There will be a brief reading assignment that will give the class a core theme to discuss for the week, but it is up to you how you will discuss and react to the reading. Below are some questions to get you started. They are meant as a starting place; you do not need to feel as though you should answer all of them. The idea is that you will find new ways to respond and react to texts that you read, apart from the more rigorous academic work you are doing with your research paper.

Reading assignment from Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers:

What is your reaction to MLK’s speech? Is it the same to read the speech as it is to watch him give the speech? What is the difference? In light of King’s speech, how do you react to Raspberry’s essay? Is it fair to pair these two texts together: King’s speech is famous and historical, and Raspberry’s is more contemporary (1990). King’s speech was given in 1963. How has this discussion about what Raspberry calls “black economics” changed? Does Raspberry treat the Civil Rights Movement fairly in his essay? How is he taking a more contemporary view of the situation? Raspberry’s essay itself could be considered a historical document because it was written more than two decades ago. What is the current situation? Have things changed from King’s time? From Raspberry’s time? From a year ago?

If you quote from the readings above, use quotation marks, and supply in-text citations with the author’s last name, date of publication, and page number. Note that the information provided there is not in APA format. If you use outside sources (for example, if you quote a news article), you need to use in-text citations and include reference list citations.

250 to 300 words