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Racism
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What is Racism?

Racism is one of the most extensively examined subjects in academic writing, appearing across disciplines such as sociology, history, political science, literature, and criminal justice. It asks students to confront how systems of racial hierarchy are constructed, maintained, and challenged within societies. The topic is academically rich because it connects individual experience to structural power, requiring writers to analyze not only prejudice at the personal level but also how race shapes institutions, culture, and opportunity. Works like Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness appear frequently as literary entry points, while frameworks linking racism to sexism, classism, and heterosexism push students toward intersectional thinking about how overlapping identities shape lived experience in America and beyond.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Literary analysis essays examine how race and racism operate within specific texts, while historical and comparative essays trace how attitudes and policies have shifted across time, including the particular experiences of Arab Americans before and after 9/11 or the Chicano community's relationship with racial identity. Other papers take a sociological or policy focus, investigating racism within the criminal justice system, in educational settings, or in relation to the rise of multiculturalism. Some essays engage documentary sources and media to assess how race functions as a social construction rather than a biological reality.

A strong essay on racism establishes a clear, arguable thesis rather than simply asserting that racism exists or does not exist. Evidence drawn from specific historical events, legal structures, community case studies, or close textual analysis carries the most weight. Writers should avoid treating racism as a monolithic, unchanging force — acknowledging its evolving forms and contexts produces sharper, more credible analysis.

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Research Paper Doctorate

Racism and Modernity in American Literature: Faulkner, Toomer & Eliot

In the works of William Faulkner ("Light in August"), Jean Toomer ("Cane"), and Eugene O'Neill ("The Hairy Ape), the emergence of the theme of racism was illustrated as a social issue that was embedded in the daily…

Research Paper Doctorate

Ancient Egyptian Identity: African Origins and Race Debate

The controversy about the identity of the ancient Egyptians has been going on for generations, but only now that (everywhere in the world) Africans are achieving their much-delayed social and financial equity with…

Research Paper Doctorate

Free Speech vs. Civil Rights: Hate Speech on Campus

¶ … gay couple walks hand-in-hand across campus. A man driving by in a car sees them and shouts, "Fags!" A black student is working late at a local coffee shop. A professor from one of her classes comes in and tries to…

Poverty in Haiti: Political, Economic, and Social Causes

The research utilizes a case study of Haiti, a poor country in the Western hemisphere. The study looks into the causes and effects of poverty in Haiti and possible solutions. The dependent variable in this case is poverty while independent variables include the causes of poverty and other factors such as foreign aid, which can affect the situation both negatively or positively in Haiti.

Paper Doctorate

Nazi Anatomy Atlas: Ethics of Beauty From Atrocity

Using Michael Paterniti's "The Most Dangerous Beauty" as a source, these essays examine the artistic legacy of the Nazis. While it is difficult to determine how to judge Nazi artifacts, it seems reasonable to presume that one can appreciate their artistic beauty without diminishing the evil of the Nazis' actions. In turn, this more reasonable approach to historical injustice allows one to better come to terms with the Holocaust and understand what it means for humanity as a whole.

Research Paper Undergraduate

Culture Clash and Change in Doctorow's Ragtime

Ragtime is a novel that deals with change and some people's inability to deal with it. The author addresses this idea through techniques such as irony, signifiers f name and behavior, juxtaposition of dramatic difference between past and future, historicism (such as reducing celebrities to commonalities), and other metaphors that point to shiftiness of time. Ragtime is a novel with enduring meaning since change occurs constantly, all the time and its results lead into the same meaninglessness and feelings of angst that we see denoted in the novel. Many of the themes are still enduing factors. Prejudice, for instance, still exists, as does snobbishness, and parochialism. On the other hand, we have noble traits too that endure. An Evelyn exists in all generations. Ragtime is therefore a novel with enduring appeal which may be why it is voted one of the 100 of all American classics.

Paper Doctorate

Forgiveness, Psychological Stress, and Heart Disease Risk

forgiveness on human health. In its simplest form, the purpose of the study is to evaluate human psychological stress that might constitute a risk factor for heart disease. Further, the study will also evaluate the…

Paper Undergraduate

Toni Morrison: History, Memory, and Meaning in Her Novels

Toni Morrison Introduction What meanings can be attributed to the literary accomplishments of American author Toni Morrison? How does Morrison use history to portray her stories and her characters? How did Morrison become known as one of the premier African American authors in America? This paper delves into those issues and others relevant to the writing of Toni Morrison. What meanings are attributed to the works of Toni Morrison? Critic Marilyn Sanders Mobley – in her book Folk Roots and Mythic Wings in Sarah Orne Jewett and Toni Morrison: The Cultural Function of Narrative – writes that Morrison is a "redemptive scribe" (Mobley, 1991, p. 10). One of Morrison's missions is to "correct a cultural misimpression," Mobley explains. She references Morrison's explanation of the need for a writer to correct misimpressions about African Americans; "Critics generally don't associate black people with ideas. They see marginal people…" and figure that when they read about African Americans it will be "…just another story about black folks" (Mobley, 10).

Paper High School

Paris Is Burning: Drag, Identity, and Race in 1980s NYC

This paper is a critical review of the documentary Paris is Burning, a chronicle of the lives of black drag queens involved in the vogue-ing club scene of the 1980s. Through a question-and-answer format, the paper explores how the filmmaker attempts to present a nonjudgmental view of these marginal characters and give dignity to their lives.

Research Paper Doctorate

Bob Dylan: Poetry, Protest, and the Art of Songwriting

His poetry and song writing define Bob Dylan. He writes songs about protesting and religious themes. It is necessary to consider how the events in his life affected his music. Also Bob Dylan had other musicians that…

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