columbus in shaping Euro-American identity.
Answer to #5 must be based on and at least three (3) of the following:
– Readings: A, B, C, D, G
– Lecture: 7A
– Video: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10
Describe how indigenous culture and identity continued since the European invasion of indigenous civilizations.
Answer to #6 must be based on and at least three (3) of the following:
– Readings: A, B, C, F
– Video: 9, 10, 11
Describe California resistance to second-class status and pursuit for social justice by Chicanas and Chicanos.
Answer to # 7 must be based on and at least three (3) of the following:
– Readings: F
– Video: 8, 9
*Answer key for Readings, Lectures, and Multimedia are coded and link mapped on the FINAL EXAM STUDY & REFERENCE GUIDE page.
Evaluative Dimension #2:
STRUCTURE (30 points)
Paragraph 1 (10 points)
Introduction / Thesis
Set the stage in one paragraph. Introduce your reason(s) for selecting the quotes you will present and analyze. Based on your selected quotes, what is your argument/concluding analysis about the history, identity, and experience of Mexican Americans? Your thesis statement should answer “Based on the writings of various experts, what is your main takeaway about the first 400 years.”
Paragraphs 2-18 (10 points)
Quote Analysis. You will have about 11-18 quotes in all after answering 5 of the prompts above. When you do, write a paragraph using the following steps:
Introduce and frame the quote.
Write the Quote with citation.
Paraphrase the quote.
Analyze the quote.
Evaluate the quote.
Final Two Paragraphs (10 points)
Closing Remark. Discuss the historical implications behind the historical origins of Mexican Americans.
The concluding paragraph doesn’t just repeat the argument. The last paragraph, sometimes two final paragraphs, reintroduce the argument in order to shed more light on the significance and implications behind such an argument.
Evaluative Dimension #3:
ELEMENTS (50 PTS)
The elements below represent the second dimension I will be grading as part of your Final Exam. Your academic paper will be evaluated on your ability to achieve each element effectively. Your final submission should offer high quality writing that is both clear and substantive. Each of the elements is worth 15 points.
Definitive Quotes (10 points)
The quotes you select should support your thesis statement (“What is my main takeaway(s) about indigenous history 500 years ago?”). Never let quotes stand on their own—explain them. There is one skill for picking out relevant quotes from a text, and another skill involved in understanding what it says. For each you will present and analyze it. Be sure to pick quotes throughout the books and incorporate the different perspective of authors on the same thing. See this short guide to quote analysis (Links to an external site.) by UC Berkeley.
Historical Dates (10 points)
Your final argument concerns history and dates matter. Dates and events are crucial here. While the quotes you use will likely not have dates in them, it will be up to you to incorporate important dates and events into paragraphs to provide a sense of time and place in Mexican American history.
Thesis Statement (10 points)
Your essay’s thesis statement is a sentence that answers the question, “What is my main takeaway(s) or lessons about indigenous history?” Your thesis needs to be stated upfront, usually at the end of the introduction. Your introduction should fit the body of your essay. The thesis ought to tell your reader exactly what you will be arguing in your paper. In addition, it ought to give the reader some hint about why you’re going to argue that way.
Academic Coherence (10 points)
The organization of the essay is clear and academically cited. The essay is organized according to the narrative arguments made by the experts/authors used for this class. Throughout the body, the essay introduces and discusses analytic points that best support the thesis. Each paragraph is unified around a clear main point. Paragraphs each highlight a point in your argument and avoid unrelated topics. Quotations are punctuated correctly and integrated well into the essay to narratively support your thesis.
Course Concepts (10 points)
This course has introduced you to a new way to think that includes how to makes sense of issues around American identity and experience based on historical evidence in order to improve your objective understanding of U.S. history. Analysis is different than opinion or commentary. Opinion is strictly what you think. Evidence or education is not required. Commentary is an elaborated form of informed opinion. Depends if it is an expert or layperson, a commentary may imply accepted known facts in its general argument. Unlike the opinions or commentaries, analysis considers the evidence at hand and draws meaning from it using theoretical concepts and frameworks. In your final exam, your writing needs to demonstrate your ability to apply course concepts in your quote analysis. In other words, use concepts discussed in class to analyze quotes and create a strong argument.
EXAM REFERENCE GUIDE=
1521-1539 Aztec Account of Final Battles over Tenochtitlan
(Broken Spears, Ch. 13-15; Leon-Portillo)
1521–1821 Spanish Colonial Era
(From Indians to Chicanos, Ch. 2-5; Diego Vigil)
(Mexicanos, Ch. 2; Manuel G. Gonzales Download Manuel G. Gonzales)
1697–1833 The Promise to Europeans in Occupied California
(Land of Promise and Despair, Pp. 73-394; Rose Beebe and Robert Senkewicz)
1750-1843 American Settlers Relate to Christopher Columbus
(America Discovers Columbus, Ch. 1-3; Claudia Bushman)
1821–1846 Mexican Independence and Nationalism
(From Indians to Chicanos, Ch. 6-7; Diego Vigil)
1491–1851 Early Chicana History: Años de la Mujer Chicana
(500 Years of Chicana Women’s History, Pp. 29; Betita Martinez)
1821-1848 U.S. interventionism and The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(Latino/a Thought, Pp. 121-131; Vásquez and Torres)
Lecture:
7A: 1776-1848 Cotton Kingdom, Manifest Destiny, Slavery, War and Borders (Fuentes)
Documentaries or multimedia watched in part or in full:
To Conquer or Redeem: Manifest Destiny
Special attention to “Frontier Imperialism” (Segment: 00:00 – 9:00) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
The Latino Americans: Foreigners in Their Own Land (1565-1880)
Special attention to “Rise of European Hate” (Segment: 09:20 – 20:00) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
The Mexican War
Special attention to “Fabricating A War” (Segment: 00:00-18:00) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
Howard Zinn: The People’s Historian
Special attention to “U.S. and Mexico” (Segment: 26:00 – 39:00) [Interview (Links to an external site.)]
The Unfinished Nation
Special attention to “War and Death for Papers” (Segment: 09:00 – 14:00) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
Lecture: Introduction to Primitive Accumulation
Professor Dr. David Harvey on Marx’s book Capital (03:47) [Lecture (Links to an external site.)]
Lecture: Dispossession by Accumulation
Professor Dr. David Harvey on Marx’s book Capital (07:02) [Lecture (Links to an external site.)]
Lecture: Spatial Imaginaries and Social Justice
Black Studies Professor Dr. George Lipsitz Seminar by (03:15) [Lecture (Links to an external site.)]
Chicano!: Quest for a Homeland (55:46) [ Documentary]
The Aztec Empire and Spanish Conquest (26:00) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
Exterminate All the Brutes: Part 1 (59:33) [Documentary (Links to an external site.)]
