133 AMST 55A-1
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in American Culture
Brown 316
M,W,TH 1:00-1:50 PM
Instructor: Dr. Jillian Powers
jpowers@brandeis.edu
Office: Brown 326
Office Hours: Monday 11:00 – 1:00, Wednesday 2:00 – 5:00
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
– The New Colossus
A Nation of Immigrants:
The United States is a country always in the process of becoming. Migrants transform communities and
regions requiring a reassessment of the cultural, educational and political institutions of our social system.
Because of this, immigration continues to be one of the most significant forces in American society today.
However, racial and ethnic migrants experience different advantages and disadvantages. Many important
stories and experiences are lost to the large brushstrokes of national memory and current approaches to
multiculturalism like “color blind racism” and “diversity happy-talk.” Therefore, entrenched metaphors
like the melting pot or tossed salad fail to capture how different social groups fared in America at
different historical moments.
In this course we focus on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class to understand contemporary
and historical immigrant experiences. Designed to provide students with a multidisciplinary overview of
race, ethnicity and immigration in American Culture, we will examine sociological trends, historical
material, written and oral first-hand accounts, and popular texts and objects in order to include and
examine the variety of experiences so often overlooked in the larger national conversation about
immigration.
We will use critical theory, intersectionality, and the disciplinary foundations of ethnic and
American studies to reflect on the unique experiences as well as similarities between immigrant
communities/cohorts to understand the processes of becoming American and the possibilities for future
assimilation and integration. We will use these skills to direct our critical eye upon our own immigrant
narratives. We will examine how not only the views of immigrations have changed, but also how America
itself has evolved. We will spend our time together asking; how does one become American? What does
it mean to become American? How does that look in different eras and for different populations? How do
immigrants transition and transform? What is the immigrant experience like and how does that relate to
an American national identity? And, finally, how does the history of immigration in the U.S. inform our
present and influence our decisions as a culture, nation, and as an individual?
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
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-
Utilize scholarship in American Studies and other disciplines to construct and support your own
arguments about immigration, race, and ethnicity
Make connections between theory and everyday life
“Read a text” by utilizing a variety of approaches and representations of race, ethnicity, and
nationality
Recognize and articulate more nuanced representations of immigration, race, and ethnicity and
move beyond binary arguments
Improve critical reading and writing skills
Course Requirements:
1. Complete all readings and actively participate in discussions
2. Daily memos on course material
3. Immigration Op-ed
4. Family immigration story
5. Thanksgiving ethnographic essay
6. Family interview and essay
7. Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in Popular Culture Essay
8. Final Paper (plus revisions)
10%
10%
5%
5%
10%
10%
10%
40%
Participation, attendance and classroom engagement: Readings are to be completed before the class
period for which they are assigned. Attendance is a crucial aspect of class and you are expected to come
prepared, ready to engage, and willing to participate in a respectful and thoughtful manner. Three
unexcused absences will result in the deduction of a whole letter grade from your overall score (An ‘A’
will be reduced to a ‘B’). Five or more unexcused absences, you fail the course. Please send me an email
if you are unable to attend class by 10 AM that morning. There will be an attendance sheet passed out
each class period. You are responsible for signing only your name on the attendance sheet.
Memos: For each class period you will draft a short outline of the material covered to help facilitate class
discussion. Summarize the main objectives/research questions/scholarly perspectives, methodologies, and
findings and conclusions (to the best of your ability) and draft a few thoughtful questions or concerns to
discuss in class. These are supposed to be rough and will not be graded for style or writing – use these to
work on your comprehension and to pose questions that intrigue you or confuse you. If you focus on what
you find most intriguing and what you find most confusing, you will come to class prepared and ready to
engage.
Each memo should be about a page. Make sure to write the date and your name on each submission.
Email this to me by MIDNIGHT the night before class. Throughout the semester you must submit 20
memos—use your free days wisely. It is your responsibility to keep track of your memo tally—any
missing memos will negatively influence your grade.
