Ethnic History Paper Requirements
Ethnic History Paper Requirements
Who in your family was the first person to come to the United States or to come
into contact with the United States? Why did he or she come here? Why did
the contact occur? When? This research project asks you to think about these
and similar questions in order to better understand your family’s ethnic history
and how you fit into that history.
Begin by selecting a country or an ethnic, religious or cultural group that is part
of your family’s history. The group might be an immigrant group like the Irish or
Germans, Italians, the Japanese, Pakistanis, Haitians, the Polish or the Scots
Irish. It might be a colonized group like a Native American tribe or African
Americans who are Ibo or Fulani in ancestry. If they are part of your family
history, you might also choose to focus on groups like Orthodox Jews, the
Amish, Mennonites, and so on.
After you have selected the group, you will need to reseach what conditions
were like in your ancestor’s homeland at the time of large-scale immigration or
contact, what conditions were like for the group when they first became part of
the United States, what they are like now, and what role your ethnicity has
played in your family’s history. You will also need to select a cultural aspect
(music, art, literature, sport, business, etc.) and research some of the
contributions that people from the group you selected have made to the
development of that cultural aspect in the U.S.
Requirements/Instructions:
1. Paper Due Date: Thursday, November 1, NLT 4:00 p.m. You MUST submit
TWO HARD COPIES. I will NOT accept this paper electronically.
2. Late Papers: There are NO late papers. I will NOT accept this paper after
4:00 p.m., November 1.
3. Copy: Keep a copy of your paper. This is for your protection. If something
happens to your submissions, you will have a back-up.
4. Turnitin: You MUST submit an electronic copy of your paper to Turnitin to
check for problems of plagiarism before you submit the final version of your
paper to me. You may submit your paper to Turnitin more than once. This
allows you the opportunity to fix any problems that TurnItIn identifies. The
instructions for submitting to TurnItIn can be found by clicking on the Turnitin
Instructions tab on my course blackboard page.
5. Format: Paper must be typed, double-spaced, 1" margins, Times New
Roman font, type size 12.
6. Cover: Do NOT use a plastic cover or a folder for the paper.
7. Length: Paper length - 10 pages! I will stop reading at the end of 10 pages!
8. Value: This paper is worth 100 points (the equivalent of one unit test).
9. Organization: You must follow the organizational model I describe below. If
you do not, your grade will be substantially lowered.
10. Writing: A good paper must be well-written. Grammar, spelling, tenses,
paragraphing, and punctuation are as important as content. Readers simply do
not pay much attention to good content if it is not also well-written. In the past, I
have given papers with excellent content poor grades because of the quality of
the writing.
11. Do not plagiarize. You must do your own work and writing on this paper. If I
find you have plagiarized, the minimum penalty you will receive is a zero on this
assignment. Depending on the seriousness of the infraction, I may pursue more
serious penalties. If you have any questions about what plagiarism is, see me.
Organization of Paper:
TITLE PAGE (does not count as a content page):
Title page with the following information:
Ethnic History Paper
Name of the Group You Selected
Minority Cultures Section 1 or 2
November 1, 2007
PAPER BODY:
The body of the paper has five parts. Label each part (Part I., Part II., and so
on).
LIST OF REFERENCES (does not count as a content page):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Use APA format (See Citations and List of References below).
You must have a minimum of seven references.
One of your references may be your text book.
At least four of your references must come from professional journals
and books (not counting your text, if you choose to use it) and not from
popular media sources like magazines or newspapers.
5. You may use internet sources but at least three of your sources must
not be electronic.
Parts of the Paper Body
Part I. Homeland. At the time of large scale first immigration or first contact,
discuss the government, religion, culture, economy, and life style of the country
or place where the group you have chosen originated. If the group you
selected was an immigrant group, what push and pull factors existed? If your
group is a colonized group, how was the group incorporated into the U.S.?
Approximate length – 2/3 pages.
Part II. Arrival in the U.S. How was your group treated when it came to or
became part of the United States? What jobs or employment were open to
them? Where did they settle or where did they live? What resources did they
bring with them or have? If members of the group experienced prejudice and
discrimination, how did they respond? Approximate length - 2 pages.
Part III. The U.S. today. Describe the basic demographics of the group you
have chosen (numbers, occupation, income, education, residence, age and sex
distribution, poverty rate, and so on). What challenges face the group you have
selected today? Approximate length – 2/3 pages.
Part IV. Cultural Aspect. Turn your attention to ONE aspect of your heritage
that interests you the most. For example, you might look at a sport, music,
dance, literature, art, crime, or business. Discuss some of the influences that
members of the group you have chosen have had on the development of that
aspect in the U.S. You might also include mention of some group members
notable for their achievements in the area you have selected. Approximate
length – 2/3 pages.
Part V. What is your family’s attitude towards its heritage? Is your ethnic or
cultural past something that is a part of your family life in general? Do you feel
connected to this ethnic or cultural heritage always, sometimes, never? Are
there stereotypes that exist about this ethnicity/culture? What are they? Have
you ever been affected by them? You might include a summary of a interview
with a family member here who belongs to an older generation that do you.
Approximate length - 1 page.
CITATIONS and LIST OF REFERENCES:
Use APA (American Psychological Association) format. If you don’t know how
to use it yet, you should learn. It is one of the major ways of formatting in the
social sciences. There are many places to go to learn the basics. While you
may consult me, it probably would be better to go to the library or to an APA
website. While there are many APA usage websites, one you might use is
below:
http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796
Advice:
1. Begin on this assignment as quickly as you can. A good way to cause
yourself major trouble with this assignment is to wait until the last minute to
work on it. More than anything else, this assignments requires careful thought
and careful research on your part.
2. I suggest that you learn the basics of APA formatting before you begin to do
your research. You will need specific bibliographic and citation information and
you want to make sure that you collect what you need.
3. Use the Hinkle library. I have discussed this assignment with library staff
and they have several excellent resources that you might choose to use as you
work on this paper.
4. If writing is not your strong point, I would start early, revise often, and have
others edit the paper. For goodness sakes, watch your spelling.
5. If you have questions as you work on the assignment, I will be happy to try to
answer them. However, if you wait until the last minute, I may not have the time
to help you. In other words, do not procrastinate!
Grading:
You will be graded on the following:
1. Instructions: Did you follow them?
2. Writing: Is your writing college-level? I will be looking for the number of
mistakes in such things as spelling, grammar, paragraphing, and capitalization.
3. Content: Are your sections accurate, thorough and well-organized?
Michael Cobb
Chair
Social and Behavioral Sciences