Reading Responses
You will turn in a 200-word response to the assigned readings/films for each session. These responses are meant to help you synthesize and integrate the readings for your own learning (and give you a starting point for in-class discussion!), and also to help me gauge your understanding of the readings, what they brought up for you, etc., so that I might pitch classes at the right level. To that end, your responses should engage critically with the assigned materials: summarize the questions they raise and their key arguments, and lay out how the pieces relate to one another; state what remains unclear to you or leaves you perplexed, what questions the texts brought up for you, etc.
Of 16 possible reading responses, you must turn in 13 over the course of the semester. You will be graded on both the total number of responses and on their content.
Short Paper
This paper is meant as an opportunity for you to integrate the readings and arguments we have discussed in the first unit of the course (through session 6). Using concrete examples from assigned readings to illustrate your points, please address the following questions:
- What are the arguments for and against seeking reparative justice for European colonialism in Africa?
- What are some of the challenges faced in the articulation of reparative claims?
- What are some opportunities or factors supportive of bringing such claims forward at this particular moment in history?
- Based on our discussions so far, what do you think should be some special considerations for groups and individuals considering bringing forward claims for reparative justice?
- What would success look like, in your view? Why?
In addressing these questions, please engage meaningfully with at least 4 readings from the past unit (meaningfully means not just listing the texts as citations, but rather discussing their arguments and bringing them to bear on your analysis) and include a bibliography. Papers will be graded on both argumentation (Do you have a clear and coherent argument? How well does the evidence you provide support the argument you advance?) and the quality of your writing (paper organization, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, citations).
The paper should be 3–4 pages double spaced (1500–2000 words). For citation format, visit Author-Date: Sample Citations on the Chicago Manual of Style Online.
The paper is due during session 7.
Case Analysis - Individual
For this case analysis, you are asked to bring the readings and concepts we have covered in the course so far to bear on the reparations case that you have been following. These case analyses are meant to serve as both a resource to the Algeria and Belgium working groups and for participants in future iterations for this course.
Based on the readings and course discussions we have carried out so far, please include the following in your case analysis:
- A summary of the events for which reparations are being/were sought
- The bases for seeking reparations
- The challenges that past efforts at seeking reparations for these crimes have faced
- Special considerations that claimants might have/had as they moved forward with claims
- A discussion of how the claimants sought (what success or justice looked like for them) AND of what success or justice should look like in your view, based on course materials and discussion
- Questions about the case that remain open, or new questions that emerged from your analysis
Please use the following headings for the different sections of your paper:
- Background: What needs/needed to be repaired
- Challenges to seeking reparations
- Considerations for seeking reparations
- What does/did and should success look like?
- Remaining/emergent questions
Please use appropriate citations in your text and include a bibliography. Assume that your readers have not read the articles and other materials you reference, so please include enough information on these documents in your discussion for readers to be able to follow your discussion and argument.
The paper should be 5 pages double spaced. For citation format, visit Author-Date: Sample Citations on the Chicago Manual of Style Online.
The paper is due during session 20.
Case Analyses: Algeria and Belgium
You will work in small groups of 2–3 for the two case analyses for Algeria and Belgium, respectively (changing groups each time). In these write-ups, you will bring the anthropological readings and concepts we will have covered in the module to bear on each case in addressing the following questions: What would you recommend as special considerations for the activists as they undertake their claims process, given these texts? What questions emerge about the group’s claim and/or claim-making process? The idea is for these case analyses to extend the work that the two activist groups will have undergone towards their reparations claims and to serve as an additional resource to them.
For each case analysis, you are asked to bring the readings and concepts we have covered in the course so far to bear on each’s case for reparations. These case analyses are meant to serve as both a resource to the Algeria and Belgium working groups and for participants in future iterations for this course.
Based on the readings and course discussions we have carried out so far, please include the following in your case analysis:
- A summary of the events for which reparations are being sought
- The bases for seeking reparations
- The challenges that past efforts at seeking reparations for these crimes have faced
- Special considerations that the activists might have as they move forward with claims
- A discussion of what success or justice would look like in your view, and also based on your study of the other cases you’ve been following
- Questions for the working group about their claim and/or claim-making process
Please use appropriate citations in your text and include a bibliography. Assume that your readers have not read the articles and other materials you reference, so please include enough information on these documents in your discussion for readers to be able to follow your discussion and argument.
Each case analysis should be 5 pages double-spaced. For citation format, visit Author-Date: Sample Citations on the Chicago Manual of Style Online.
The Algeria case analysis is due during session 14. The Belgium case analysis is due during session 21.
