Considering histories of scientific racism, explain the refutation of biological race in anthropology today and discuss the assertion that, while race is not biologically determined, it ‘becomes’ biology.
!!!PLEASE WRITE A CRITICAL PAPER FOLLOWING THE BELOW GUIDELINES!!! PLEASE READ ALL THE RESOURCES ATTACHED AND USE THEM IN THE PAPER WITH PROPER CITATIONS (as mentioned in the guidelines)!!! NO PLAGIARZIM IS ACCEPTED!!!
Write a critical paper on one of the following three prompts:
1. Considering histories of scientific racism, explain the refutation of biological race in
anthropology today and discuss the assertion that, while race is not biologically
determined, it ‘becomes’ biology.
2. Explain Mauss’ concept of body techniques and, using at least two examples, discuss the
idea that such techniques are not miscellaneous.
3. Explain Good’s critique of empiricism and, using at least two examples, discuss the
problem (of, if you like, problems) of ‘belief’ in medicine/anthropology.
4. Explain and discuss the relationship between Cartesian dualism and the separation of the
body from the sociocultural world when it comes to the treatment of disease.
5. Explain the concept of stigma and, using at least two conditions as examples, discuss the
relationship between health and morality in a cultural context of your choice (specifying
time and place).
Technical guidelines:
Submit to Canvas under Assignments as a .doc, .docx, .rtf, or direct text submission only (do not
submit a .pdf or .pages document, convert this first if needed). Due before 11:59pm on 11/14.
Your paper should be 2,000 words +/– 10%, not counting titles or your Works Cited. You will lose
partial points for writing less than 1,800 words or more than 2,200 words.
An original thesis statement is welcome but not necessary. No original title is necessary (including
the prompt as the title is fine). Formatting is up to you (font size, spacing, etc). 12pt, Times New
Roman, and 1.5 or double spaced is a good go–to.
Papers will be graded based on how well they respond to the chosen prompt, taking clarity,
consistency, the use of evidence, and adherence to these guidelines into account.
Things to keep in mind:
This paper is very different from the Letter assignment. A critical paper utilizes your own
analytical voice and style but is not a personal essay or an opinion piece. You may use first–person
(‘I’ statements) if you like. You should avoid value judgements along lines of liking or disliking
texts, and when you make a statement like “It is clear that” or “I believe that,” always ask: have I
backed this statement up?
The paper should interpret and analyze texts, evaluate the arguments of authors, and formulate a
response to the topic chosen which is clearly supported by evidence. Providing counter–arguments
is useful in showing that you have considered multiple viewpoints.
Be sure to fully address all aspects of the prompt you choose. You are welcome to bring in
whatever examples you see fit but remember that you should show evidence of having read and
understood the course readings that you utilize in your paper, and your paper should show some
engagement with content discussed in lectures.
Though prompt 5 is the only one which asks this specifically, you should always be clear about
the cultural contexts you are referring to in your written work, meaning you should specify the
general location and time periods you are referring to. For example, if you are talking about the
U.S. in the contemporary, say so in the paper. You should not be referring to e.g. “our culture” or
“in this society” without an explanation of what that means.
Please reference at least one of the required readings from class in your paper. You should cite at
least 5 sources total, referring to them in the text and including them in your Works Cited. The
recommended readings should also be helpful here. Feel free to cite these as sources along with
others you may find.
Please make sure at least 3 of your sources are academic sources (books or journal articles). You
are welcome to also cite news/online articles, including but not limited to the ones we read in class,
but be careful in selecting web articles based on quality. Note that you risk losing points if you
focus too heavily on secondary sources to make your arguments in the paper.
In looking for sources, check out the recommended readings and links in the slides, as well as the
UCI library catalog (in addition to Google Books/Scholar). Adhere to all posted guidelines around
citations (and remember: never cite or plagiarize from Wikipedia – if you use Wikipedia for helpful
background info, check out the sources it cites and refer to those instead for more info).
The style of your citations is up to you (e.g. MLA, Chicago, Harvard), but they should be
consistent, and you should generally use page numbers (or ‘n.p.’ for no page) if you use direct
quotes within the text.
In the Works Cited, you should normally include the author(s), date, title, publication the text can
be found in (e.g. the name of a book the chapter is in, the name and issue of the journal an article
is in, the name and issue of the newspaper an article is in), the total pages of the cited text (if
applicable), and the publisher and location (if a book). Most styles require you to include a link
for web sources, if you use a news article or journal article that can be found online.
Examples of an in–text citation:
• Kessler (1990) discusses how gender norms influence the medical management of sex.
• A system of binary gender categories does not allow for “express[ing] gender identities in
diverse ways” (Christiansen and Fischer 2016: 7).
Example of full citation of a journal article:
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989). “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black
Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.”
University of Chicago Legal Forum 1:8. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/is…
Example of full citation of a chapter in a book:
Christiansen, Lars and Nancy Fischer (2016). “Working in the (Social) Construction Zone,” in
Introducing the New Sexuality Studies. Ed. Steven Seidman, Chet Meeks, and Nancy Fischer. 3rd
Edition. p. 3–11. Routledge: New York.
Grading Rubric:
The categories below outline the expectations of papers within the specified grade ranges. Your
adherence to the guidelines set out for the assignments (provided on Canvas) will also be
factored into your grade. You may lose points for issues with citations, length, and scope.
29–30 points (A+): An excellent response which is clear and insightful, showing a deep
understanding of the prompt and evidence introduced, with very few if any noticeable issues.
27–28.5 points (A– to A): A very good response which demonstrates an understanding of the key
concepts invoked in the prompt. This response likely needed to go just a little further to
demonstrate its points, or contains a minor factual error or two, or lapse in clarity.
24–26.5 points (B– to B+): An above–average response which shows an understanding of the topic
and the concepts written about and has significant potential. This response may lack the nuance
required of an A–range response and/or contains a few minor factual errors or unclear statements.
21–23.5 points (C– to C+): A satisfactory response which reflects a general understanding but does
not quite show a true grasp of the concepts at hand. This response may contain two or more
explanatory errors, and/or has some strong analytical moments accompanied by unclear tangents.
18–20.5 points (D– to D+): A response which partly or mostly addresses the topic, but lacks clarity
and/or relies on illogical arguments or opinion. It is either entirely vague or contains several
explanatory errors which affect readability.
15–17.5 points (F): A failing response. This response is extremely minimal, does not address the
topic at hand whatsoever, or attempts to address it but completely misses the mark.
0: Not submitted or plagiarized.
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