Oberlin College
Fall 2008
Time: MWF 10 – 10:50
Location: King 235
Dr. Meredith Raimondo
Phone: 775-5291
Email: meredith.raimondo@oberlin.edu
Office: King 141G
Office Hours: W 2 – 4, Th 11 – 12 or by appt.
Jack Skelton
Phone: 775-5354
Email: jack.skelton@oberlin.edu
Office: Wilder 208
Office Hours: ??? or by appt.
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INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES
Description:
This course explores key questions and approaches in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies.
We will develop the critical tools to examine U.S. cultural and social formations, paying particular
attention to voices and groups that have been historically excluded from power. In particular, we
will explore the transnational turn in American studies by examining colonialism, citizenship, and
empire—three concepts that have been particularly central to comparative analysis and to the
political projects of scholars concerned with asking, what does it mean to study the United States at
this particular historical moment? How do we think about the history and future of the nation in the
context of globalization, militarization, and inequality? In answering this question, we will draw on
scholarship in Ethnic Studies, Queer Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies to examine
intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and other key axes of power to the nation. We will pay
particular attention to the production of identities and communities in historical and social contexts,
using a range of sources and methodologies. The texts we read are not meant to provide a
comprehensive chronological survey of these topics, but rather to provide case studies to think
through various theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of the United States. The
primary focus of this course is discussion of and writing about assigned course materials. Course
assignments are designed to create opportunities for critical reading, writing, and thinking.
The objectives of this course are:
1) to provide an introduction to the field of Comparative American Studies in relation to other
politicized scholarly projects
2) to engage critically with notions of U.S. national identity and borders
3) to introduce comparative approaches to methodologies, histories, and identities
4) to understand and apply key theoretical terms, including intersectionality, agency and
structure, social location, and transnationalism
5) to explore the importance of axes of identity such as race, class, gender, and sexuality to
understanding the operations of power in the U.S.
6) to analyze dialetics of oppression and resistance in historical and social context
7) to develop writing and communication skills focused on the critical analysis of primary and
secondary sources
**This course serves as a gateway in the Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies major**
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Required Texts:
Articles marked with a * in the schedule of readings are available through Blackboard under the
“Course Materials” tab.
Books are available at the Oberlin College Bookstore (or on reserve at Mudd Library):
Briggs, Laura. Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto
Rico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Campo, Rafel. The Enemy. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
Das Gupta, Monisha. Unruly Immigrants: Rights, Activism, and Transnational South Asian
Politics in the United States. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006.
Dorow, Sarah. Transnational Adoption. New York: New York University Press, 2006.
Espiritu, Yen Li. Home Bound: Filipino Lives across Cultures, Communities, and Countries.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Fischer, Kirsten. Suspect Relations: Sex, Race, and Resistance in Colonial North Carolina.
Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002.
Course Policies:
Discussion: The academic study of inequality often raises issues which are controversial or
evoke strong personal feelings. There are few right answers to the questions we are exploring;
my goal in this course is to help you to develop the skills to articulate your own positions. It is
therefore critical that everyone commits to making this classroom a space for the honest and
open expression of difference. I ask that course members respond to carefully thought-out
ideas and questions with patience and respect.
Reading: This course requires significant reading. Do not try to read every word; focus on key
arguments, methods, and sources. If you find you are having trouble finishing the reading,
please see me so we can identify effective strategies for completing the assignments.
Late Policy: It is your commitment to this class and your classmates that you will be present and
ready to begin work at the start of class. Repeated lateness (after three late arrivals) may result in
significant deductions to your final grade in this course.
Course assignments must be submitted on time in order to receive full credit. Assignments due in
class must be turned in at the start of class to receive on-time credit. I will deduct 1/3 of a grade
for each 24 hours an assignment is late (i.e., from B+ to B). Assignments submitted later than 1
week past the original deadline without a written extension will be given credit only at the
instructor’s discretion and will generally earn no greater than a minimum passing grade. Requests
for extensions must be submitted by email at least 48 hours prior to the assignment due date and
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are generally available only for extraordinary circumstances. If you receive an extension, you must
include a printed copy of my approval (including revised due date) with your assignment in order
to receive on-time credit. Late papers may not receive written comments.
