Gendering U.S. Immigration Policy: Sociopolitical, Theological and Feminist Perspectives

Individual Presentation/Blog Posts

The general goal of this assignment is to encourage students to use our course materials to engage in a timely matter of public debate or a specific policy issue that relates to our course themes. The final product of this assignment will be a blog post (1000–2000 words) that uses academic scholarship to support an opinion that is designed to enhance the public dialogue on a topic of relevance to gender and immigration. There are two parts to this assignment that are worth 15 points each, for a total of 30 points.

Part 1:

The first assignment is a class presentation. For this presentation you should:

1. Introduce the public policy issue you are addressing and explain why it’s important. Explain key concepts, provide a brief social or policy history as you deem necessary.
2. Connect your discussion to some of the course readings for our class session (and/or other sessions) as appropriate. Aim to incorporate information from at least three of our readings (and other materials, at your discretion).
3. Preview the argument you plan to make in your essay. You are encouraged but not required to share a draft copy of this essay with the instructors prior to the presentation day. You may also circulate the draft to the entire class for feedback in advance of the presentation (but again, are not required to do so).

Plan to spend approx. 10–15 minutes on your presentation and allow 10–20 minutes for instructor and class feedback/Q&A.

Part 2:

The second part of the assignment involves the writing and uploading of the essay/blog post. This essay is due one week after your presentation date, and should be adapted to account for some of the insight/issues raised by class feedback to your presentations.

1. The essay should be written for a “general reader” and be geared toward educating them about and/or persuading them to take a particular stance on an important social issue pertaining to gender and immigration.
2. The essay should cite at least three sources from our class, as well as any number of additional sources (scholarly or nonscholarly) that you think are needed to help you make your argument. Mininmum length 1000–2000 words (no upper word limit). Finally, all sources should be cited in endnotes. A formal bibliography is not required. You may use any citation style, but the Chicago Manual of Style, Notes and Bibiliography system is recommended (focusing on endnote citation style only).