Reading journals are intended to provide you space to reflect on the assigned readings, particularly as they relate to your own experiences and understandings of the course concepts. You can use them to flag questions, work through your thoughts about the readings, and process course concepts in relation to the world around you. They also provide the instructor and TAs a means for evaluating your engagement with, and the effectiveness of course content. Each entry should contain all the following: • Content: One or two meaningful quotes or paraphrased passages from the assigned works (be sure to cite them appropriately!), and a discussion of why you chose them, their relevance, and any other reflections you have on them. • Internal context: A reflection on the relationship between the week’s readings and both Ethnic Studies and other readings/concepts from the course. • External context: A discussion of the readings’ relevance to yourself and to broader social, cultural, and political issues or events. Reading journals are graded on a 10-point scale: • 9–10 – Covers all three points (content, internal context, external context) thoroughly and thoughtfully • 7–8 – Covers all three points adequately • 5–7 – Needs improvement; did not address all three components adequately • 3–4 – Insufficient; shows some effort, but doesn’t adhere to the guidelines • 1–2 – Little or no effort • 0 – Missing