Opinion/Oped on Current Events: Write an Op-ed or opinion piece to be submitted to a campus, local
or national newspaper of your choosing. Document your observations and reflections on a contemporary
issue of immigration and ethnicity and race (not covered on the syllabus) related to the themes and
readings in this course (immigration debates, current discussions of race in the media, local communities
and assimilation). I welcome all of your interests and thoughtful commentaries as long as they directly
discuss issues or race, class, ethnicity and immigration. Use the readings and classroom discussions to
shape your op-ed. These should be polished and structured. 750 words. Rough Draft Due October 15th.
Final Draft due a week after comments have been returned—provide proof of submission.
Some Guidelines
- Assess the merits and drawbacks of a policy and analyze the possible consequences. Are the
consequences equal across, race, gender and other social status factors like class (or disability,
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sexuality, etc.)? Do policies like this perpetuate inequalities? Remember to be mindful to the
matrix of domination!
- You can be for or against this policy or proposal. You will not be graded on your position but on
your ability to craft an argument and construct your position using facts and data.
How to Write a Letter to the Editor:
First, look at recently published letters in the newspaper of your choosing to understand how to format
and write your letter.
- Address the letter as “Dear Editor”
- Begin by writing your interest in the issue.
- Write 2-3 sentences validating your interest/reason for writing this letter. These may be facts and
data that highlight the intensity and importance of this issue.
- Use the next few paragraphs to expand: flesh out the facts, and give some of your personal opinions
(it is ok to have “I” in your letter).
- The body of the letter should explain your position with information and further detail
- Conclude your letter by restating your position and briefly review your reasons.
- Remember to include your name and contact information.
- Proofread and make sure your paragraphs are well organized and flow nicely.
Family Immigration Story: What is your family immigration/migration story? 1-5 pages. Due
September 4
Thanksgiving Ethnographic Essay: Refer to the readings on Thanksgiving and the work we have done
up to this point. First describe in detail your thanksgiving meal, how it is prepared, who are the major
players, etc. How does your Thanksgiving celebration relate to a national American identity/an immigrant
identity? How do we know this? What details can you share that show this? 5 pages. Due Monday
December 1.
Family Interview & Essay: Interview someone in your family about your family immigration story. First
conduct the interview. After you have transcribed the interview, analyze the data and write an essay
describing their version of this story and how it relates to the story you shared in the beginning of the
semester. Do you see any differences/similarities? Why? What moments or memories does this person
focus on and what larger narratives of immigration and immigrant assimilation/the immigration
experience do they speak to? 5 pages. I suggest doing this early! Due December 4.
Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in Popular Culture Essay: How have immigrants and racial
minorities been used as subject matter in American popular culture? What contexts are these groups
depicted? In this assignment first present then examine a piece of popular culture relating to the
immigrant experience and race and ethnicity. What is this about, why is it significant? What larger
narratives, metaphors, images are being presented and displayed and for what ends? Think of issues of
power and privilege, who has power in these examples? What privileges go unnoticed? How does your
own subjectivity influence your reading of this cultural object? After these are collected, as a class we
will vote and chose one and view it together. Be creative in your choice and concise and clear in your
writing. 1-5 pages. Due Friday, October 24. Place in LATTE Forum so everyone can access.
Final Paper: Revisit your family’s immigrant or migration story and ground it in the historical moment
taking into consideration the intersection of race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Use outside sources, your
thanksgiving analysis, the interview, and do some historical digging of your own. Use at least 3 outside
academic peer-reviewed sources (journal articles, books, etc., if you are in doubt as to what “counts,” ask).
You can approach this in any way that inspires you. How does history, migration, identity, memory and
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American myth play into your personal story? What memories and processes of socialization reflect your
niches or minoritized spaces, how do you and your family interact with these memories and narratives?
How does time, space, and place interact in the representation of your migration/immigration story? How
do history and present immigration realities influence your narrative? Your paper must:
1- Ground your story in the historical moment
2- Show by providing “thick description” and detail
3- Analyze the particulars of your family story and critically engage with those examples of “thick
description”
4- Be well written. Expand upon your family story with data and numbers; create an insightful
final product by paying attention to voice, context, and complexity. Further details will be
discussed in class. 10 pages. Rough draft (optional) December 12, Final Draft Due
December 19th.
5- Have a works cited page complete with 3 outside academic sources (along with any course
material you find useful).
