americas creates uneven power dynamics W r i t i n g

Unit 2: Prisons and Latinx Studies Essay Prompt: Throughout this unit, we have been learning about U.S. imperial relationships with both Puerto Rico and Mexico, as well as how these asymmetrical dynamics have resulted in varied outcomes for different groups of people. Using the texts, videos, class discussions, and lectures from this unit, address the following question: How does the concept of U.S. empire help us better understand the conditions by which Puerto Rican and Mexican communities are racialized, policed, and criminalized?

This paper should be 3 pages double-spaced, 12-point font, formatted in MLA style. The page count does not include the bibliography. Please upload the essay as a Word document or PDF in Blackboard.

MLA Sample Paper

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Useful definitions for Essay #2:

How does the concept of U.S. empire help us better understand the conditions by which Puerto Rican and Mexican communities are racialized, policed, and criminalized?

EMPIRE- How U.S. foreign policy intervention in the Americas creates uneven power dynamics where the economic interests and development of the U.S. relies on the flow of goods, resources, & exploitative labor of racialized populations from “less developed” countries and/or territories.

How U.S. cultural influences and ways of life become dominant, urging people to disassociate from their cultural roots, ways of life, traditions, and community bonds.

The economic, political, and cultural realm become central points for imperial domination.

RACIALIZATION- Omi and Winant define racialization as “the extension of racial meaning to 1

a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice, or group” . Racial meanings attached to actions (i.e. to migrate), places (i.e. the caserios), or organizations, or the attachment of these meanings to a group of people (i.e. Puerto Ricans, Mexicans). This framework helps us to understand both structural racial inequality and everyday interactional discrimination.

CRIMINALIZATION- Turning an activity, social practice. etc. into a criminal offense. Turning a person or group of people into criminals.