Proposed Fall 2015
HIS 177—TRANSNATIONAL AMERICA
THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND POLITICAL EFFECTS OF
MIGRATION AND EXCHANGE, 1880-PRESENT
Instructor:
Rachel Rains Winslow, Ph.D.
Office: Deane Hall 208
Phone: 805-565-6793
E-mail: rwinslow@westmont.edu
Time/Room: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This reading and discussion seminar explores how transnational connections have shaped the United
States politically, cultural, and socially throughout the long twentieth century. By analyzing
representations of migration and exchange in popular culture and memoir, we consider shifting
American ideas about transnationalism and the ways this has shaped national identities. The course is
divided into three thematic units: consumer culture; reform and social movements; and migration,
policy, and the state. Topics in these units include, for example, tourism, civil rights, movies,
feminisms, international adoption, diasporas, and immigration. Throughout the course, we stress how
studying transnational exchange challenges nationalist and bordered interpretations of American
history while also shaping questions about globalization in our current society.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students can expect to learn how to:
 Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate historical evidence. This requires interpreting different
types of evidence, detecting and appraising bias and point of view in primary and secondary
sources, drawing conclusions and inferences from examined evidence, and formulating
historical questions. [This meets the history department standard that students should be able
to read primary sources historically and use them effectively.]
 Allow Global Perspectives to Heighten Awareness. In the process of exploring the scope
of a transnational America, students will gain a greater understanding, appreciation, and
respect for the significance of other nation’s contributions to American politics, economics,
and culture. Students will also trace these contributions within historical context. [This
satisfies the institutional goals of global awareness and diversity. The History Department will
also be developing a diversity outcome in the next year or so.]
 Develop Strong Critical Analysis and Writing Skills. Journal entries, a paper and
presentation assignment, and essay exams will teach students how to form argument-driven
essays that draw thoughtfully on course sources and main themes. Since writing is the
concrete manifestation of thinking, it is an invaluable life skill that develops and reinforces
critical thinking. [This meets the history department standard that students will be able to
select an appropriate research topic, and locate, evaluate, and responsibly use primary and
secondary sources relevant to their work.]
 Think Christianly. This requires using a historical lens to formulate a biblical worldview
about global injustices while also applying empathy and humility in understanding stories that
are different from our own. [This meets the institutional goal of Christian
Understanding/Practices/Affections.]
Proposed Fall 2015
REQUIRED READINGS
 Victoria DeGrazia, Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through Twentieth-Century Europe (2005)
 Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (2004)
 Melani McAlister, Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Intervention in the Middle East since 1945
(2005)
 David Bacon, Communities without Borders: Images and Voices from the World of Migration (2006)
**Eureka will supply the other course readings (see the schedule of readings and assignments for
details)
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Grades will be based on class participation, journal entries, a take home mid-term exam, a paper and
presentation, and a final exam. To ensure that you are keeping up with the readings, you will require
to keep a journal that engages with the readings, critically reflecting on how an author’s perspective
informs your view of global understanding and Christian engagement. I will collect your journal
entries on a bi-weekly basis and assign them a grade. Attendance will also be taken and will be
factored into your final class participation grade. Since there will be a significant discussion
component in every class meeting, active participation in seminar is crucial. Students who do not
attend class regularly and who arrive late cannot expect to earn a satisfactory grade in the course.
Mid-term and final exam questions will be provided one week before the exams are due and will be
thematically and chronologically comparative, drawn from more than one reading. Students will be
expected to engage with primary sources and apply key historical methodologies including change
over time, context, and contingency. The final paper will require you to consider how at least two
other cultures have influenced some aspect of U.S. ideologies, movements, consumption, or policy.
You must analyze primary sources, contextualize the sources within the secondary literature from the
course readings, prepare a 10-minute class presentation, and craft an 8-page paper. Guiding analytical
questions will be provided later in the semester.
The precise grade breakdown is as follows:
Participation
Journal Entries/Extra Assignments
Take Home Mid-term Exam
Presentation and Paper
Take Home Final Exam
20%
15%
20%
20%
25%
All assignments must be submitted electronically to Eureka (http://eureka.westmont.edu)
before class on the due dates specified in the schedule of readings and assignments (hint: it’s
always a Tuesday). The final exam is due by...
Grading Scale
100-97
A+
96-93
A
92-90
A89-87
B+
86-83
B
82-80
79-77
76-73
72-70
BC+
C
C-
69-67
66-63
62-60
59-0
D+
D
DF
Proposed Fall 2015
COURSE POLICIES
Late Work: There will be no extensions or make-ups granted on any assignments unless an
unforeseen and unavoidable crisis occurs. Students in such situations must provide official written
documentation of the crisis in order to be granted an extension.
Course Eureka Site: This class will have its own Eureka site (http://eureka.westmont.edu). You will
need to login before the second class. Please check the site often (at least once a week) as assignments,
resources, readings, and important information will be posted on the site. In addition, all of your
assignments are due electronically to Eureka unless I specify otherwise.
Student with Disabilities: Students who have been diagnosed with a disability are strongly
encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services as early as possible to discuss appropriate
accommodations for this course. Formal accommodations will only be granted for students whose
disabilities have been verified by the Office of Disability Services. These accommodations may be
necessary to ensure your equal access to this course.
