Spring 2012
SOWJ 2150
Class Meets in Cudahy 143 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:45
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides historic and contemporary perspectives on US immigration policies and on the characteristics and trajectories of immigrants to the US and their second -generation children. It looks at the social, cultural, and economic profiles and patterns of immigrants, refugees, and their children and the ways in which their lives are shaped by government policies, the communities that
Professor L. Cainkar
Dept. of Social and Cultural Sciences
Office: LaLumiere Hall, 359
Ph: 414-288-5714
Louise.Cainkar@Marquette.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 2-3
Some Wednesdays, by appointment receive them, and dominant discourses and contemporaneous ideas about race, culture, and assimilation. We reflect on how various proposed changes in immigration policy may affect immigrants and their adaptation to American society. This course is a service learning university community research partnership with the International Institute of Wisconsin. We collectively develop as a class an oral history protocol of questions based on course learning and then conduct in pairs and individually analyze one immigrant’s oral history. This intimate process of getting to know an immigrant provides fertile ground for critical reflection on one’s assumptions about immigrants and “others” in
American society. This course qualifies for a University Core of Common Studies diverse cultures credit.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Students will understand and be able to apply central sociological theories, concepts, and methods to describe and compare variations in U.S. immigrant experiences.
2. Students will be able to identify the assumptions and values that lie at the foundation of American immigration policies and understand some of their intended and unintended consequences.
3.Students will recognize that the immigrant and second generation experience is shaped by many factors, including federal policies; dominant ideas about culture, gender, race, and religion; immigrant human and social capital; and the local context in which immigrants live.
4. Students will be able to identify differences and similarities in communication, values, practices, and beliefs between their own culture and persons from other cultural backgrounds.
5. Students will gain a humanistic appreciation of the immigrant and refugee experience through the universitycommunity research partnership and the process of oral history research.
6. Students will critically reflect on their assumptions about immigrants and about the integrity of the varying social and cultural worlds in which they live.
Social Justice : Students completing this course you will have a deeper understanding of the complex issues involved in current policy debates pertaining to immigrants and their children. They will possess basic skills to articulate immigrant needs and strengths in a service environment. They will know the importance of local context and local activism to immigrant well being, while also understanding the ways in which current and proposed federal immigration policies and current understandings about “race” enhance or deny social justice.
COURSE TEXT
Immigrant America: A Portrait, 3 rd Edition by Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut (Berkeley: University of
California Press). 2006.
Additional required readings and handouts will be distributed or posted on the course D2L website.
ASSESSMENT
Immigrants and Their Communities 1

You will be graded based on: attendance, class participation, assignments, a mid-term exam, a second exam (not cumulative), and a final oral history project. The mid-term grade is based on the mid-term exam only.
Class participation
Assignments (Including Question Development)
10% Mid-term exam
20% Exam 2 20%
30%
Final oral history and analysis 20%
GRADING CRITERIA
Participation is graded for each class: +, /, or -.
+ Shows good familiarity with assigned reading and strong effort to understand and apply course material in class. Good contribution to discussions.
/
-
Shows some familiarity with assigned reading and some effort to understand and apply course material in class. Spoke at least once during discussion.
Did not show familiarity with assigned reading and/or did not show effort to understand and apply course material in class, or did not participate in class discussion.
Assignments will be graded +, /, or -. If submitted late they will be downgraded. I will provide feedback in faceto-face meetings. Please arrange to meet with me for feedback on your work.
+
/
Completed assignment and showed strong effort to understand and apply course material.
Completed assignment and showed some effort to understand and apply course material.
- Did not complete assignment and/or completed assignment but did not apply course material.
Final Grading for participation & assignments is based on a mathematical computation of scores as follows:
[This metric assumes all assignments are submitted on time.]
++:A [A/B between] +/:B [B/C between] //:C [C/D between] D /-: -- F [Deductions are taken for missing assignments.]
Extra Credit opportunities are welcomed. They may be announced by any class member with approval of the professor. Full 2pt. credit requires attendance and submission of a 2 page double-spaced paper explaining a relationship between the event and course material.
GRADING SCALE for Mid-Term and Late-Term Exams, as well as Final Grades
A: 93 – 100 AB: 88-92 B: 83 – 87 BC: 78-82 C:73 – 77 CD: 68-72
D:60 – 67 F:<60
A grading rubric for the FINAL Oral History paper will be distributed and discussed during class.
FINAL GRADES are computed on the above scale and interpreted as follows:
A = Indicates comprehensive mastery of course material; A/B = Between A & B.
B = Indicates high level of performance in meeting course requirements; B/C = Between B & C.
C = Indicates satisfactory level of performance; C/D = Between C & D.
D = Indicates lowest passing grade; F = Indicates failure.
General Rules
I will discuss any matters related to assessment, grading, and attendance in person (not on e-mail).
E-mail communications to me should be followed up with face-to-face communication.
Please do not send assignments or reports by e-mail.
Following two absences from this class, you must initiate a one-on-one meeting with me. Completing and passing the course will be contingent on fulfilling a mutual agreement made at this meeting.
PLAGIARISM
Please inform yourself about the definition and serious academic consequences of plagiarism
( http://www.marquette.edu/wac/neutral/WhatIsPlagiarism.shtml
). The College of Arts and Sciences states, “the college treats academic dishonesty as a serious violation of academic trust. It penalizes all students found to have engaged in such behavior.” See: http://www.marquette.edu/academics/regulations/acaddishonesty.html
. To learn how to avoid plagiarism, see, http://www.marquette.edu/wac/plagiarism/AvoidingPlagiarism2.shtml
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Immigrants and Their Communities 2

