Much has changed demographically and politically in the last fifty years, but diversity, race, personal identity, or views of the past can still be at times a highly visible and divisive aspect of American society today. Discuss your chosen issue with reference to one particular situation or more; your third essay should be three to five pages long or longer. 2. Questions to think and write about. a) About U.S. history: We have read and discussed essays concerning the monuments for Columbus and other figures in American history (Civil War and before). Various suggestions are put forward in these essays and all are somewhat controversial, some more than others. What view do you hold on this issue? Do you agree or disagree, for instance, with the suggestion that these monuments or statues should be removed or even destroyed? Why or why not? What can and does this situation teach us about history and our current evaluation of it? Is there anything in your background which has inclined you one way or another on this issue? b) About race: Racism can be subtle and pervasive, even without our awareness and even with those of us who are clearly against racism. Reread the situation given in the first essay of the chapter (the one written by Claudia Rankine and entitled, You and Your Partner ) and think of a similar situation where you see racism at work or where a situation can be read in two or more different ways. Discuss what happened, who were involved, what it tells us, and what we can learn from it about the issue of racism in the country. c) About immigration and personal identity: Other than Native Americans, everyone in the U.S. is an immigrant or a descendant of an immigrant. This being the case, we all have our own individual ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic, and social heritages. Are these inheritances important for your sense of personal identity or not? Of the two models which are usually mentioned in this context (melting pot and salad bowl), which one do you think is more in keeping with the spirit of the age? As a country, what do you think should be done so that we all have something in common? What do you think should also be done so that we all can be who we are with our distinctively different individualities? We read and discussed one essay about American identity in relation to place of birth, language, and religious belief. Do you think these things are important or not for American national identity? Why? Use specific details from your background to explore the issue. 3. Techniques to consider and adopt for your writing assignment. a) Analysis This is the technique which you use to methodically take something apart layer by layer or piece by piece so as to reveal what is hidden underneath or at the innermost core. Like definition, the purpose of this technique is to help move beyond the obvious and gain insight into a particular situation.b) Comparison and contrast. This is the technique which you use to compare and contrast two things or ideas (before and after, one and another, appearance and reality, the real and the ideal, and so on) so as to draw attention to things which are otherwise not so obvious to people
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