Cultural Novel
Analysis Assignment
BBED 4538
The novel:
|
|
Zoboi, Ibi (2017). American |
Immigration |
This semester you will be reading a novel from a different
cultural perspective. You will choose
from one of over 20 published novels that are presented as options for this
class. The novel you select must be
from a different culture than your own.
There are many other examples from different cultures. Choose a novel from a culture that would be
most significant to your teaching/learning experience if you can.
The purpose of this is to familiarize yourself with a new
culture through cultural reading. Each
of these novels presents a first-person perspective on a particular culture,
usually about immigration or other issues related to being in a different
culture or having to experience culture shock.
It would help if you read the novel for enjoyment, but also with the
lens of a different cultural perspective and what that would mean for students
from that culture trying to attend school in Illinois.
In addition to reading the novel, you will need other
cultural perspectives/information about the culture. Feel free to use one of these references (see
below) to learn more about the culture.
You should also use Google Scholar or EBSCO to search for
relevant research materials related to the culture. All references must be listed on a reference
list at the end of your paper, including the novel and the class textbook. Any reference to any information source
(whether direct or indirect) should also be cited using an appropriate form for
in-text citations.
You should have at least two references (the novel and a
scholarly article – defined as having at least ten different references (listed
at the end) cited throughout the document).
You may also cite any materials used in class or below. These will not count toward the required two
references.
As you are reading the novel, be sure that you can answer
the following questions as they relate to students from this culture and
culture in general.
1.
How would individual
experiences of the student relate to their success in school?
2.
How does acculturation
affect learning?
3.
What challenges does the
protagonist experience, and how would those relate to her/his schooling?
4.
What does research (from
the textbook or other source) say about the instruction of culture; how does it
relate to the culture of the student in your story?
5.
How would you express the
difference between the home/school culture for the protagonist?
6.
What cultural assets might
the student bring to the classroom setting?
7.
How would your personal
beliefs and cultural and socioeconomic background relate to this cultural
experience? Include a reflection on your
visceral reaction to the story and how it may have changed your opinions of
this culture.
8.
What challenges might be
brought from the student’s peers or teacher vis a vis prejudice or stereotyping?
Along with the items mentioned above, make sure you spend a
significant portion of your analysis paper reflecting on your personal
experiences, previous expectations regarding this culture, and what you have
learned from the experience of reading.
Relate any experiences you may have had with people from this culture
and how you might better understand your interactions resulting from this
experience.
The paper will be 1000 words, double-spaced and in APA 7
format. See the Purdue University Online
Writing Lab for more information on how to write in APA (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html). You will be expected to have a title page,
the main body, and a reference page for this paper.
(I AM A MIDDLE EASTERN/ARAB) Please consider that.