Please note that no late assignments will be accepted past the end of reading period without an
approved incomplete from the Dean of Studies. Extensions on final projects also require an
approved incomplete. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Assignment Format: Written assignments should word-processed, double-spaced, and use a
standard font type and size (12 point Times New Roman or the equivalent). Include your
name, the date, a title, and page numbers. If you are required to submit a paper copy, you must
staple the pages. Please be sure to proofread carefully for style and grammar. Papers that do
not follow proper formatting instructions may receive a 1/3 of a grade deduction.
P/NP: If you are taking this course P/NP, you must fulfill all course obligations and complete all
assignments in order to receive credit for the course.
Honor Code: This course will follow the policies described in the Oberlin College Honor Code and
Honor System. Please include the statement “I affirm that I have adhered to the Honor Code in this
assignment” in all written work. If you have any questions about academic honesty, citation, or the
relationship of the Honor Code to your work in this course, please let me know.
Students with Disabilities: If you need disability-related accommodations for your work in this
course, please let me know. Support is available through Student Academic Services—please
contact Jane Boomer, Director of the Office of Disability Services, for assistance in developing
a plan to address your academic needs.
Assignments:
Individual Work:
The following assignments will be completed individually, although you are welcome to collaborate
by reading each other’s drafts. You may ensure academic honesty by citing significant
ideas/contributions provided by classmates.
1. PARTICIPATION (10%): In order for our time in class together to be as productive as
possible, you will be expected to contribute to three areas as follows:
Attendance: This course will be primarily conducted as a discussion course; therefore,
your consistent on-time attendance is required. After two absences, additional absences
will generally lower your final grade in the course (1/3 of a grade per two additional
absences). Each late arrival will be counted as one-half of an absence. In case of illness
or personal emergency, absences may be excused through a doctor or dean’s note.
Discussion: Your thoughtful spoken analysis and active listening will be a central
component of your work in this course. If you are uncomfortable speaking in class,
please come and see me and we can discuss strategies for your participation.
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In-class Activities: In-class activities may include discussion in small groups, writing
assignments, or other collaborative work.
2. DISCUSSION BOARD POSTING (5%). We will use the Blackboard discussion board to
develop your ideas and questions about course materials and themes. Each student will post
a thoughtful paragraph about course materials at least once each week for a total of 10 weeks.
Posts are due each Friday by noon. Because this is a weekly assignment, extensions are not
available except in case of personal emergency. More details will be provided in class.
3. TWO CRITICAL ESSAYS (20% each). 5 - 7 pages each. Each paper corresponds to a
section of the course and asks you to think critically about its thematic focus. Due dates are
listed below; complete instructions for each essay will be provided in class and on
Blackboard under the “Assignments” tab.
a. Paper #1: Initial draft due Oct 10 at 4 p.m. to King 141-G (minimum 4 pages; must
contain all required sections). Initial drafts will not be graded, but must be submitted
on time. Failure to submit a draft will result in a full-letter grade penalty on the final
draft grade. Optional initial draft conferences available Oct 13 – 15. Final draft due
Oct 17 at 4 p.m. to King 141-G.
b. Paper # 2: Optional initial draft due Nov 19 to King 141-G (minimum 4 pages; must
contain all required sections). Final draft due Nov 24 at 4 p.m. to King 141-G
4. FINAL PROJECT (20%). 5 – 6 pages. Due Dec 18 by 4 p.m. Choose a primary source to
analyze in relation to one of the three major course themes (colonialism, citizenship, empire,
activism). More detail about this assignment will be provided in class.
Team Projects:
The following assignments will be completed in your assigned team. Over the course of the
semester, pay careful attention to your group process in order to make your collaborative work as
effective as possible.
5. CRITICAL ESSAY BRAINSTORMING. Each team will schedule time outside of regular
class hours to discuss your shared understanding of the questions and the thesis and structure
of each group member’s paper. One group member will operate as recorder and submit a
brief email confirmation describing your conversation within twenty-four hours. Failure to
attend the scheduled meeting will result in a 1/3 grade penalty on the final draft.
6. WIKI CONTRIBUTION (5%). Each team will be responsible for updating the course wiki
three times over the course of the semester. A complete schedule will be provided in class.
Wiki updates should integrate recent course materials as well as other materials group
members find useful in clarifying key theoretical concepts. Group members will receive a
collective grade for their work.