Oral History
An oral history, loosely defined, is the story of a person's life told orally. Oral histories can be autobiographical or biographical, as when one talks about the history of another person. Cultures around the world have used oral history as a device to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next. Many academic fields, such as
History, English, Anthropology, Sociology, and Education use oral histories to provide intimate, vivid pictures of people's lives (from a point of view) in order to develop knowledge in their respective fields. Oral histories are a great way to collect information about a person, a period in time, or a particular topic, depending on the interest of the oral historian. When you conduct an oral history, whether it is on someone you do or don't know, you will find that it brings a degree of intimacy with the interviewee. Historical records often lack the everyday experiences of people. Oral histories can provide information on how someone felt about a particular topic, on why he or she made certain decisions in his/her life, and on how historical events impacted personal lives. For all these reasons, oral histories are rich resource for scholars. Adapted from Source: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/oral_history.html
Immigrants and Their Communities 3

Class Schedule
T 17-Jan Introduction to the Course .
Perceptions of immigrants and immigration.
Probing your own history . No one in the US today is here in a way that is unrelated to
Th 19-Jan
American immigration history (including Native Americans). As you introduce yourself to your classmates and professor, talk about where you fit on the immigration story. How long have you or your ancestors been here? What do you know about your family history? Name two things that you would like to know about your family history that you don’t.
Service Learning Research Model
Global Overview Maps and Charts
Key Elements of the Immigrant Story: Variations and Commonalities among
Immigrants to the U.S.
Before class READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT, CHAPTER 1, “Nine Immigrant Stories”
Oral Histories in Summary form.
Assignment #1: Find 4 common themes/characteristics that are shared across these immigrant narratives and 4 themes/characteristics that vary across these immigrant narratives. Bring to class for discussion and then turn in.
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant based on this knowledge? **Post 2 questions on D2L before the next class.
T 24-Jan U.S. Immigration: Historical Timeline. Race, Policies, Numbers.
Th 26-Jan Immigration 101: Current US Immigration Policies / A Legal Typology of Immigrants.
T 31-Jan A Sociological Typology of Immigrants to the United States
Before class READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT, CHAPTER 2, “Who They Are and Why They
Come.” Context of Reception, Human and Social Capital, Legal Status
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
Th 2-Feb
Before class
Oral History as Selective Life Narrative. Applying the P&R Model.
READ “Nothing is Monolithic” Chapter 2 of Cainkar, Homeland Insecurity.
Assignment #2 Select 2 of these 5 oral histories and apply P&R’s theoretical typology to the immigrant generation. Where does the immigrant family fit on their three main categories of analysis?
What information is missing that you would need to know? What makes determining the category difficult? How are immigrant parents and second-generation children different when it comes to the typology?
T 7-Feb
Before class
Bring your responses to class for discussion and then turn in.
Contexts of Reception: Immigrant Communities and Immigrant Gateways
READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT, CHAPTER 3, “Patterns of Movement”
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
Th 9-Feb New Faces on Main Street (57 min)
Film & Discussion
At the turn of the 20 th Century, during the period of the Great Migration, immigrants settled mainly in large cities. Now they can be found just about everywhere. How does local context impact immigrant quality of life ?
T 14-Feb Oral History Question Development: searching for “good questions.”
Review of question development to date; question selection.
Immigration Policy: Barriers to Immigration; Grounds for Removal
Immigrants and Their Communities 4

