The beautiful struggle analysis

Spring 2019: History 173 – Essay Assignment: The Beautiful Struggle Ta-­‐Nehisi Coates’ memoir, The Beautiful Struggle, tells a story of two young black men growing up in West Baltimore during the 1970s-­‐1980s. This memoir has been called both a narrative of the challenges of African Americans in contemporary America as well as a story of achieving the “American Dream.” Purpose: This essay assignment is not simply a book review. It asks you to evaluate the book and integrate the knowledge you have gained from the course as a whole into a well-­‐argued essay. The assignment allows you to demonstrate your achievement of these three course outcomes:

• Identify critical themes and events in United States history since 1865 (SLO 1) • Apply historical knowledge and historical thinking skills to contemporary events (SLO 5) • Express ideas clearly and cogently in writing (SLO 7)

  Task: Read the book and take notes about important themes related to the course that are raised in the book. This essay has four requirements that should be incorporated into a single essay. Your essay should have an argument – a thesis in which you provide your analysis of the book and its meaning. Be sure to use evidence (examples, properly cited in footnotes or endnotes) from the book to support your argument. The following provides a general guide to this assignment. The questions are not inclusive, so you may choose to address some or all of them, as well as add your own. But be sure that you integrate course content into your essay about the book!

• Summarize the book: What is the memoir about? Who is the author and what was his life like growing up in West Baltimore? Provide an overview of the author’s experiences and insights.

• Analyze the book: Explain what this book tells you about America in the 1970s and 1980s. What were the historical factors that created a neighborhood like West Baltimore? Who lived there? What was life like then? What kinds of social, economic, and cultural forces were at play in creating the neighborhood that Coates describes? How does this neighborhood and its social life, as Coates describes it, reflect themes and events in the history of the U.S.? Is the book a story of achieving the “American Dream” and can anyone achieve it? Be sure to reference other course materials.

• Contextualize the book: Choose at least five passages from the book that address events, issues, or controversies of importance to the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Summarize the passages (or quote sparingly). Explain why you’ve chosen these passages and include references to other course materials.

• Assess the book: How effective is Coates’ memoir in helping you understand the U.S after the turbulent decade of the 1960s? Explain your reasoning.

  Criteria:

• Your essay should be a minimum of 1,200 words (five pages). List the word count on your last page. • Be sure you use (and properly cite) examples from the memoir, our textbook, and other readings and

activities. Format your citations using the Chicago Manual of Style, available here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/

• Your essay should be in 12-­‐point font, with one-­‐inch margins, double-­‐spaced. • Please submit your essay in a Word file (.doc, .docx), or as an .rtf text file, to the dropbox on BeachBoard

by 11:59 PM on Friday, May 3. • A grading rubric is in the Assignments folder. • For general guidance on book reviews, see: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-­‐and-­‐tools/book-­‐reviews/ • The History Department offers Writing Tutors available to assist you with basic writing tasks. They are

located in FO2-­‐101A Mondays-­‐Thursdays during business hours. I expect all students to visit the writing tutors. You must have a draft of your paper completed and bring this assignment with you when you seek their services.