The final paper will be graded on the following criteria:
- Organization and fluency of written work
- Strength of argument
- Attention to detail, and accuracy of facts provided
- References from readings and other sources, properly cited
Late Policy: NO LATE COURSEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. All coursework must be completed on
time unless we have come to an agreement before the due date, nothing will be accepted after the last day
of class.
Evaluations
Your final grade will be determined by your performance on the above requirements. All assignments
will be graded on a standard scale of 0 to 100 (except the memos).
The final grade will be given using the letter grade system standard at Brandeis University. The table
below shows how the numeric grades will be converted into letter grades:
97-100
93-96
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
below 59
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
University Policies
Academic Accommodations: If you are a student who has academic accommodations because of a
documented disability, please contact me during the first two weeks of the semester and give me a copy
of your letter of accommodation. Federal law and university policy require provision of reasonable
accommodation for students with diagnosed learning disabilities that may affect how they participate in
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the class or meet class requirements. I encourage students who believe they need such accommodation to
contact the Academic Services Office early in the term. Detailed information on policies, procedures, and
resources related to learning disabilities can be found at this link:
http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/disabilities/index.html
If you have any questions regarding documenting a disability, contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in the
undergraduate Academic Affairs Office (x63470, brodgers@brandeis.edu). Accommodations cannot be
granted retroactively.
University Policy on Academic Integrity: You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the
University’s policies on academic integrity. You are expected to turn in work that is completed, written,
and designed by you! This means use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the source of any phrases,
sentences, paragraphs, or ideas found in published volumes on the Internet or created by another student.1
I will refer any suspected instances of alleged dishonesty to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Violations of may result in failure of the course or on the assignment or in suspension or
dismissal from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in the course,
it is your responsibility to ask for clarification. Do not test me! Ask if you have any concerns before
compromising your undergraduate experience!
See: http://www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/srcs/ai/top10students.html
I encourage all students to visit the Brandeis writing center if you would like to improve your writing.
TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
Laptops, PDAs, cell phones, headphones, and all other technological distractions MUST BE OFF AND
AWAY at all times during class-time.
On Controversial Subjects and Classroom Community
We will be discussing many contemporary issues that are the subject of intense controversy, such as
immigration reform, racial inequality, and ethnic studies in high school curricula. You may have strong
feelings about these issues, and those feelings or opinions may be opposed to some of the articles and
chapters you’ll be reading. I will encourage discussion and debate on these topics, as I believe that one
duty of the course is to critically examine what we may accept as “common knowledge” or accepted
practice. However, to ensure that your own personal opinions do not affect your class performance and to
keep discussions and debates civil and academically-focused, I ask you to keep the following points in
mind:
1. Students are expected to serve as resources for each other and fully commit to the collaborative
and supportive community required to successfully complete a course/project of this nature
2. Be aware that understanding arguments made in the readings does not require accepting those
arguments. Indeed, even if you disagree with an argument, you must first understand it to make a
reasoned critique. Do not simply dismiss them.
3. Opinions are not acceptable arguments in discussion. If you wish to critique a concept, you must
provide some evidence or data from the readings (or outside material, if you so wish, as long as it
is scholarly). Do not be afraid, however, to speculate on potential consequences or impacts based
upon existing data or to inquire about the existence or quality of data with regard to an argument.
4. Anecdotes are not data. Just because something happened to one person at one time does not
imply a pattern or trend. The difference between an anecdote and an example is that examples are
illustrations based on systematic data (this point will be crucial for your final paper!)
In creating many sections in this syllabus regarding Brandeis’ policies, I have turned to previous syllabi in
American Studies and Sociology.
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5. Do not become emotional or engage in personal attacks. While you may have strong feelings on
these issues, remember to always keep a cool head and show respect for differing opinions.
Required Texts
The Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity. Edited by Stephen M. Caliendo and Charlton D.
McIlwain. Routledge: London. 2011.
The Ethnic Myth: Race, Ethnicity and Class in America. Stephen Steinberg. Beacon Press: Boston. 2001.
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Ronald Takaki. Back Bay Books: New York.
2008.
The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924. Henry (Yoshitaka)
Kiyama and Frederik L. Schodt. Stone Bridge Press. 1999.
Little Saigons: Staying Vietnamese in America. Karin Aguilar-San Juan. University of Minnesota Press.
