Hearth Writing Assessment

Hearth Writing Assessment (limit 2 pages or 900 words [insert at end of paper])

Describe how your cultural hearth has been affected politically, and/or economically, and/or culturally because of colonialism or imperialism.

Suggested structure of essay (IF you choose all three topics):

Paragraph 1: Brief history of your hearth’s colonial experience. Thesis statement (last sentence in introduction) should state something like: “________________ has been negatively (or positively) affected economically, politically, and culturally because of the lingering effects of colonialism (or imperialism).

Paragraphs 2-4: Structure the body of your essay in a logical division of topics. For example, you could write a paragraph addressing the changing of political borders and its effects on the peoples; another paragraph could analyze the economic effects. For example, Haiti has never recovered from the huge financial debt it was forced to pay to the French after independence, and this has had a grave impact on the country’s economy. The last paragraph of the body could address any cultural aftereffects of colonialism. For instance, whenever foreign military bases are present in a colony, those military personnel usually interact with the natives resulting in cultural diffusion.

Paragraph 5: Your conclusion should summarize your body (not a repetition, but paraphrasing of findings). You should take a stand on whether or not colonialism was good and/or bad for your hearth. (Remember, there can be positive and negative effects.) You could also address any questions raised by your hearth’s current situation in terms of colonialism or imperialism.