Essay 1 Final Draft The Representation of Race
Assignment:
Write an essay (minimum of 1000 words) on at least two primary sources from classes that come from different disciplines. Draw from at least two scholarly sources from class in the process of analyzing your primary sources, as well as two scholarly sources from your research (see breakdown below).
The representation of race. What assumptions and arguments do the primary sources make in regards to race? To what extent do the primary sources accept or reject race as a marker of superiority and inferiority? What positions do the primary sources ask you to take in regards to race, and how are these positions related to colonization?
The representation of “savagery” and “civilization.” How do the primary sources characterize savagery and civilization? What value judgments do the primary sources make when talking about what is savage and what is civilized? What positions do the primary sources take in regards to the hierarchy civilization over savagery, and how is this related to colonization?
The representation of progress. What counts as progress in the primary sources? How do the primary sources characterize progress, and what positions do they take in regards to this progress? How do the representations of progress relate to colonization?
The representation of science and technology. How do the primary sources represent science and technology? What is the importance or significance of science and technology in the primary sources, and how do the sources ask you to feel about science and technology?
How do the primary sources represent gendered behavior and aptitudes? What are seen as the “essential” characteristics of men and women? How does gender interact and overlap with other issues such as race, progress, technology, and sexuality?
Primary Source Checklist:
Primary Sources
Year
Discipline
Darwin, The Decent of man
1871
Natural Science
Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”
1893
History
Whale, Bride of Frankenstein
1935
TV/Film