7. TEAM PRESENTATION (20% total). Due Nov 7 - 12 in class. The purpose of the team
presentation is to examine opportunities to connect theoretical and scholarly approaches to
everyday social situations and problems. Teams may choose from a list of suggested project
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or propose their own. If you design your own project, you must submit it in writing and
receive written approval at least one week before your presentation date. Teams will receive
a collective grade for their work. Each presentation should last 20 minutes and use
PowerPoint or other appropriate visual aids. Teams must also submit a complete
bibliography in Chicago style.
Summary of Deadlines:
Each Friday
Various Dates
Various Dates
Oct 10
Oct 17
Nov 7 - 12
Nov 19
Nov 24
Dec 18
Discussion Board
Essay Brainstorming
Wiki Update
Essay 1 Initial Draft
Essay 1 Final Draft
Team Presentation
Essay 2 Optional Initial Draft
Essay 2 Final Draft
Final Project
Summary of Grading Policy:
Participation…………………….10%
Essay 1………….………………20%
Essay 2………….……................20%
Team Presentation………….…..20%
Discussion Board……….…….…5%
Wiki Update………………..……5%
Final Project…………………….20%
Schedule of Readings:
(Please note this schedule may change; if so, you will be informed at least 48 hours in advance.)
I. COLONIALISM
W Sep 3:
Introductions
F Sep 5
Settler Colonialism
• Haunani Kay Trask, “The Color of Violence,” 8 – 16*
• Noriko Ishiyama, “Environmental Justice and American Indian Tribal
Sovereignty,” 119 – 139*
M Sep 8
Colonial Educations?
• Julie Kaomea, “A Curriculum of Aloha?,” 319 – 344*
• Andrea Smith, “Boarding School Abuses and the Case for Reparations,” 35 –
54*
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W Sep 10 Colonial Spectacles
• Jeff Berglund, “P.T. Barnum’s American Exhibition of Fiji Cannibals,” 29 –
76*
• Elizabeth Alexander, “The Venus Hottentot,” 5 – 10*
F Sep 12
1898
• Sarah Moore, “Mapping Empire in Omaha and Buffalo,” 111 – 126*
• Rene Ontal, “Fagen and Other Ghosts,” 118 – 133*
M Sep 22
Colonialism and Cultural Memory/Museum Group 1
• Coco Fusco and Paul Heredia, The Couple in the Cage (screened in class)
W Sep 24
Colonialism and Cultural Memory /Museum Group 2
• Coco Fusco and Paul Heredia, The Couple in the Cage (screened in class)
F Sep 26
The Intimacies of the Colonial
• Fischer, 1 – 54
M Sep 28
Desire across Borders
• Fisher, 55 – 98
W Oct 1
Intersectionality and Racialized Sexualities
• Fischer, 98 - 158
F Oct 3
Desire, Agency, and Inequalities
• Fischer, 159 – 194
M Oct 6
Colonization and Transnational Social Formations
• Espiritu, 1 - 45
W Oct 8
Differential Inclusion
• Espiritu, 46 - 97
F Oct 10
Gendering Colonialism
•Espiritu, 127 – 178
F Oct 10
***Initial Draft of Paper # 1 is due by 4 p.m. to King 141-G
II. CITIZENSHIP
M Oct 13
Narrating Migrations
• Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Indians in the House,” 71 – 79, 132 – 146*
• Thomas King, “Borders,” 56 – 65*
• Helen Viramontes, Cariboo Cafe,” 65 – 79*
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W Oct 1
Poetry and Politics
• Campo, 1 - 44
F Oct 17
Identity and Difference
• Campo. 45 – 99
F Oct 17
***Final Draft of Paper # 1 is due by 4 p.m. to King 141-G
M Oct 20
W Oct 22
F Oct 24
Fall Break
Fall Break
Fall Break
M Oct 27
Social Citizenship
• Dorow, 1 - 64
W Oct 29
Kinship and Nation
• Dorow, 65 - 112
F Oct 31
Conjunctions of Difference
• Dorow, 113 – 164
M Nov 3
Constructing Citizenship
• Dorow, 205 - 262
W Nov 5
The Biopolitics of Disaster
• Henry Giroux, “Reading Hurricane Katrina,” 171 – 196*
F Nov 7
Team Presentations 1- 2
M Nov 10
Team Presentations 3 – 4
W Nov 12 Team Presentations 5 - 6
III. EMPIRE
F Nov 14 Nation and Empire
• Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, “Imperialism and the Fantasies of Democracy,”
298 – 305*
• Malini Johar Schueller, “Techno-Dominance and Torturegate,” 162 – 188*
M Nov 17 Mapping the Sexual Politics of Empire
• M. Jacqui Alexander, “Not Just (Any)body Can Be a Patriot,” 207 – 240*
W Nov 19 Gender, Sexuality, Colonialism, Imperialism
• Briggs, 1 – 20, 74 – 108
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W Nov 19 Optional Initial Draft of Essay # 2 is due to King 141-G by 4 p.m.
