Overview
What are the lessons Martin thinks we can learn from studying the TVA?
In what sense did New Deal programs represent a new iteration of the racial bribe?
- What did you find most interesting about the reading?
- What remains unclear to you about the reading?
- Your answers should include the following three things:
1) Answers to the Reading Questions
Every week (generally on Friday) I will post a set of reading questions on Canvas. The core of
your notes should consist in an attempt to answer these questions in your own words
accompanied by page numbers in parenthesis that point to the parts of the reading from which
you are drawing your answers.
2) What did you find most interesting about the reading?
Please describe something you found interesting about the reading. This could be an idea, an
argument, a passage. This can be any aspect of the reading that you found interesting,
counterintuitive, or illuminating.
3) What remains unclear to you about the reading? Pose your doubt as an analytical
question.
The question can be about a concept, an argument, a passage or even a sentence you are
having difficulty understanding. You want to pose a question that can be answered through
further analysis of the text. Productive analytical questions identify issues that were not
sufficiently discussed by the author, ambiguities, contradictions, reasoning problems, or
unconvincing evidence or examples. You must preface the question with a short comment that
demonstrates that you have done the reading and thought carefully about the issue.
Example of an Unproductive Question 1: “I don’t understand why Marx states that
capitalism is necessary.”
[Note this isn’t even a question! It’s a statement. And it doesn’t invite comments or
discussion.]
Example of an Unproductive Question 2: “Marx states that capitalism is a necessary
stage of historical development. Why?”
[Better than the last question, but it is not prefaced by a comment that shows that
you’ve attempted to think through the issue.]
Example of a Productive Question: “Marx claims over and over again that capitalism is
based on exploitation. He argues that it alienates workers from what they produce and
from others. But on page XX he seems to praise capitalism and claims that it is
necessary. Why? This seems inconsistent to me. How can a system based on
exploitation be positive or necessary?”
If you feel confident about your understanding of the reading and don’t have any questions,
point out something you would like to know more about. For example, you might state - something like this, “Alexander doesn’t really pay much attention to the incarceration of the
small subset of people imprisoned for violent crimes. I’d love to know what her views are about
this population and what would constitute a more humane way of dealing with these type of
incidents.”
Expectations for the Answers
You are expected to write your answers without the assistance of AI technology. Remember,
you must copy-paste your answers onto the corresponding assignment tab in Canvas. Keep in
mind that these are short answers to questions, so your writing doesn’t have to be as elaborate
as it would be for a paper. If you prefer, you can answer the questions using bullet points, but
you must write complete sentences. Just try to be clear and answer the questions in a
straightforward manner. For more details about the expectations for this assignment, please
make sure you read the rubric (below) that will be used to grade your answers.