AAA 101 Take-Home Exam 2

Prompts:
1) Identities are multi-faceted, and the facets of our identities often complicate one another.
Working from material covered in this course, consider how “Asian” or “Asian American,” as
racial identities, intersect with one or more other aspects of identity (e.g. gender, sexuality,
nationality, religion, political affiliation, etc., but not socioeconomic class as this was covered
in-depth on the first take-home). What are the implications of the intersection(s) you are
considering? For example, can we speak of a unified Asian or Asian American experience in
light of these other aspects of identities?

2) The 2016 presidential election has been a major topic in this course, and many of us are
likely still processing the results. This prompt is an opportunity to reflect on the election and
its implications for Asians and Asian Americans going forward. Utilizing historical precedents
and key terms and concepts that we have covered in this course, write about what the
election means for Asians and Asian Americans. In addition to course materials, you may
cite one journalistic article if you answer this prompt.

3) This course has been structured around the five kinds of global cultural flow, also called
“scapes,” a notion suggested by Arjun Appadurai in his influential article, “Disjuncture and
Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.” Revisit this reading from the beginning of the
semester, and evaluate its argument. Has this been a useful tool for considering the
transnational dimensions of Asian and Asian American lives? Do you think it is productive to
use the five particular categories Appadurai suggests? Do you think any additional -scapes
should be added? Alternatively, do you think any of the five -scapes he proposes seem
redundant and should be combined or eliminated?

Requirements:
 Your essay must be at least three pages.
 Your essay should reference three distinct sources from the course.
 At least one source should be a reading (or the film Fire).
 At least one source should be from a class meeting.
 At least one source should be from units 3-5.
 No outside sources may be consulted without my expressed permission.
 Underline your thesis.
 Write in a clear, coherent, well-structured manner.
 Illustrate your familiarity with course materials.
 Include substantial original analysis.
 Include a bibliography.

Submission:
Essays should be submitted by e-mail on Friday, December 16 at noon. Your entire take-home
should be submitted in a single word document. Your paper’s file name should include
your last name. If you do not receive confirmation from me within 24 hours of submitting your
paper, please contact me immediately. Late papers will be accepted for a full letter grade
deduction until Tuesday, December 20 at noon. After this point, papers will not be accepted for
credit.

AAA 101 
 Writing Guidelines 


Purposes

Essays in this course will allow you to systematically think through readings and class
discussions to date and solidify your own opinions about those materials. They also
allow me to make sure you have been following allowing with required readings and
paying attention in class. To this end, a good essay will not only demonstrate an
understanding of the course materials, but will also contain a significant amount of
creative, insightful analysis and argumentation. This can include not only critical
engagements with texts we have read, but also constructive arguments in support of
your own original position.

Format

1” margins, double spacing, 12-point font, and a standard typeface (like Calibri,
Helvetica, Arial, etc.) printed in black ink.

Citations

Whenever you use someone else’s ideas, it is necessary to use proper citations. Just to
be clear, it is necessary to cite an author not only when you quote them directly, but
also when you paraphrase or summarize them. A basic parenthetical citation is
preferable. In this course you may not use outside sources without permission.
Regardless of if you cite outside sources or not, use a bibliography.
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/mlaparen.html

Style

 I expect students to use Standard English grammar in their writing. Avoid excessive
colloquialisms. Use spellcheck, and be careful about homophones (e.g. their/there/
they’re, to/too/two, etc.). Be sure you’re clear on the difference between possessive and
plural forms of words. Use gender-neutral language, rather than the generic masculine,
where possible. You may use “I” judiciously in your writing, but don’t start every other
sentence with “I think/feel/believe.” http://theoatmeal.com/tag/grammar

Structure

 Good academic writing starts out with an introduction that lets the reader know what
the paper will be about. The introduction paragraph should include a thesis statement,
which the body of the paper should support. Please underline the sentence(s) that
describe your thesis in your intro paragraph. Most academic writing benefits from a
brief conclusion which summarizes how the information presented in the body relates to
the thesis or theme. http://www.uoregon.edu/~munno/Writing/WritingGuide.html