Welcome to My Class

Essay #2: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl

Over the past few weeks, we have read several articles on issues of cultural identity including:

	“Recitatif”
	“Is There an American Tribe?”
	“They’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”
	“The Eye of the Beholder”
	“Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?”
	“I Want to Be Miss America”

In our class discussions, we have paid particular attention to the notion of America as either a “melting pot” or a “salad bowl.” A “melting pot” calls for assimilation – a society where cultural/ethnic backgrounds are deemphasized, and where everyone is simply “American.” A “salad bowl,” on the other hand, celebrates diversity, bringing various cultural/ethnic backgrounds side by side to complement, not fight against, one another.

Your Assignment

Write a paper in which you compare and contrast the “melting pot” and “salad bowl” views of America, and take a position on which view is a better fit for American society. Your paper should give a detailed description of what each term means, and should make an argument for one view or the other (or a combination of both), thoughtfully considering all sides of the issue. Be sure to support your ideas using examples from the text, and from your own personal experience.

Your paper should be approximately 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, in 12 point font, and in MLA format.

Following Are Some Questions to Generate Ideas:

	How are the images of a “melting pot” and a “salad bowl” significant for American society? When you throw ingredients into a melting pot, what happens? What do ingredients in a salad look like?
	What sacrifices does one have to make to live in a “melting pot?” What might be gained by making these sacrifices?
	What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a “salad bowl?” Can emphasizing diversity serve to divide instead of unite?

Due Dates

First Draft Due: Tuesday, March 8 at the beginning of class. (No late first drafts accepted) You will participate in a peer revision workshop on this day. Bring copies of your submission length draft for each of your group members, and one copy for me. You will also turn in your outline with this draft. Failure to turn in the above will hurt your grade, and will cause you to lose valuable feedback necessary for revision.

Second Draft Due: Tuesday, March 15 at the beginning of class. Turn in both drafts of your essay, along with the revision response forms your peers completed for you. Late second drafts will receive no credit, but I will give you as much feedback as I can in the time allotted. Failure to turn in a second draft will result in automatic failure of this course.

Expectations

I expect you to continue using the writing strategies we have talked about in class. Namely, I expect you to effectively use summary and narrative as tools for writing, to produce reader-based instead of writer-based prose, to create an effective working thesis, and to take the revision process seriously.