2009.
Course Schedule
Syllabus and schedule subject to change, the most recent version can be found on LATTE
WEEK ONE: INTRODUCTION
August 28
Overview of syllabus
Discussion:
How do you define immigration?
How is it related to national and global American Identity?
Naturalization Test
Reading:
Introduction: Aliens, Inc. pp. 1-16 in Immigration and American Popular Culture: An Introduction, by
Rachel Rubin and Jeffrey Melnick. 2007 in LATTE
Ethnicity and American Popular Culture. Introduction. pp. 319-324, in American Immigration and
Ethnicity: A Reader. Eds David A. Gerber and Alan M. Kraut. Palgrave: New York. 2005. In LATTE
“16 People on Things They Couldn’t Believe about American until they moved here,” by Michael
Koh. November 22, 2013. Thought Catalog. http://thoughtcatalog.com/michael-koh/2013/11/16-peopleon-things-they-couldnt-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/
Assignment: What is your immigration story? 1-5 Pages. Due September 4.
WEEK TWO: RACE & ETHNICITY
September 3 & 4
Discuss Readings from last week, Keywords Race & Ethnicity
Chapters 1-3, pp. 3-28 in the Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity. Edited by Stephen M.
Caliendo and Charlton D. McIlwain. 2011.
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Racial Formations. Michael Omi and Howard Winant in LATTE
Defining Race and Ethnicity: The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the Census, pp. 105-122 by
C. Matthew Snipp. in Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, 2010.
WEEK THREE: IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP
September 8
Keywords Continued: Immigration
Chapter 7, pp. 55-63 in the Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity. Edited by Stephen M.
Caliendo and Charlton D. McIlwain. 2011.
Models of American Ethnic Relations: Hierarchy, Assimilation, and Pluralism, pp. 123-135 by
George M. Fredrickson in Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, 2010 in LATTE
September 10 & 11
Whose Country Is This?
The Crisis of National Identity, pp. 3-20 in Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National
Identity by Samuel P. Huntington in LATTE
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh pp. 49-53 in Race, Class, and
Gender: An Anthology in LATTE
Race Class and Gender: An Anthology Selections: in LATTE
Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter
Missing People and Others
“Is This a White Country or What?”
A Different Mirror: The Making of Multicultural America. By Ronald Takaki in A Different
Mirror pp. 3-22.
The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch by Richard Wright pp. 23-32 in Race,
Class, and Gender in the United States, Edited by Paula Rothenberg and Kelly Mayhew in LATTE
WEEK FOUR: AMERICAN EXPERIENCES & LIVES
September 15
2 Chapters (4-8) from A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki.
*To be assigned
Come to class being able to share your chapters. What are key points/significant historical
contributions? Why? What should we know from the sections you have read that speak to the
contradictions regarding our Imagined America? Share your knowledge with the class—you are in
charge of the discussion! Submit your discussion notes to LATTE so everyone has access.
September 17 & 18
Part One: The Simmering Melting Pot pp. 1-44 in The Ethnic Myth by Stephen Steinberg.
WEEK FIVE: THE JAPANESE
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September 22
Chapter 10, Pacific Crossings: From Japan to the Land of the “Money Tree” pp. 232-261 in A Different
Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki
Suggested: Takaki, Ronald. "Ethnic Solidarity: The Settling of Japanese-America." Chapter 5 (pp. 179229), in Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. Little, Boston: Little Brown
1989.
September 23
Readings: The Four Immigrants
September 24
Takeyuki Tsuda, 2014. “I’m American, not Japanese!: the struggle for racial citizenship among latergeneration Japanese Americans.” Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 37, Issue 3, pp. 404-425.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.2012.681675#.UvKgpSgYn9E
WEEK SIX: THE JEWS
September 29
Mary Antin. The Promised Land, in American Immigration and Ethnicity: A Reader (pp. 48-52). David A.
Gerber and Alan M. Kraut. Palgrave: New York. 2005.
October 1 & 2
Steinberg Jews section chapter 3, 5, 9 PICK Three
The “Jewish Problem” in Higher Education 222-252
Education and Ethnic Mobility: The Myth of Jewish Intellectualism and Catholic AntiIntellectualism pp. 128-151.
