Student Blogs

Blog Project

For this course, students will be responsible for maintaining a blog throughout the semester on the course website. Students will be responsible for posting 3 original blog posts. The first and second blog posts will be worth 100 points each. The third blog post will be worth 200 points. Students will answer a prompt (listed below) for each blog post. The goal of each post will be to engage creatively and analytically with concepts learned from the readings and lessons.

All blog posts must be well-written, well-supported with evidence from the reading and lessons, and well-edited by formal college writing standards including citations. Each post must also have a strong thesis statement in the introduction paragraph that clearly provides an answer to the prompt and lays out the direction of the blog entry. All evidence used must be cited to its source. When information is used from the class textbook, please cite as follows: (Kanstroom, Deportation Nation, page number). When information is used from the lessons, please use the source citation provided in the slides (if any). If no source is cited in the slide, please cite as follows: (“Title of Slide,” Lesson Number).

Blog Post #1

Prompt:

Consider Kanstroom’s argument that there are two basic types of deportation laws (hint: see pages 4-5 in the textbook). First, explain these two types of deportation laws. Second, using several specific laws and/or events from both Lessons 1 and 2, show how each law and/or event falls into one or both types of those deportation laws. Make sure to explain how and why a particular law or event falls into one or both types. It is not enough to say, for example, that “the Palmer Raids are an example of post-entry social control.” Your analysis must include why and how this is true using specific points from the readings and the lessons. Third, make an argument for whether understanding deportation laws using the lens of these two types is useful and explain why or why not.

Using as many of the key terms and concepts from Lessons 1 and 2 to craft a strong argument, create a blog post that addresses all three parts of this prompt. Your response should be at least 500 words in length. There is no penalty for exceeding the word count.

Blog Post #2

Prompt:

In chapters 3 and 4, Kanstroom traces the early formation of the modern deportation system and what he calls the “second wave,” where the early system was expanded and refined. Compare and contrast the laws, court cases, and events from Chapter 3 to the laws, people, and events in Chapter 4. In your argument, consider the following questions: What themes and ideas do both chapters have in common? Are there parallel or similar developments? In what ways do the developments in the two chapters differ from each other? Do you agree that the developments in Chapter 4 show an “expansion and refinement of modern deportation law”? Why or why not?

Using as many of the key terms and concepts from Lessons 3 and 4 to craft a strong argument, create a blog post that addresses most if not all the questions posed in this prompt. Your response should be at least 500 words in length. There is no penalty for exceeding the word count.

Blog Post #3

Prompt:

Kanstroom argues, “As a 100-plus years social experiment, the U.S. deportation system has caused considerable harm and done little demonstrable good. It is poorly planned, irrationally administered, and, as a model on which to base other enforcement systems, dangerous… In the end, the history of deportation law shows us how integral the removal impulse has been to our nation of immigrants” (p. 243, 246). In light of everything you have learned this semester, do you agree with both statements? Why or why not?

Using as many of the key terms and concepts from all the lessons of the semester (particularly emphasizing Lessons 5 and 6), create a blog post that addresses this prompt. Your response should be at least 1,000 words in length. There is no penalty for exceeding the word count.