Objective: Students will critically analyze the film Selma and the assigned readings regarding the Selma march on Blackboard, the textbook and related class notes. A major goal of the assignments is to demonstrate how popular cultural representations of the past are interpretations by the filmmakers that reflect current day issues as much as past issues.
Essay Prompt: How is the film an important vehicle for helping us to understand the importance of the march at the time and in the present day? Your thesis responds to the prompt.
Guiding questions for analyzing the sources:
What importance did local citizens play in the march?
What importance did national organizations play?
What role did each one play in the events of March 7-25, 1965?
What was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s role?
Do you think anything would have happened without local activists?
Would a march like this have taken place and could it have captured the attention of the whole country without national organizations and the national media coverage they could command?
What role did President Johnson play in the Civil Rights Movement?
Why do you think the filmmaker chose to portray Johnson’s role differently from the historical record?
How can the lessons from the Civil Rights Movement that Selma addresses be applied to current conversations about racial profiling and police brutality?
What are some of the similarities/differences between Selma and Ferguson and what Federal investigations into the Ferguson police department have uncovered?
Technical Requirements:
1. Length: Paper should be approximately 3 pages. LATE papers will lose 1/3 of a grade per day late unless prior arrangements have been made. Maximum penalty equals one full letter grade.
2. Formatting: Please remember to number and include your last name on each page (full name on the first page). Papers must be double-spaced with 12-point font.
3. Citations: For each example, analyze how it supports your thesis statement. Cite the source in the text of the essay using MLA parenthetical references, whether you quote or paraphrase from the sources. A Works Cited page is also required. Sources not assigned may NOT be used.
4. PLAGIARISM = 0 POINTS ON ASSIGNMENT AND REFERRAL TO DEAN. Plagiarism results not only when you use direct quotations from other sources without citing the original author, but also when you paraphrase, use other’s ideas or theories and present them as your own without proper citations. If you are still not sure what plagiarism is, please ASK.
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