F Nov 21 Population and Power
• Briggs, 109 - 141
M Nov 24 The Violence of Empire
• Briggs, 162 - 192
M Nov 24
*** Final Essay # 2 is due by 4 p.m. to King 141-G
IV. ACTIVISM
W Nov 26 Transnationalism and Resistance
• Das Gupta, 1 - 55
F Nov 28 Thanksgiving
M Dec 1
Policing Borders
• Das Gupta, 56 - 108
W Dec 3
Activism and Intersectionality
• Das Gupta, 109 - 158
F Dec 5
Sexual Citizenship
• Das Gupta, 159 – 207
M Dec 8
Reworking Displacement
• Das Gupta, 208 - 259
W Dec 10 Final Project Workshop
F Dec 12 Conclusions
Th Dec 18 Final Project due at 4 p.m. to King 141-G
***No late assignments will be accepted***
Bibliography of Articles
Alexander, Elizabeth. “The Venus Hottentot.” In The Venus Hottentot. Charlottesville:
University Press of Virginia, 1990. 5 – 10.
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Alexander, M. Jacqui. “Not Just (Any)body Can Be a Patriot: “Homeland” Security as Empire
Building.” In Interrogating Imperialism: Conversations on Gender, Race, and War, ed.
Robin Riley and Naeem Inayatullah. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. 207 – 240.
Berglund, Jeff. “P.T. Barnum’s American Exhibition of Fiji Cannibals (1871 – 1873).” In
Cannibal Fictions: American Explorations of Colonialism, Race, Gender, and Sexuality.
Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. 29 – 76.
Fusco, Coco and Paul Heredia, dir. The Couple in the Cage: A Guatinaui Oddessy. Chicago:
Video Data Bank, 1993.
Giroux, Henry. “Reading Hurricane Katrina: Race, Class, and the Biopolitics of Disposability.”
College Literature 33, no. 3 (Summer 2006): 171 – 196.
Kaomea, Julie. “A Curriculum of Aloha? Colonialism and Tourism in Hawai’i’s Elementary
Textbooks.” Curriculum Inquiry 30, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 319 – 344.
King, Thomas. “Borders.” In Into the Widening World, ed. John Loughery. New York: Persea
Books, 1995.
Moore, Sarah. “Mapping Empire in Omaha and Buffalo: World’s Fairs and the SpanishAmerican War.” Bilingual Review 25, no. 1 (Jan-Apr 2000): 111 – 126.
Ontal, Rene. “Fagen and Other Ghosts: African-Americans and the Philippine-American War.”
In Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream,
1899 – 1999, ed. Angel Velasco Shaw and Luis Francia. New York: New York University
Press, 2002. 118 – 133.
Schueller, Malini Johar. “Techno-Dominance and Torturegate: The Making of US Imperialism.”
In Exceptional State: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the New Imperialism, ed. Ashley
Dawson and Malini Johar Schueller. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007. 162 – 188.
Shohat, Ella and Robert Stam, “Imperialism and the Fantasies of Democracy.” Rethinking
Marxism 19, no. 3 (2007): 298 – 305.
Smith, Andrea. “Boarding School Abuses and the Case for Reparations.” In Conquest: Sexual
Violence and American Indian Genocide. Boston: South End Press, 2005. 35 – 54.
Trask, Haunani Kay. “The Color of Violence,” Social Justice 31, no. 4 (2004): 8 – 16.
Viramontes, Helena. “The Cariboo Cafe.” In The Moths and Other Stories. Houston: Arte
Público Press, 1995. 65 – 79.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. “Moving In” and “Indians in the House.” In Little House on the Prairie.
New York: Harper Trophy, 1971 [1935]. 71 – 79, 132 – 146.