Here are the first Essay 3 thesis drafts we came up with during Wednesday’s workshop. I’ve typed up what you wrote on the board so we won’t forget. We’ll refer back to these and try to improve them!

Remember the original “fill-in-the-blank”: In Citizen, Claudia Rankine does _____ to show ______ about American racism. You should fill in the first blank with a specific device or feature from Citizen. Then, fill in the second blank with the larger significance of this device or feature for our understanding of the text as a whole.

Here’s what you came up with:

1) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses Mary Catherine’s comments about having white features to highlight micro-aggressions and white normativity in our society.

2) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses second person to show stereotypes.

3) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine highlights the casual racist tendencies of white people to show that racism is rampant and subtle.

4) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses certain situations to depict racism and how people of color don’t receive the help they seek.

5) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses aggressive language to show the arrogance and ignorance of white characters.

6) In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses Serena Williams’ experience to show how she was being thrown against a “white background.”