Assignments

Assignment 1

We have read about the significant role states can play in fostering or impeding ethnic nationalism - here defined as feelings about and expressions of ethnic identity. Gladney cites anthropologist Bernard Cohn (1987), who suggests that legal statuses can lead to the objectification and, in some cases, creation, of identities-perhaps previously present but loosely defined (p. 159). Gladney refers to this process as ethnogenesis.

Choose one, two or three ethnic groups. Discuss the nature of their ethnicity. Then discuss Cohn's proposition as it relates to your chosen group or groups. Do your cases support Cohn's point, or undermine it?

You may choose groups we are reading about in the assigned readings, but you may NOT write a book report on the ethnic groups analyzed by Gladney or Nagel - you must carry out your own analysis.

7 or more pages.

First draft is due by Session 11. You will get your paper back on Session 13. Final drafts are due on Session 14.


Assignment 2

This assignment asks you to choose two, three or four films dealing in some way with ethnic / national identity. Write about one or two themes the films share. You should analyze some of the non-verbal images (e.g., cinematography, music) as well as dialogue and other textual material.

You may choose Hollywood, Independent (Indie), or foreign films. You may choose documentary films, but be warned, these are more difficult to work with. The films should be feature-length (90 minutes or more), but if you want to use a shorter one, see me and we can discuss it.

"Ethnic / national identity" encompasses all the topics we are addressing in this course.

A highly recommended approach is to look at films dealing with identical or similar themes produced at different times. Relations between Indians and whites depicted in Stagecoach could be contrasted with Broken Arrow, Little Big Man, and Dances With Wolves.

Note that films you choose do not have to be about actual ethnic and national groups. Science Fiction, the Horror movie, Animation, and Fantasy are also possible genres. Series like Star Wars or Star Trek contain material on ethnic and national identity, as do the two Lord of the Rings movies, as do lots of animated films about animals. Warning: while these movies are fun to watch, they will be somewhat harder to analyze.

Keep in mind that films are intentionally produced for consumption by people willing to pay money to see them. You might want to speculate about this aspect of films - how films are shaped to fit what the film industry thinks a mass audience wants to see, in order to make the most money. Also keep in mind that NO film is entirely accurate in its depiction, not even a documentary. Do not take these images and representations at face value - you are to view and analyze these movies critically.

Nor should you assume your understanding of the subject matter is accurate. Support all of your assertions about national and ethnic identity with references (or qualify them by saying things like "it has been my experience…"). That is, while drawing on your own intuitions and past experience about the material being presented is permissible, it is not analysis, and should play a minor role in your write-up. Again, let the reader know when you're doing this by saying something like "it is my impression that...".

After choosing your theme or themes, think about the assumptions, moral lessons, contradictions, and omissions in the films' treatment of these themes.  Remember that you are an anthropologist, not a judge or policy maker.  Your job is to analyze and interpret, not praise or blame.  But of course if a film moralizes about ethnic / national identity, you will probably want to analyze this aspect.

Remember: you are writing about images-about representations of ethnic and national identity in this area of popular culture (cultural production for mass consumption).

In your write-up do not re-hash plots, dwell on character development, or focus on the cinematic style.  This is not a film studies course.  Discuss plot or narrative style, etc., only when it's necessary to make a point about the film's treatment of ethnic / national identity.

You may use sources like film reviews; if you do, you must cite them in a bibliography.  If you're uncertain about how to do this, see us, and re-read the section on plagiarism in the beginning of the course syllabus.

You must watch the films you pick-don't rely on your memory of one you've already seen.

The best local video store for Indie and foreign films is Hollywood Express. The Cambridge Public Library (various branches) has a lot of videos and will obtain ones it doesn't have from a wide range of libraries in the greater Boston area if you request them with enough lead time. You can access these holdings on the Net. Video stores and libraries also have videos about films-for example, the history of the Western movie. The MIT Comparative Media Studies Program has a large number of films that students may borrow overnight for course assignments. There are also a LOT of books and articles about film in the Humanities Library that you can consult if you aren't sure what films you want to pick. And of course archives of publications like the Boston Globe, Phoenix, NY Times, etc., contain film reviews.

7+ typewritten pages.

Handed out: Session 11
Films chosen: Session 14
Due: Session 17
Handed back: Session 19
Second draft due: Session 20


Assignment 3

Until the end of the 20th century ethnic and national identity were supposed to diminish in importance, a consequence of globalization, transnational forces (e.g., labor migration, refugees), the development of supra-state institutions (the U.N., the European Union), and the spread of modernity throughout the world.

Clearly this prediction was wrong. Write a paper about some of the reasons why.

Choose one of the processes we have examined in this course-for example, multiculturalism, new social movements based on ethnic and national identity ("identity politics"), culture and heritage recovery projects, the disturbing increase in ethnic/national/religious conflict. Any of the processes that foster the maintenance (or emergence) of strong ethnic/national sentiments and behaviors can be chosen. After you have chosen a process, choose several cases as illustrations and begin formulating the arguments you will present. Clearly the cases you choose will be intimately tied to the kind of arguments you make. Some of your cases can come from class readings, but not all of them.

You should not write a paper analyzing all or even most of the ways ethnic and national identity have failed to wither away as predicted. Such a goal would require writing an entire book. Clearly, choosing a process you are able to analyze skillfully, and choosing appropriate illustrative cases are crucial to achieving the purpose of this assignment: to help you sharpen your skills at presenting a cogent, convincing argument.

Although you may pick cases from around the globe, your chances of writing a paper that holds together are better if your cases are located in one or two geographical areas.

Example #1:  Examination of ethnic and national identity in 3 or 4 (or more) Caribbean countries, looking at the development of an ideology of pluralist nations.  This paper might discuss how in this region the notion of "nation" has been de-coupled from its usual meaning of a single "people."  Your conclusions would not claim to speak for the entire Caribbean area, but you certainly could suggest some generalizations that would likely emerge from additional research.

Example #2:  The rise of ethnic/national identity in the former Soviet states in the Baltic region.

There are hundreds of possible topics.

If you plan on revising this paper, the first version must be handed in by Session 19, and will be handed back on Session 20.

The final version of the third paper is due on Session 24 in class.

7+ pages

We will discuss your choices on Session 17.