Please contact Sheri Noble, Director of
Disability Services. (310A Voskuyl Library, 565-6186, snoble@westmont.edu) or visit the website for
more information: http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/disability
A Note on Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using words, ideas, arguments, or narrative structures in
the work of another person without giving full and explicit attribution to the source. It also means
using the same work for more than one class without permission. In papers written for this course,
students must cite all works consulted, whether or not the texts were assigned in the course and
regardless of whether a text has been directly quoted or simply referenced. Plagiarism is unacceptable
to any extent, at any level of scholarship. Any student caught plagiarizing will likely receive an
automatic failing grade for the entire course and be reported to university officials. Please see me if
you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism.
Student Wellness: Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, and
cross-cultural differences can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed and thrive in college. If you
are struggling, I encourage you to get in touch with the Office of Student Life, Counseling and Mental
Health, or your residential director.
Classroom Courtesies: No cell phones, newspapers, sleeping, or other disruptions will be tolerated.
You have one freebie (we have all forgotten to turn off our phones before) but after that, you will be
asked to leave and marked absent for that day. Remember to turn off or silence your cell phones
before class begins. I encourage you to use a computer in class for activities strictly related to
classroom work. Using a computer for any reason beyond the immediate needs of the class, however,
will result in your dismissal for the day, an absence toward your participation grade, and the loss of
classroom computer rights. These rules are there to protect the learning space for you and your peers
while offering all of us the courtesy of your focus and attention.
Proposed Fall 2015
SCHEDULE OF READINGS
(this is tentative and subject to change)
Week 1: Introduction—Why Explore Transnational Connections?
 “American Historical Review Conversation: On Transnational History” (Eureka)
 Maxine Hong Kingston, “No Name Woman” (Eureka)
PART I: CONSUMER CULTURE IN TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXTS
Week 2: Consumer Culture and Americanization
 DeGrazia, Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through Twentieth-Century Europe
 John Trumpdour, “The Domestic Roots of Hollywood’s Foreign Policy” (Eureka)
Week 3: Travel and Tourism
 Christopher Endy, Cold War Holidays: American Tourism in France, selections (Eureka)
 Selected travel posters from 1920s and 1930s (Eureka)
Week 4: Globalizing Food
 Mark Weiner, “Consumer Culture and Participatory Democracy: Coca-Cola in World War II”
(Eureka)
 Yunxiang Yan, “McDonald’s in Beijing: The Localization of Americana” (Eureka)
 Kristin Hoganson, “Stuff It: Domestic Consumption and the Americanization of the World
Paradigm” (Eureka)
Week 5: Artifacts of a Global Jesus
 Colleen McDannell, “Christian Retailing,” excerpt from Material Christianity (Eureka)
 Melani McAlister, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: American Missionaries, Racism, and
Decolonization in the Congo” (Eureka)
PART II: TRANSNATIONAL REFORM AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Week 6: International Feminisms
 Allison Sneider, “Getting Suffrage in an Age of Empire: The Philippines and Puerto Rico, 19141929” (Eureka)
 Leila J. Rupp, “Constructing Internationalism: The Case of Transnational Women’s
Organizations, 1888-1945” (Eureka)
 Nitza Berkovitch, “’Improving the Lot of Womanhood’: The Emerging World Social Agenda”
(Eureka)
Week 7: International Civil Rights Movements
 Mary Dudziak, “Brown as a Cold War Case” (Eureka)
 Peniel E. Joseph, “Dashikis and Democracy: Black Studies, Student Activism, and the Black
Power Movement” (Eureka)
 Jonathan Zimmerman, “Crossing Oceans, Crossing Colors: Black Peace Corps Volunteers and
Interracial Love in Africa, 1961-1971” (Eureka)
Proposed Fall 2015
Week 8: Social Politics and Reform
 Daniel Rodgers, Atlantic Crossings, excerpts (Eureka)
 Thomas Miller Klubock, “From Welfare Capitalism to the Free Market in Chile: Gender,
Culture, and Politics in the Copper Mines” (Eureka)
Week 9: Human Trafficking
 “Historical Perspective: Slavery Over the Centuries,” in Human Trafficking: Interdisciplinary
Perspectives, ed. Mary C. Burke (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 24-47 (Eureka)
 Brysk and Choi-Fitzpatrick, From Human Trafficking to Human Rights: Reframing Contemporary
Slavery, excerpts (Eureka)
 William Finnegan, “The Countertraffickers: Rescuing the Victims of the Global Sex Trade,”
New Yorker (Eureka)
PART III: A TRANSNATIONAL EXAMINATION OF MIGRATION, POLICY, AND THE
STATE
Week 10: Intersections between Foreign and Domestic Policy
 McAlister, Epic Encounters, selected chapters
Week 11: International Adoption
 Jane Jeong Trenka, The Language of Blood: A Memoir, excerpts
 National Association of Black Social Workers—selection of primary documents (Eureka)
 Operation Babylift—selection of primary documents (Eureka)
Week 12: Immigration and Citizenship
 Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects, Chapters 1-3
 Gordon Chang, “Eternally Foreign: Asian Americans, History, and Race” (Eureka)
 Evangelical Immigration Table, “Statement on Citizenship” (Eureka)
Week 13: Immigration and Labor
 Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects, Chapters 4-6
 Bacon, Communities without Borders: Images and Voices from the World of Migration, selected excerpts
Week 14: Diasporas
 Nayan Shah, Between “’Oriental Depravity’ and ‘Natural Degenerates’: Spatial Borderlands and
the Making of Ordinary Americans” (Eureka)
 Azadeh Moaveni, Lipstick Jihad: Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran, excerpts
Week 15—Presentations & Reflections