For Final

 

 I will also make sure:

one paragraph = BIPOC agency/resistance (Anne Braden + movement)
one paragraph = Weeks 8–11 content
all include key concepts + evidence + reflection
🔹 BODY PARAGRAPH 1 — Race as a Social Construct
Topic sentence
One important thing I learned is that race is a social construct, not a biological fact.
Before vs after (reflection)
Before: you thought race was based on physical differences (skin color, biology).
Now: you understand race is created by society, history, and power.
Key concept to include
Race as a social construct
Racial formation
Power
Evidence from course reading
Use your textbook (example):
Race definitions change over time depending on society.
Categories like “Black,” “White,” etc. were created for control.
Add MLA citation like: (Hodges 7.1) or correct section
Why it matters (analysis)
Helps you see racism is not “natural”
It is built into systems (laws, education, housing)
How you carry it forward
You will question stereotypes
You will recognize how society shapes inequality today
🔹 BODY PARAGRAPH 2 — Systemic / Institutional Racism (Weeks 8–11)
Topic sentence
Another important thing I learned is that racism is not only individual, but also systemic and institutional.
Before vs after (reflection)
Before: you thought racism was mostly about personal prejudice
Now: you see it exists in systems like:
policing
education
housing
prisons
Key concepts to include
Systemic racism
Institutional racism
White supremacy (as a system, not just hate)
Evidence from Weeks 8–11
You MUST use this to meet requirement
Examples you can include:
mass incarceration / prison system inequality
racial inequality in housing or wealth
disparities in education or policing
Add MLA citation from your reading (example: (Author page#) or (Hodges section))
Why it matters (analysis)
Shows inequality continues today, not just in the past
Explains why different racial groups have unequal opportunities
How you carry it forward
You will pay attention to policies and systems, not just individuals
You will better understand current racial issues in the U.S.
🔹 BODY PARAGRAPH 3 — BIPOC Agency & Resistance (Anne Braden + Movements)

⚠️ This paragraph is VERY IMPORTANT (required for passing)

Topic sentence
A third important thing I learned is that BIPOC communities have always shown agency and resistance, not just oppression.
Introduce example
Use Anne Braden + Black resistance
Explain briefly:
She helped a Black family move into a white neighborhood
Faced violence and arrest
Worked with civil rights movements
Key concepts to include
Agency
Resistance
Allyship
White supremacy (as system being challenged)
Evidence from course reading
Connect to readings about:
Civil Rights Movement
BIPOC resistance (Black activism, Indigenous resistance, etc.)
Show that resistance is a pattern, not just one event
Add MLA citation
Why it matters (analysis)
Changes your perspective:
BIPOC are not only victims
They are leaders, organizers, and changemakers
Shows power of collective action
How you carry it forward
You will respect and recognize BIPOC struggles and leadership
You may support equality, speak out, or stay informed
🔹 EXTRA TIP (VERY IMPORTANT)

When you write in Rumi, make sure each paragraph:

has clear topic sentence
includes 1 citation minimum
uses course vocabulary
includes your personal reflection

 

 

 One important thing I learned in this course is the agency and resistance of BIPOC communities against white supremacy. Before this class, I mostly focused on oppression and inequality. Now I understand that BIPOC communities have always resisted and fought back against injustice. Chapter 7 explains that systems of white supremacy and racism are powerful, but they are not permanent or unchangeable (Hodges 7.3). People of color have created movements, challenged unfair laws, and built strong communities to resist oppression. This idea is important to me because it shows that marginalized groups are not just victims, but active agents of change. For example, social movements and community organizing have helped bring attention to inequality and demand justice. This changed how I see history and current events. I now focus more on strength, resilience, and action from BIPOC communities. In today’s society, there are still many racial inequalities, but there are also many people working to create change. I will carry this knowledge forward by supporting equality, listening to diverse voices, and recognizing the contributions of BIPOC communities. I also want to be more active in standing against injustice in my daily life. Understanding agency and resistance helps me see hope and possibility for a more equal future.

 Reflection on White Supremacy, Racism, and Racial Formation

One of the most important things I learned from Chapter 7 is that race is not natural, but socially constructed and connected to power. Before this course, I thought race was mainly about physical differences like skin color. Now I understand that race is created by society and has changed over time depending on politics, history, and power. The chapter explains that whiteness is not just a skin color, but a system that gives advantages and privileges to certain groups (Hodges 7.2). This idea is important to me because it helped me see that inequality is not random. It is built into systems that benefit some people and disadvantage others. This changed how I understand race in everyday life, such as in education, jobs, and media.

