Ignatieff and Scott: Individual and Group Identity
Rough Draft: due Thursday, March 5 at the beginning of class. 3 FULL pages (at least one line on the 4th page). Bring two copies to class for peer review.
Final Draft: due Thursday March 12. Your final draft must be 4 FULL pages (at least one line on the 5th page). Submit your rough draft and final draft with peer reviews in a folder with your name on the outside of it.
For your second paper assignment, I would like you to use the evidence from the Scott and Ignatieff readings to explore the relationship and tensions between one’s sense of oneself as an individual and one’s participation within a collective identity or group. [unique_solution]
In other words, What is the relationship between individual and group identity?
Before writing your paper, you may consider the following questions:
Does belonging to a group support a person’s sense of self as an individual or work to suppress or inhibit it because of the need to conform? Does it matter if group belonging is voluntary (chosen) or not? If group identity is relational and therefore fluid (as Ignatieff suggests), what are the bonds within a group (between group members) made of? What are the consequences to the individual when the group’s values or ideologies do not do not match the individual’s expectations or experiences? Is it possible to value the self and one’s own groups without devaluing those who do not belong?
Your essay should not attempt to answer all of these questions. Rather each question offers one possible way to approach the larger assignment question. You may choose to use any one of these questions as a starting point.
Suggestions as you prepare to write your rough draft:
- First, stay away from the five-paragraph essay format taught in high school writing. Your argument should develop a new claim in each paragraph and support it with textual evidence.
- Each body paragraph should begin with a claim and then involve direct evidence (cited quotations) from at least one reading that supports that claim. Try to use quotes from two authors in a body paragraph at least twice in this paper.
- All papers are to follow MLA format guidelines. MLA is more than just “citation” formatting, but the structure of the entire paper: 1inch margins on all sides, 12 pt. font, etc. Consult your citation handout or me for any questions. Also, remember the sample paper on Blackboard is a resource and reference.