Prompt Questions/Essay
For the writing assignment, you can respond to as few/many prompt questions as you like, so long as you have written a combined 875-1000 words for each paper, which are equal to 3.5-4 pages in Times New Roman font size 12, double-spaced with 1” margins. This assignment will be due twice—at the end of Week 5 and at the end of Week 10. Or, if you prefer a family history project (or that of someone else) pertaining to migration, or any other topic related to the course, please seek permission from me no later than the second Friday of the Quarter. All papers are due on the last Friday of the Quarter, before Finals Week.
Paper Rubric (up to 5 points each)—must be about immigration/comparative perspective
1. State thesis clearly–what are you trying to say? Be direct! This should be no more than a paragraph at the beginning. Also, have a descriptive title consistent with your topic.
2. How do you use evidence to support your statements–did you cite correctly? In simple terms,
back up your argument. Always cite quotes and any claim a casual reader wouldn’t believe! If you need a citation style to follow, see the ASA Quick Tips Style Guide at the end of the syllabus. 3. Analysis consistent with thesis statement. Be consistent throughout the paper. The thesis/intro statement should match the rest of the paper, and vice versa.
4. Mechanics are good (grammar, sentence structure, and diction). To avoid long run-on sentences, where papers can get lost, write shorter sentences. Also, avoid colloquial and vague language.
5. Use of in-class readings. For a weekly assignment, you can just reference the reading for that week/set of weeks pertaining to the question you’re responding to. If it’s a term paper, then you don’t have to use all in-course readings but demonstrate understanding of at least three of them, plus one scholarly source away from the syllabus. Term papers will be graded more strictly.
6. Be original! Use your own words to describe/analyze. What does the topic/prompt mean to you? Limit quotes to one sentence.
- Week 6: February 7: Assimilation/IntegrationErnesto Castañeda, Maria Cristina Morales & Olga Ochoa. 2014. “TransnationalBehavior in Comparative Perspective: The Relationship between Immigrant Integration and Transnationalism in New York, El Paso, and Paris.” Comparative Migration Studies 2.3: 305-332Richard Alba. 2005. “Bright vs. blurred boundaries: Second-generation assimilation and exclusion in France, Germany, and the United States.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 28:1: 20-49Quiz 3, Friday, May 7, 12:30-12:50pmPrompt question: How does the literature on assimilation/integration differ from what isoften said, say, on television? How different/similar is the process in each setting? Please explain.
- Week 7: February 14: Refugees/Forced MigrationsDavid FitzGerald and Rawan Arar. 2018. “The Sociology of Refugee Migration.” AnnualReview of Sociology 44: 387–406Saskia Sassen. 2016. “A Massive Loss of Habitat: New Drivers for Migration.” Sociologyof Development 2.2: 204-233Prompt question: How does the assigned literature explain the difference between refugees and migrants and why? Please explain.Week 8: February 21: No Class—Presidents’ DayWeek 9: February 28: Migration Deterrence, Deportation, and Unintended ConsequencesDavid FitzGerald. 2020. “Remote Control of Migration: Theorising Territoriality, SharedCoercion, and Deterrence.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 46.1: 4-22Douglas Massey and Jorge Durand. 2003. “The Costs of Contradiction: US Border Policy1986-2000.” Latino Studies 1.2: 232-252Harsha Walia. 2021. Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism. Chicago: Haymarket, Chapter 4 (pp. 77-92)Prompt question: Just how old is our deportation apparatus and what are some of the more recent unintended consequences? Please explain.
Week 10: March 7 (no class): Beyond Trump and BREXIT
- Richard Alba and Nancy Foner. 2017. “Immigration and the Geography of Polarization.”City & Community 16.3: 1-5
- Gurminder Bhambra. 2017. “Brexit, Trump, and ‘methodological whiteness’: on themisrecognition of race and class.” British Journal of Sociology 68: 214-232
- Walia, Border & Rule, Chapter 11 (pp. 196-211)
- Prompt question: How does anti-immigrant racism connect to the rise of Trump andBrexit? Or, how do migrant populations resist xenophobic racism? Please explain.