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Critical thinking is the skill and practice that lies at the center of Latinx Studies, and other Ethnic Studies fields along with Gender and Sexuality Studies. Generations of scholars, artists, and activists have invested tremendous time and effort to develop ideas, frameworks, and theories that aid you, me, and everyone to better understand prevailing power dynamics, the inequality and violence they produce, and what is needed to build and create a new, more equitable and just reality. Unit 3 represents a brief introduction to some of these foundational ideas, themes, and topics within Latinx Studies. The concepts and ideas we have covered both help identify the various frameworks and systems that have been used to manage and control Latinx people, while others have aided in our understanding of how Latinx people have responded to and confront the dehumanizing systems that seek to exploit, harm, and at times, kill them. Why have scholars, artists, and activists invested so much energy in the development and dissemination of critical ideas? Simply put, if we do not develop critical thinking skills and grow our ability to use and generate critical concepts, we then become more easily controlled and more willing to accept dominant narratives and the social inequality they produce. In short, without critical thinking, we almost always become the agents and maintainers of White supremacy, patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, fatphobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and class exploitation. One of the core commitments of this course is to provide you with the tools and analytical prowess to move in this world in such a way that you can be effective contributors towards the creation of a future where everyone is truly free, safe, supported, and protected. A world where there is no longer Haves and Have-nots, but one where there is only a We and an Us. In this paper, you are being asked to APPLY two of the concepts covered this semester to an issue/problem affecting Latinx people and communities. At least one of the concepts you use in your paper must be from Unit 3, the second concept can also be from Unit 3 or any of the other units from this semester. In your paper, you must demonstrate how the concepts you are utilizing deepen our understanding of the issue/problem (i.e., how do these ideas cause us to question or reject dominant explanations and arguments concerning the issue/problem), guide and inform thinking and action we can take that eliminates the problem/issue, or both. You are free to choose any sociopolitical issue or problem. My advice to you would be to choose an issue or topic you already care about. For example, if you are passionate about climate change and environmental destruction, then you could explore and critically analyze how climate change and environmental destruction/pollution specifically affect Latinx communities (e.g., what are Latinx people’s experience with environmental racism?). Another example is if you care about labor rights and workplace safety, you could then look at what are the most pressing labor/work issues for Latinx people. Remember, you ARE NOT meant to ONLY tell me about an issue or problem affecting Latinx people and communities, you are required to demonstrate how the concepts, theories, and frameworks you learned this semester help you understand this issue better and figure out what can or needs to be done to address it. Find below the possible concepts you can use in your Paper 2; remember you must choose AT LEAST ONE from the Unit 3 list and a second concept from either Unit 3 as well or from any Unit in the course. Unit 3 Concepts: (choose AT LEAST ONE, no more than two) Assimilation The mainstream Segmented assimilation Differential inclusion Alien citizen Failed assimilation Borders Borderlands Mestiza consciousness Machismo Feminism/feminisms Latina/Chicana feminism Chicana insurgent feminism Chicana liberal feminism Chicana cultural nationalist feminism Reproductive justice Sex positivity Fat positivity Respectability politics White comfort White gaze Toxic masculinity Purity and modesty Machismo Revolution/revolutionary struggle Queer/Trans liberation Intersectional politics Transphobia and homophobia Mass incarceration Criminalization Abolition/Prison abolition Crimmigration law Data gap Unit 1 & 2 Concepts: (choose NO MORE THAN ONE, and only if you choose just 1 from Unit 3) Latinx/Latine Race/Ethnorace Latinidad White supremacy Racial formation Racial project Racial despostism Racial democracy Systemic inequality Hegemony Black-White binary Settler colonialism Latin Americanization thesis Pigmentocracy Blanqueamiento Mestizaje Tri-racial system Anti-Blackness Anti-Indigeneity Latino racial innocence One-drop rule Internalized racism Soft segregation Social distance Pan-ethnicity Latinx/e/a/o vs. Hispanic Racialization Citizenship Legally White, socially non-White Campus climate Intersectionality Aggression Microaggression Microassaults Microinvalidations Microinsults To help you develop your essay, I have included below a list of questions that will help you identify the parameters of your paper and which two ideas from the semester would be well suited for interrogating the problem/topic you have chosen. This is not an exhaustive list, so there are other questions you could ask, but these are a good place to start. Please use the following questions as guideposts for developing your paper: What problem/issue, related to the experience of Latinx people in the U.S., do you want to analyze and write about? Explain in depth what this problem is, how it specifically effects Latinx communities, and what the dominant narratives/explanations are for why this problem exists or justifies collective inaction to solve it. Does the issue/problem effect all Latinx people in the same way or to the same extent? Are segments of Latinx communities differentially impacted because of gender, sexuality, immigration status, class status, disability, body size, religion, etc.? What systems of power and subordination cause and/or contribute to the problem/issue you are focusing on? How do they cause/contribute to the problem/issue? Are there Latinx political traditions/histories that might help us understand the problem/issue better? How does Concept #1 challenge dominant or commonly held understandings of this problem/issue? How does Concept #1 point to possible solutions to this problem/issue? What wouldn’t be possible to understand about the problem/issue without Concept #1? How does Concept #2 challenge dominant or commonly held understandings of this problem/issue? How does Concept #2 point to possible solutions to this problem/issue? What wouldn’t be possible to understand about the problem/issue without Concept #2? Although you will use these questions to guide the development of your essay, it is important that your paper include an appropriate thesis statement and transition sentences that link each paragraph. You should not write paragraph responses to each of the questions and just stick them together. Remember, your thesis statement is a sentence at the beginning of your essay (though not necessarily the first sentence or even in the first paragraph) that answers the main question in a short, concise, and argumentative way; that is, your thesis takes a position/makes a claim you will explore throughout. The other questions are meant to help you tease out and develop a broad and full answer to the main question. The basic formatting requirements for the essay are as follows: Length: 5 pages maximum, 4 pages minimum Font: Times New Roman Size: 12 Margins: 1-inch margins all the way around Double-spaced lines Put your name and the date in the upper right-hand corner (this part does not need to be double- spaced) Citations should be done according to the APA style-guide The works cited list at the end of the paper, does not count towards the length requirements of the assignment