Why the Irish Became Domestics and Italians and Jews Did Not. 151-168
How Jews Became White Folks: And What That Says About Race in America by Karen Brodkin pp. 3953 in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States Edited by Paula Rothenberg with Kelly Mayhew, in
LATTE.
Suggested: Chapter 11, The Exodus from Russia: Pushed by Pogroms pp. 262-280 in A Different Mirror:
A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki
WEEK SEVEN: FROM IMMIGRANTS TO ETHNICS, 1965 ONWARD
October 6 & 8
Writing: SUPER MEMO. Instead of our weekly memos, write one short (5 pg.) essay where you assess
the similarities and differences between these two waves of immigration. What do you think is most
significant? Why? Who are these people, why did they come, and what differences and similarities
shaped their experiences? Use at least once trend from the Pew Research Immigration Topics page. Cite
your source. Due October 9th by midnight. (Will count as either 2 memos, 3 memos, or for stellar work
4 memos!!)
A Comparison of Contemporary Immigration and the New Immigration of the Late Nineteenth and Early
Twentieth Centuries. Preface and Introduction (pp. 1-31) in American Immigration and Ethnicity: A
Reader. David A. Gerber and Alan M. Kraut. Palgrave: New York. 2005, in LATTE.
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Nine Stories, by Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut pp. 1-12 in Immigrant America: A Portrait.
Berkeley: U of California Press, in LATTE
Who They Are and Why They Come, by Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut pp. 12-34 in Immigrant
America: A Portrait. Berkeley: U of California Press in LATTE
Introduction and Who They Are and Why The Have Come in From Ellis Island to JFK: New York’s Two
Great Waves of Immigration by Nancy Foner pp. 1-35, in LATTE
Pew Immigration Trends: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/topics/immigration-trends/pages/2/
WEEK EIGHT: ASSIMILATION
October 13 & 15
Roger Waldinger, "Transforming Foreigners Into Americans" in The New Americans 137-149
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/waldinger/pdf/B9.pdf
Richard Alba and Victor Nee, "Assimilation," in The New Americans, Mary Waters and Reed Ueda, eds.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 124-137 in LATTE.
Steinberg, Stephen. 2014. “The Long View of the Melting Pot,” Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 37, Issue
5, pp. 790-794. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2013.872282#.U-ERX1ZYVg0
Assignment: Op-Ed Due: October 15
WEEK NINE: NEW & OLD IMMIGRANTS
October 20: What’s Happening to Old Ethnics
Alba, Richard. 2014. “The Twilight of Ethnicity: what relevance for today?” Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Pp. 781-785.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.2013.871051?queryID=%24%7BresultBean.quer
yID%7D#.U-ESLVZYVg0
Herbert Gans. 1979. Symbolic Ethnicity: The Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America.
Ethnic and Racial Studies 2:1-20.
http://faculty.washington.edu/charles/562_f2011/Week%2010/Gans%201979.pdf
Suggested: Gans, Herbert. 2014. “The Coming Darkness of late-generation European American Ethnicity,”
Racial and Ethnic Studies. Vol. 37, Issue 5.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2013.827796#.U-ESc1ZYVg0
October 22 & 23
Complicating the Matter, New Immigrant Groups
The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants by Alejandro Portes and Min
Zhou in LATTE.
Waters, Mary and Tomas Jimenez. 2005. "Assessing Immigrant Assimilation: New Empirical and
Theoretical Challenges." Annual Review of Sociology 31:105-125.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/29737713?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102577364613
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Alejandro Portes. "Immigration's Aftermath." in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, 9th Edition
(pp. 397-400) Edited by Paula S. Rothenberg and Kelly S. Mayhew. Worth: New York. 2013. In LATTE
Many Voices, Many Lives: Selections in LATTE
Crossing the Border Without Losing Your Past by Oscar Casares
The Event of Becoming by Jewelle L. Gomez
This Person Doesn’t Sound White by Ziba Kashef
Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only by Mary Waters
Complicating the Story of Immigrant Integration by Vivian Louie, Chapter 10 pp. 218-235 in in Writing
Immigration: Scholars and Journalists in Dialogue, Suarez-Orozco, Louie, and Suro, eds, in LATTE
Economic Reality of Being Asian American and the Economic Reality of Being Latin/a in the United
States. in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, 9th Edition (pp. 362-374) Edited by Paula S.
