The midterm exam will consist of a 5 to 7-page essay in which students will highlight the ways race was constructed up until the Civil War. The successful essay will include the ways in which domestic developments within the U.S. contributed to the erection of the race concept and how these patterns were influenced by patterns around the globe. As such, students will examine American and non-American events, ideas, and figures discussed in this course which were vital in constructing racial ideas and categories. The paper will require students to discuss two of the three major lenses raised in the course and show how important events, ideas, and figures from America and around the globe contributed to the idea of race. In addition to the standard expectations of an academic essay (Introduction, Body, Conclusion, and bibliography) students must incorporate only assigned primary and secondary sources for this assignment.
