The goal of this final exam is to create a report centered on the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on immigrant communities.

The report will include the following sections:

    An introductory section presenting the most recent data on the pandemic for New York City, such as for instance, an update on the number of confirmed and probable cases/deaths, hospitalizations, and how the pandemic has affected different demographic groups. ***

    A section discussing the economic impact of the pandemic on immigrant communities.

    A section discussing the contribution of immigrants as essential workers, including immigrant health-care workers. The section will also identify the main reasons why immigrant workers are disproportionately vulnerable to the COVID19 pandemic.

    A section explaining why the infection rate for Hispanic communities is particularly alarming, and what is the impact of anti-immigrant policies/sentiment on the public health of immigrant communities (including the probability of premature death due to discrimination based on legal status in this connection, see Gilmores definition of racism, reproduced below).

    A concluding section explaining the need and potential contribution of an intersectional analysis which considers issues of ethnicity/race, class, nationality, and legal status to better understand the workings of the COVID19 pandemic. To complete this section, review the notion of intersectionality, which explanation was included in the guidelines for TOPIC IV (see: Weekly Announcement | Intersecting Oppressions, published on October 15; the guidelines for the assignment are included in the announcement).

    The reports will use the following definition of racism, taken from Ruth Gilmore:

Racism is the state-sanctioned and/or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death. (Gilmore 2005:247)

    Bear in mind that, as shown in the study materials, immigrant communities in NYC are very diverse. Also, be mindful the category Hispanic/Caribbean immigrant includes a significant number of Black people. 

*** Notice that the chart Case, Hospitalizations and Death Rates from the source COVID19 Data (NYC Health), which shows data on cumulative confirmed case, hospitalization and death rates by demographic group, has tabs corresponding to: Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Poverty and Borough.

Also, observe that the tab Race/Ethnicity includes three different graphs: cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. For instance, a comparison between the tabs Cases vis a vis Deaths shows that people who self-identify as Black/African American are dying at a higher rate (the number goes up), as opposed to people who self-identify as White (the number goes down).

FORMAT

    800-words (the required length does not include the quotes from the readings).
    In-text citations in the proper ASA format.
    An introduction, a main body (with the sections described above), and a conclusion.
    5 textual quotes, from 5 different sources.
    External sources are not allowed (including online dictionaries): answers will be based exclusively on materials listed in the Syllabus

IN-TEXT CITATIONS IN THE ASA FORMAT

    Essays that do not include in-text citations in the proper ASA format, will not be graded.
    Students will insert an in-text citation EVERY TIME INFORMATION FROM A SOURCE IS TAKEN, INCLUDING QUOTES FROM THE READINGS AND ALSO, WHEN PARAPHRASING.
    In brief: when we use information that belongs to someone else, to acknowledge authorship is an ethical duty.
    Students who plagiarize or do not state the used sources will not get a passing grade.
    For an in-text citation to be considered a proper in-text citation, it must include the author’s last name, year of publication and page number.
    In-text citations that do not include a page number will be considered incomplete and invalid.
    For of online sources, the paragraph number may be used to replace the page number as in (Heyaca 2020: paragraph 7).
    Quick Tips for ASA Style: https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/documents/teaching/pdfs/Quick_Tips_for_ASA_Style.pdf

READING IS ESSENTIAL

    Students will demonstrate that time has been dedicated to reading, thinking, and analyzing the social reality that surrounds them.
    To get a passing grade, students will have to demonstrate that they have taken the sources seriously and have devoted enough time to analyzing the materials.
    The reports will demonstrate a deep level of engagement with the study materials and the ability to create ideas/arguments based on the study materials.
    In other words, students will not summarize from the study materials. Students will create their own ideas, based on the study materials.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Ideas must be backed up in the materials listed in the Syllabus not on personal opinion or personal experience.

WORDING

The use of the expression illegal to refer to someone’s legal status is not allowed, for reasons all students should by now be aware of.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

    Amandolare, Sarah (et al.): Under Threat & Left Out: NYCs Immigrants and the Coronavirus Crisis: https://nycfuture.org/research/under-threat-and-left-out
    Batalova, Jeanne: Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-health-care-workers-united-states-2018
    Gelatt, Julia: Immigrant Workers: Vital to the US COVID-19 Response, Disproportionately Vulnerable: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/COVID-19-EssentialWorkers-FS_Final.pdf
    Jordan, Miriam & Richard A. Oppel Jr.: For Latinos and Covid-19, Doctors Are Seeing an Alarming Disparity: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/coronavirus-latinos-disparity.html
    Page, Kathleen (et al.): Undocumented US Immigrants and Covid-19: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2005953
    NYC Health: Covid-19: Data: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data.page

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

    Due date: Thursday, DEC 17, 11:59 pm.
    Exam will be posted in the Folder FINAL EXAMS (link: Forums | Discussion Board).
    Copy-paste your answers (do not attach the exam as a file copy pate the text in the message box as with the previous discussion forums).