Rothenberg and Kelly S. Mayhew. Worth: New York. 2013. In LATTE
Optional: Steinberg, Epilogue: Ethnic Heroes and Racial Villains in American Social Science
WEEK TEN: STAYING VIETNAMESE IN AMERICA
Karin Aguilar-San Juan. 2009. Little Saigons: Staying Vietnamese in America. University of Minnesota
Press.
WEEK ELEVEN: DEALING WITH DIVERSITY IN AMERICA
November 3
T. Alexander Aleinikoff, "A Multicultural Nationalism?," The American Prospect no. 36 (JanuaryFebruary 1998), 80-86. http://prospect.org/article/essay-multicultural-nationalism
Bell, Joyce and Douglas Hartmann. 2006. “Diversity in Everyday Discourse: The Cultural Ambiguities
and Consequences of “Happy Talk” in LATTE
November 5 Multicultural American Dream?
November 6: Watch these videos before class:
Al Sharpton & Barack Obama @ the 2004 Democratic National Convention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fMNIofUw2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SBFREiCkf8
Margaret L. Anderson. The Fiction of "Diversity without Oppression" Race, Ethnicity, Identity, and
Power, In LATTE.
Suggested: An Introduction to Sundown Towns. James Loewen
http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/content/sundown-introduction.pdf
November 6
Steinberg, Stephen. 2007. “Ethnicity: The Epistemology of Wishful Thinking.” In Race Relations: A
Critique. Stanford, in LATTE.
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Jemima Pierre. 2004. "Black Immigrants in the United States and the "Cultural Narratives" of Ethnicity."
Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. 11: 141-170.
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/marilynm/Theorizing_Black_America_Syllabus_files/Black%20Immigrant
s_Narratives_of_Ethnicity.pdf
WEEK TWELVE: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES
October 10
A Multicultural Backlash: Ethnic Studies on Trial
Julianne Hing, Tuscon’s Ousted Mexican American Studies Director Speaks: The Fight’s No Over in
Race. Class and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. In LATTE
Follow the links in these articles!
Gregory Rodriguez. February 20, 2012. “Why Arizona banned ethnic studies.” Los Angeles Times.
Saveethnicstudies.org
Kristian Ramos. June 1, 2012. “What Arizona’s Ban on Ethnic Studies Says about America.” Huffington
Post.
Alex Seitz-Wald. April 2, 2012. “Arizona Official Considering Banning Ethnic Studies in Universities
Too.” Think Progress.
Luis Valdez. April 29, 2012. “Arizona’s Ethnic Studies Debacle: Why There’s No Such Thing as Too
Much Truth.” AlterNet.
Peter Rothberg. February 1, 2012. “Challenging Arizona’s Ban on Ethnic Studies.” The Nation.
CNN Ethnic Studies Debate—Margaret Dugan and Augustine Romero 5/13/10/ Youtube.
Arthur Schlessinger Jr. When Ethnic Studies are Un-American.
Tim Wise. December 29, 2011. Telling White Lies: Patriotic Correctness and the War on Ethnic Studies.
Linda Chavez. American History, not Ethnic Studies. Creators.com
Chris Matthews on Hardball. Restricting Ethnic Studies. Youtube.
January 19, 2012. Ethnic Studies: Teaching Resentment or Pride? NPR, Michel Martin Host.
CNN Anderson Cooper
Network of Teacher Activist Groups Website.
Precious Knowledge PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/precious-knowledge/
October 12
Contemporary Debates: Inner-City Black Culture
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/the-secret-lives-of-inner-city-black-males/284454/
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/obama-ta-nehisi-coates-poverty-and-culture.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/black-pathology-and-the-closing-of-the-progressivemind/284523/
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/barack-obama-vs-the-culture-of-poverty.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/other-peoples-pathologies/359841/
WEEK THIRTEEN: THE NATIVE RESPONSE
November 17
George J. Sanchez. "Face the Nation: Race, Immigration, and the Rise of Nativism in Late-TwentiethCentury-America." in American Immigration and Ethnicity: A Reader (pp. 131-145). David A. Gerber
and Alan M. Kraut. Palgrave: New York. 2005. In LATTE
Huntington, Samuel. 2004. “The Hispanic Challenge.” Foreign Policy :30-45.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/culturalagency1/SamuelHuntingtonTheHispanicC.pdf
Mae Ngai. "Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of America." in Race, Class, and Gender
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in the United States, 9th Edition (pp. 224-234) Edited by Paula S. Rothenberg and Kelly S. Mayhew.
