Essay Guidelines for Between the World and Me
Paper Length: 5pgs double-spaced
Deadline: See Syllabus
Purpose:
This book is so many things, ranging from memoir to social commentary and Ta-Nehisi Coates was inspired to write it after a private discussion with President Barack Obama regarding a recent call he made for more personal responsibility among African Americans. Coates was surprised by Obama's optimism, and eventually wrote this book in the form of a letter to his son.
I'd like you to approach this book as a capstone to the course as a whole, so please reflect on the course as you reflect on the book. Feel free to also connect the book to the current political climate, because that is what Coates would like for you to do and part of the reason why he wrote the book. I encourage you to use your space to think critically about Coates' words, but also how this book connects to the themes of the course and the current politics of the day.
Task:
Rather than write a traditional book review, please do the following:
First, give a brief summary of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (that is no more than 4 paragraphs in length).
In an additional paragraph or two, please discuss why you think he chose to write this book as a letter to his son.
Next, in at least a page, evaluate this quote: “…race is the child of racism, not the father” (Coates, 7). What does he mean by this? How does this assertion compel us to think about the history of race and racism in the United States? What about race and racism outside of the United States? Give one example for each (US, outside of the US).
In at least a page, analyze Coates's discussion of "the Dream." What does Coates mean by "the Dream" and why does he capitalize Dream? Why does Coates urge himself to be "wary of every Dream" (Coates, 53) as a "conscious citizen[s] of the terrible world" (Coates, 108)?
Finally, in at least a page, I'd like you to consider the ways in which history, or the media, tell us who or what matters. Give one example from Coates and one outside example (either in or outside of the class). As a member of the UWG community, what is your role in shaping/affirming/complicating/confronting these messages?
If we were in a face to face discussion, I'd give students the opportunity to vent about the book, so feel free to do that in the paper as well. Think critically about it and speak critically. Just provide examples from the story as to why. Feel free to take a couple of paragraphs at the end of your paper.
If you would like to bring in outside articles regarding media stories or events that have occurred and are relative to your discussion, please cite them. Normally I do not allow outside research, but I think that may restrict you for this paper. Do not do research on the book or the book's themes, but if you would like to reference a news story or event that is in the headlines or on social media that relates, then I'm ok with that.
Please keep in mind that Turnitin is attached to the Assignment Dropbox, and that you need to cite your sources in the event that you have directly quoted or paraphrased content. Failure to do so is plagiarism. (Coates, pg) is sufficient. If you have questions on how to cite another source, please email me.
You will be graded on paper length, style, and grammar, as well as how well you support your argument. I'm looking for well-written, persuasive, and detailed discussions that provide good evidentiary support
Late and/or email submissions will not be accepted.