Ethnic Studies 110, Spring 2008

Professor Ross Frank

Office: SSB 227

Phone: (858) 534-6646

Assignment:

Write a two page essay on the Acoma Origin Myth in the Ethnic Studies 110 Reader. The essay will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, April 10, 2008.

Use this opportunity to work on your writing in preparation for your second essay. Essay #1 will count for 10 percent of your total course grade. We will grade the essay for form and content, but all properly completed essays will receive full credit.

Guidelines:

Your essay should address the following themes:

How does the Origin Myth describe the relationship between the Acoma and the spiritual world?

How do the Acoma explain the origin of Europeans and differences between the Acoma and White world views?

Does the Origin Myth suggest that the Acoma experienced any of the types of acculturation mentioned in Spicer's article, "Spanish-Indian Acculturation in the Southwest?"

Please read carefully through the accompanying "Checklist for Better Writing."

Grading:

• You will receive a paper of your classmate's at the end of class on Thursday, April 10.
• You are to make comments and corrections/suggestions based upon grammer, spelling, the items listed on the "Checklist for Better Writing" (you can simply list the item number), and the arguments and evidence contained in the paper.
• You may assign a letter grade to this paper according to the following criteria:

1) How well does the paper address the questions asked in the guidelines section above?

2) Evaluate the arguments advanced and the evidence presented.

3) Assess the overall quality of the writing, both formally ( grammer, spelling, "checklist"), and as a means of clearly communicating ideas.

Please hand the graded paper in to me on Tuesday, April 15 WITH YOUR NAME NEXT TO THE GRADE.
I will hand back the papers on Thursday, April 17.

Note: In fairness to the other students in the class, I generally do not accept late essays except in extreme and properly documented circumstances. I am, however, willing to help to resolve difficulties that you might have with the essay or the deadline as long as you speak to me about the matter before the assignment due date.