Worth: New York. 2013. In LATTE
Suggested: Johnson, James et al. 1997. "Immigration Reform and the Browning of America: Tensions,
Conflicts and Community Instability in Los Angeles." International Migration Review 31:1055-1095.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2547424?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=2
1102576772567
November 19 & 20
Illegal Immigration, Race, & Citizenship
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/conscience-realist/2014/jan/1/illegal-alienamnesty-will-not-bring-happy-new-yea/
Bloch, Katrina. 2014. “’Anyone Can Be an Illegal’: Color-Blind Ideology and Maintaining Latino/Citizen
Borders,” Critical Sociology. Vol, 40, No. 1 pp. 47-65. http://crs.sagepub.com/content/40/1/47.abstract
Getrich, Christina. 2013. ““Too Bad I’m Not an Obvious Citizen”: The effects of racialized US
immigration enforcement practices on second-generation Mexican youth,” Latino Studies. 11, 462-482
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/lst/journal/v11/n4/full/lst201328a.html
WEEK FOURTEEN: THANKSGIVING
NO CLASS
November 25th Thanksgiving Week
Eating American by Sidney Mintz
The Invention of Thanksgiving, a Ritual of American Nationality by Janet Siskind.
Assignment:
Thanksgiving Ethnographic Essay: What does your Thanksgiving say about your American and ethnic
identity? Take notes during your thanksgiving and write a short essay describing your meal, the
breakdown of responsibilities, behaviors, rituals, food, etc. What does this say about your American
identity, your ethnic identity? Why does this matter?
Family Interview: Interview someone in your family about your family’s immigration story. Transcribe
the interview and look for major themes and moments. Does their story differ from yours from the
beginning of the semester? What is their story? Why does it matter? What does it say about your family’s
own personal “coming to America” story?
WEEK FIFTEEN: ASSES & LOOK FORWARD
December 1
Reflect & Share
Discuss our Thanksgiving, the interview, and the final paper
December 3 Contemporary Challenges: Refugees v. Migrants, The current crisis at the border
Nazario, Sonia. 2014. “The Children of the Drug Wars: A Refugee Crisis, Not an Immigration Crisis.
New York Times, July 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/opinion/sunday/a-refugee-crisis-not-animmigration-crisis.html?_r=0
Suggested:
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Trujillo-Pagán, Nicole. 2014. “Emphasizing the ‘Complex’ in the ‘Immigration Industrial Complex.”
Critical Sociology. 40 pp. 29-46. http://crs.sagepub.com/content/40/1/29.abstract?etoc
Ponce, Albert. 2014. “Racialization, Resistance, and the Migrant Rights Movement: A Historical
Analysis,” Critical Sociology. 40, 9-27. http://crs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/40/1/9
December 4 New Futures
Evelyn Alsultany, "Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves." in Race, Class, and Gender in the United
States, 9th Edition (pp. 235-237) Edited by Paula S. Rothenberg and Kelly S. Mayhew. Worth: New York.
2013. In LATTE
E Plurbis Unum, or the Same Old Perfume in a New Bottle? On the Future of Racial Stratification in the
United States, pp. 225-254 in Racism without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla Silva, 4th Edition. 2014. In
LATTE
Who Will Report the Next Chapter of America’s Immigration Story? By Tyche Hendricks, Chapter 9 pp.
204-217 in Writing Immigration: Scholars and Journalists in Dialogue. Edited by Marcelo M. SuarezOrozco, Vivian Louie and Roberto Suro. In LATTE
Portes and Rumbaut. Conclusion: Immigration and Public Policy in Immigrant America Chapter 10, pp.
343-371. In LATTE
WEEK SIXTEEN: REFLECT & DISCUSS
December 8
LAST DAY OF CLASS!
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