Instruction
We have read—and will continue to read—about ethnicity in the United States. For this assignment, turn your attention to yourself. In what ways are you ethnic, and how has your identity within (or outside of) particular ethnic groups affected you?
Some of you have your ethnic identity thrust upon you (skin color, accent, name). For others, this may be a more subtle matter: if your background is entirely or mostly northern European—and your family has been in the USA for generations—then you may feel outside of any particular ethnicity. In this case, your experience of ethnicity could be defined by its absence, or perhaps by envy of others’ ethnic identities. (There’s a reason white boys in the suburbs buy so much rap and wear Tupac T-shirts from Hot Topic.)
This is not an analytical essay, and the ‘evidence’ is your own experience. You have considerable freedom in how you organize and present your material. The only requirements: refer to at least one class text, and consider not only specific incidents but also how your relationship to ethnicity has made you who you are.
Most of all of you have multiple identities—you may be mixed race or otherwise hyphenated. Explore the complexities of your own ethnicity.
Your essay should be 1000-1300 words. Must be MLA format.