Another important concept I learned is that racism is not only about individual actions, but also about structures and institutions. Before, I thought racism mainly meant personal discrimination or bad behavior by individuals. Now I see that racism can exist even without direct intention, because it is built into systems like housing, education, and the criminal justice system. The chapter explains that structural racism creates unequal outcomes for different racial groups over time (Hodges 7.3). For example, policies and laws in the past created disadvantages that still affect people today. This is important to me because it shows that solving racism requires more than just changing individual attitudes. It also requires changing systems. I will carry this knowledge forward by being more aware of how systems work and by supporting policies that promote fairness and equality.

A third important thing I learned is the idea of the normalization of whiteness. The chapter explains that whiteness is often treated as the standard or “normal,” while other racial identities are seen as different or less important (Hodges 7.5). I did not think about this before, but now I see it in many areas, such as media, education, and advertising. For example, many movies, advertisements, and textbooks center white experiences as the default. This can make other groups feel invisible or less valued. This concept is meaningful to me because it helped me understand how subtle forms of inequality work in everyday life. It is not always obvious, but it still has a strong impact. In my future, I will try to challenge this idea by recognizing and respecting different cultures and perspectives. I also want to support more inclusive representation in media and society.

Overall, Chapter 7 changed how I understand race, racism, and power. I learned that race is socially constructed, racism is structural, and whiteness is often normalized in society. These ideas are important because they help explain inequality in a deeper way. In today’s world, issues of race are still very important, especially with ongoing discussions about justice and equality in the United States. I believe this knowledge will help me become more aware, more critical, and more responsible in my actions. I will carry this understanding forward by treating others with respect, questioning unfair systems, and supporting change toward a more equal society.

 Hello again! This video will walk through the prompt for the final paper.

Share my screen.

Final paper is a reflection paper asking you to reflect on the three most important things you got from this class. Accounts for 25% of your overall grade. The purpose is for you to reflect upon what you've learned this quarter and identify for yourself the most important things you learned, and the value they can hold for you beyond this course. In order for this assignment to be meaningful for you. You want to focus on honest self-reflection rather than taking a capitalist approach of trying to give a right answer just to get points. If you do the latter, you'll rob yourself of the educational value of this final assignment.

Here are the instructions. First, take some time. Reflect upon what you've learned in this course and the things that have mattered the most to you. So reflect upon your understanding, for example, of how race and Bipoc experience in the US. Um. When you first enter this course and compare it to now paying attention to the ways that has changed. Try to identify the three most impactful, transformative, or important ways this has changed. And what about these three? These three things makes them meaningful and important to you.

And then think about how will you carry this knowledge of these three things forward into your life beyond this class? So take some time to reflect upon that. Jot down some notes. And then the next step is to write. This writing will take place within the assignment in the roomie application embedded in this assignment.

So let's look at the writing portion.

We want to write about the three most important things you learned in this course. What makes them important or valuable to you, and how you will carry them forward into your life beyond this class?

In considering their importance. Think about the way they transformed how you look at the world or matters of race in the US, and why you consider that valuable and important. In considering how you'll carry them forward. Reflect upon what's happening in the US right now, racially. And how your awareness of this urgent, contemporary context might contribute to your understanding of what is important right now and what is needed in this country as we move forward beyond this course.

For each important thing. Apply key concepts to frame what makes it important or valuable to you. So you need to demonstrate not just understanding of those concepts, but how to apply them practically in your writing.

Support your claims with concrete evidence from the course readings. At least three readings. You can cite films as well in addition to that, but at least three readings, of course. Readings? Yeah. Three citations, of course. Readings. And for each important thing, address how you'll carry it forward into your life beyond this class. Note at least one of those three things was directly addressed the agency and resistance of one or more of the core Bipoc communities we have studied this quarter. Agency and resistance. Crucial. If you don't do that, you'll get an F on this paper. At least one of the three things must engage with concepts and evidence from weeks eight through 11. So at least one of the three things must engage with concepts and evidence from weeks eight through 11.

Each of the three things must be framed by key core concepts. Each of the three things must be supported by concrete evidence from the course materials.

In-text MLA citation of your sources is required. No MLA citations. You'll fail this assignments.

Do not submit before week 12, not before March 23rd. So you can write it in Rumi and finish it, but just don't submit it before week 12. The reason for that is. You want to complete the course material before you decide with the three most important things are. Because. Who knows, they could come, or at least one of them could come in week 11. When we look at. Race, racial formation, and white supremacy.

All right. That's the writing part. Structure and organization of the paper. Paper must consist of the following components. An introductory paragraph.

Body of the paper at least one paragraph each. For each of the three important things. And a conclusion. So that's at least five paragraphs.

Ideally, your introductory paragraph will contain a thesis and overall thesis that each of the three important things fits into. And an organizational statement signaling to the reader how the paper will be organized. These are basic things that hopefully you learned in composition class.

