Human Sexuality

Soc./Psych. 160, Fall 2003

Killing the Black Body Essay Assignment #2

 

Due: Week of November 17th IN YOUR SECTION

 

Length: 4-5 pages (no more than 2000 words), typed, double-spaced, in 12 pt. Times New Roman or similar font, black ink only, 1” margins (we mean it!)

 

Grading Scale: worth 50 points

 

The goals of this paper are: (1) to teach you how to follow an argument through a text, and (2) to learn how to take an author seriously, on their own terms.

 

What to Do:

1.      Read all of Killing the Black Body.

2.      Choose ONE of her three central theses that she outlines on page 6. They are (don’t say we’re not nice):

·         “Regulating Black women’s reproductive decision has been a central aspect of racial oppression in America”

·         “The control of Black women’s reproduction has shaped the meaning of reproductive liberty in America”

·         “We need to reconsider the meaning of reproductive liberty to take into account its relationship to racial oppression”

3.      You would do well to recall that these three arguments relate to her later premise that, “Reproductive freedom is a matter of social justice, not individual choice”.

4.      From any one of Chapters 1-3 pick one point and outline how it supports the thesis that you’ve chosen (that is, your one point can be from ANY of these three chapters).

5.      From each of the remaining chapters (Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7) pick one point and outline how it supports the thesis that you’ve chosen (that is, you will have to pick 4 points, one from EACH of these chapters).

 

Some Friendly Suggestions:

  1. The point of this paper is for you to demonstrate that you can follow an argument through a text. This means that you need to show us that you’re able to identify points that are used to support a thesis. So make sure to do this.
  2. This is not really a paper where you evaluate Roberts; it’s a paper where you show how Roberts makes the arguments she does. This paper should answer the questions: What kind of evidence does Roberts draw on? and How does this evidence help support the thesis you’ve chosen?
  3. If you want to critique Roberts (not necessary), MAKE SURE you don’t pick her weakest points. That is, good critiques take author’s strongest points and show how they are problematic. Bad critiques take author’s weakest points and show how they are problematic. Don’t construct a straw man and beat the crap out of it, or we’ll beat the crap out of your paper. And remember, you don’t have to do a critique; if you do, proceed with caution.