Th 16-Feb
Before class
Occupational & Socio-Economic Mobility ; Human and Social Capital Factors
READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT, CHAPTER 4, “ Making it in America: Occupational &
Economic Adaptation” Individual Factors (high and low skill) and (social) Contexts of
Reception. Network-driven occupations.
Discussion Which types of immigrants tend to live in enclaves? Do small towns have enclaves? Is there a difference between enclaves in large cities and small towns? Think about the positives and negatives of ethnic enclaves versus mixed neighborhoods for immigrants and their children.
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
T 21-Feb The New Americans: The Mexican Laborer
Prepare for discussion in next class (see some questions to think about below).
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
Th 23-Feb Discussion of “The Mexican Laborer”
What do we know about Pedro Flores? Why did he come to the US? Where does he fit on the legal and the sociological typology? What human capital does he have?
What social capital did he utilize? What barriers to immigration did he face? How was his family received? How did Pedro’s life change once his family arrived? How did the family’s social context (neighbors, community) change when they moved? How do you see as the trajectory of the Flores children in American society?
T 28- Feb Non-Immigrant Visas and The Bracero Program
Film & Discussion: Excerpts from The New Americans: Dominican Baseball Players
& the American Baseball Enterprise.
READ “Mexican American History” by Jiminez. [on D2L] Before class
Th 1-Mar Mid-Term Review
T
Th
T 27-Mar
Before class
6-Mar Mid-Term Exam
8-Mar No Class – SPRING BREAK
T 20-Mar Refugee Policy and Refugee Resettlement
Sue Levy, Former Director, Wisconsin Bureau of Refugee Resettlement.
Th 22-Mar Mental Health/Physical Health of Immigrants and Refugees
Before class READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT, CHAPTER 6, “A Foreign World: Immigration,
Mental Health, and Acculturation”
Becoming American: Immigrant and Refugee Health
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant/refugee based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
The Second Generation
Generation.”
and Segmented Assimilation Theory
READ PORTES AND RUMBAUT Chapter 8 “Growing Up American: The New Second
The children of immigrants face challenges of race, place, and social class. What are their trajectories and what role do parents play in these?
Th 29 Mar
Milwaukee’s Refugees Today: Meeting with Milwaukee African Women’s Association
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant/refugee based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
Immigrants and Their Communities 5

T 3-AP
Before class
Gendered Issues and Immigrants
Film: Maid in America
READ “ Introduction” to Global Women by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Hochschild &
“Love and Gold” by Arlie Hochschild [posted on D2L].
The history of immigrants has largely been written as a male history, even though women have been the greater share of immigrants for decades. What (gendered) matters of importance may have been missed by this approach? Think about occupations, culture, food, nurturing, the home, and love.
Question development What questions might we ask of an immigrant/refugee based on this knowledge?
**Post 2 questions on D2L before next class.
TH 5-AP Easter Break
T 10-AP Meet our oral history research partners at the International Institute. Meet at ShaMu to catch
Service Learning shuttle.
Before class Go to the International Institute of Wisconsin web site for a briefing on what they do. http://www.iiwisconsin.org/
We will be presented an overview of the work of the IIW and have the chance to ask questions of the staff.
TH 12-AP Human Subjects Research Briefing Marquette University Office of Research Compliance.
What might be some human subjects vulnerabilities special to immigrants?
Review, Oral History Permission Forms.
!!SCHEDULE YOUR ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS!!
T 17-AP In class training in Oral History as a Method/Style of Interviewing
Oral History Analysis : Transcribing and Analyzing an Oral History .**
Th 19-AP Immigration Policies Today, New and Proposed
Assignment #3 Your are to select one of these new or proposed policies below and write a short paper that provides us with a 1) brief history of the movement to support such a policy, 2) arguments in favor of it, 3) arguments opposed to it, and 4) your perspective based on all of this information, explicitly informed by what you have learned in the class. The links below are provided only to get you started. You will present your findings to the entire class, followed by questions and debate among students. Be sure to reference your material.
The Dream Act: http://dreamact.info/
Secure Communities: http://www.suntimes.com/7106075-
417/deportation-policy-expected-to-draw-protests-from-angry-immigrants.html
Removing Birthright Citizenship: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/us/politics/05babies.html?pagewanted=all
Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants: http://immigration.about.com/od/immigrationbasics/i/Legalization.htm
T 24-AP
Th 26-AP
Immigration Policies Today, New and Proposed, Continued.
See April 19.
T 1-May
Exam 2.
Oral History Presentations: summarize, ask questions, get feedback.
Immigrants and Their Communities 6

T 3-May Oral History Presentations: summarize, ask questions, get feedback.
[Students signed up for later timeslots may end up presenting to me in private if class time runs out.]
Final Papers Due by 3pm, May 8th. A FINAL GRADE IN THE COURSE REQUIRES SUBMITTING
THE SIGNED PERMISSION FORM & AUDIO FILE ON A CD, DVD, OR FLASH DRIVE TO
PROFESSOR CAINKAR, per our agreement with the International Institute of Wisconsin.
** A guide sheet will be provided for your final paper.
Immigrants and Their Communities 7