All right. Requirements. Let's walk through these requirements. It's due Wednesday, March 25th. That's week 12. No late submissions. No exceptions. Finals are due when finals are due. At least one of the three things and talk about content. Now, at least one of the three things must directly address the agency and resistance of one or more of the core bike park communities we've studied this quarter. So I'm repeating that point. Papers that fail to address some form of Bipoc agency and resistance will receive an F grade. At least one of the three things must engage with one or more concepts and supporting evidence from weeks eight through 11. Each of the three things must utilize key core course concepts. Each of the three things must be supported by concrete evidence from the course materials. In-text MLA citation of sources is required. Paper should consist of introductory paragraph body paragraphs and a conclusion. Length 600 640 words minimum. 640 to 960 words, or roughly 2 to 3 pages in standard format, not including work cited, and I'm citing length in terms of word count, because in Rumi it doesn't have pages. Um. So that's that's what that is in the 2 to 3 page rough equivalent, is there. Just to give you an idea in terms of what that translates to, would translate to if we were doing it. Uh, in a different application. But we're not. You're writing it in Rumi in this assignment from start to finish. In Rumi and Rumi only not in an external word processor. So do not write it in Google Docs or Word, and then copy it and paste it, or type it in directly from an outside source. So what Rumi is, it's an application and it's embedded in canvas. And what it does is it encourages academic honesty because it tracks your writing and evaluates the originality of that writing. Um. And conversely, that means if you're not doing original writing, it's going to tell the instructor. So you need to start your paper in room. Do all revisions in Rumi. Because this is all being tracked by the application. And that's how it's evaluating the originality of your work. So do not and cut and paste into Rumi. Do not type in from an external documents. This is a matter of academic integrity. It's non-negotiable.

So right and remain from start to finish. We'll do an exercise. And. Rumi. Um, in the next week or two. So you get familiar with the application. Um. And you can start writing your paper. Once this assignment is opened. But again, do not dare not click. Do not click submit until week 12. So citations a minimum of three MLA in in-text citations, of course readings, not films, podcasts, lectures, etc. a minimum of three citations of course readings. That means three different readings. Uh, in addition to those three, you can cite films, podcasts, etc. do not cite the lectures, say course materials, readings, films, podcasts, videos, etc. but a minimum of three from readings. If your paper cites a minimum of three readings, you may also cite film series and podcast papers without in-text MLA. MLA citations will receive an F grade. This is basic academic method. Use in-text MLA format to cite the source link here on how to do citations of the idea or example in the course materials. So, for example, you're citing from our textbook essay, chapter author and section number. Chapter from a book or a journal that has page numbers, author and page number for a film site. The title and the time codes of the cited sequence include a work cited at the end of your paper, with full citations in MLA format, so you are required to include a work cited with this paper that does not count towards the minimum 640 word count. Work cited is required required for all sources, including course materials. Full MLA citation format. Do not use a citation generator. Type it in. For references on doing work cited in MLA format. Here are links to resources so the basics are linked here. And then a sample of a paper with the work cited section is also linked here.

Academic integrity. Write and revise the entire paper. In Rumi from start to finish. Do not compose in an external application and type into Rumi. Do not cut and paste into Rumi. Rumi assesses the originality of the writing based on the time you spend on the assignment. The amount of unattributed text that is cut and paste it in. And the percent of the text that's revised. So papers with low or original scores will be penalized accordingly.

I don't want to hear excuses about, oh well, it was just easier to do it in word. It's just easier to do it in Google Docs. So I did that and I typed it in. That's going to give you a lower originality score. And your paper is going to get a little green. So.

You have. Plenty of time to work out any technical issues with roomie between now and week 12. So that's your responsibility. I don't want to hear excuses about, oh, I had some glitches. It was too difficult to use. So I typed it in Google Doc and I copied it in. That's not going to fly for the final paper. So telling you now if you have issues with it gets a technical support. You need to work that out.

Submission. You're allowed three attempts. Three attempts. 

Only use them judiciously. Do not submit before week 12. 

There's a rubric attached below that is subject to change. 

Um. And so you'll see that rubric is built into your, um. Into the assignment. 

This is an instructor view. 

It's different from what you'll see. 

Um, it basically looks like a word processor. 

When you first open it up, there'll be a tutorial video just walking you through. 

It's really straightforward. Um, it's all set up for you. And again, there aren't pages in room. You just write.

So I'm going to scroll through that. Um, is rubric here again? This might get adjusted before the final, but you could see Remy generates an original originality score as an index of academic honesty. Five star scale. Your paper will be graded, will be affected accordingly. Um, this is sort of a general scale, but actually if your scores below three stars, it's going to suffer, um, more than a few points. Structure and length three important things. Use of evidence and citations. Work cited section. So these are the main things and in the rubric. 

But it's going to be adjusted. \

Um, probably. 

So that's the overview of the final reflection paper. Three important things. Um, if you have any questions let me know. 

Uh, will um, be posting. Yeah. Anyway, I'll post this assignment with the video. Shortly.