Revised Schedule of Activities & Assignments: midterm to final

AEH / Andrews – Fall 2012           Schedule of Activities & Assignments

Please note that this schedule is tentative and may change as our semester evolves.

October 22

One-on-one midterm status review. Documentary “The Other Side of Immigration”

October 24

“The Other Side of Immigration” continued.

October 26

Midterm recap. Key themes of “Other Side.” Nativism.

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 10

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October 29

Evolution of citizenship and voting rights for African Americans… abolition of slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, election of 2012. Document Analysis #2 assigned.

DUE… READING: See class website for links to online readings

October 31

Evolution of citizenship and voting rights for African Americans… abolition of slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, election of 2012. Document Analysis #2 status check.

November 2

Migration in Prosperity, Depression & War.

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 11; also, Document Analysis #2

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November 5

From the New World, esp. Mexican Americans. Second Mini Research Project assigned

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 12

November 7

From the New World, esp. Mexican Americans, continued. Changing the Rules.

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 13

November 9

Evolution of Cesar Chavez as a political voice for change.

DUE… READING: See class website for links to online readings.

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November 12

Asian Americans in the 20^th & 21^st centuries.

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 14

November 14

Caribbeans, Central Americans and Soviet Jews

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 15

November 16

Edwidge Danticat, “Boat People.”

DUE… READING: Read the poem “Boat People” and watch the interview of the author at  http://womensvoicesforchange.org/poetry-friday-edwidge-danticat-voices-haiti-always.htm

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November 19

The 1980s and Beyond

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 16

November 21

Thanksgiving traditions in an ethnically diverse USA

DUE… Thanksgiving Preflection

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November 26

Immigration in an increasingly global world.

DUE… READING: Daniels, chapter 17

November 28

The lingering desire for Anglo conformity… is the US ready for “the browning of America”?

DUE… READING: Google the term “the browning of America.” Read 2 items that come up in that search. Be prepared to discuss those items in class.

November 30

Semester review and preparation for the Final Exam.

DUE… Second Research Paper

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December 3

Final Exam.

December 5

Project presentations.

December 7

Project presentations.

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http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/politics/obama-40-percent/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Readings for October 29 & Document Analysis #2

Readings for October 29 & Document Analysis #2

We have read so far about the immigration experiences of some of the many ethnic groups that made up the population of the United States by the early 1900s. Some of these came by choice, as with most European immigrants, and others by force, as with the vast majority of early African immigrants. Still others never, strictly speaking, "came" to the United States but rather were incorporated into its domains through conquest or annexation, as with the Native and Mexican peoples respectively.

Another important aspect of America's ethnic history revolves around the experiences of those groups of people once settled in the United States. How did they grow into their distinctly American identities? How did different ethnic groups relate to one another as they grew into "Americans" over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries? Before moving on with the 20th century in our textbook, let's pause to take a thematic look at the experience of one of those groups, Africans, as they became African Americans. Although the African experience in America has been in some ways as diverse and nuanced as the many African ethnic groups represented here, certain key themes resonate for nearly all who are descendents of the first African immigrants, and particularly so for those who still live in the American South. Among these themes are the legacies of enslavement, racial violence and the long struggle for civil rights.

We've already looked at the Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, a man who experienced slavery in the United States first-hand and wrote about it in 1789 to support the abolitionist movement.

For this week, then, begin by reading this very short bio of Angelina Grimke, a white abolitionist from the American South.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASgrimke.htm

Then, read Grimke's 1838 speech at Pennsylvania Hall. How does Grimke's double status as a "Southern woman," i.e. as both a Southerner and as a woman, strengthen her message in this speech?
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/grimke.html

Eventually, abolitionist sentiment succeeded in the US, but that did not put an end to racism. Southern blacks, in particular, continued to evolve their identities as Americans in an America partially defined by violence and discrimination, in communities subscribing to Jim Crow Laws where the fear of lynching was real and justified. The Abolitionist movement was over, but the Civil Rights movement was just beginning.

Read this (also very short) bio of Ida B. Wells, a black civil rights leader from the American South.
http://www.idabwells.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=53

Then, read Wells' influential 1893 speech and pamphlet, "Lynch Law." The "crime of outrage" Wells refers to is rape... why do you suppose rape is so prominently related to lynching in the context of the American South?
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/wellslynchlaw.html

Finally, watch Billie Holiday perform Strange Fruit, her powerful 1939 song about lynching.
http://dai.ly/edFCOY

Think lynching is a thing of the past in the US? Shamefully, it is a practice that has continued to shape the ethnic reality of African-descendent Americans even into the 21st century.

Brandon McClelland 2008
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5348.shtml

James Byrd 1998
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Byrd_Jr

Anthony Hill 2010
http://www.thegrio.com/news/sc-police-black-man-shot-to-death-body-dragged.php

Presidential Election 2012

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/political-display-morgan-hill-home-called-racist/nSX3C/

For your second Analysis paper, examine the role of race and ethnicity in the Presidential Election of 2012. Re-read the article about the Morgan Hill display. Given what you have learned about the history and context of lynching in the United States, analyze the meaning of this display within the context of the 2012 Presidential Election. Be sure that your paper analyzes direct quotes from at least two of the readings referenced in this post. 3 pages. Due Friday, November 2.

Midterm Study Guide

America’s Ethnic History / Andrews (Fall 2012)

Midterm Study Guide

All  questions on your midterm will be in Short Answer format. You will be asked to write on 8 of the following topics. You should spend no more than 5 minutes on each response, for a total of 40 minutes. Then spend the remaining 10 minutes reviewing and revising your answers.

Why do some people object to calling US citizens “Americans”?

What is meant by the American “singularity”?

What is meant by “American exceptionalism”?

What is the “problem of history” with regard to American Indians? Is there a similar problem of history with regard to Americans whose ancestors were slaves from Africa?

Discuss Erlandson’s theory of the Kelp Highway. In what ways might this theory threaten or disrupt our traditional ideas about what it means to be an “American”?

Discuss Ravenstein’s laws of migration, with particular attention to push, pull, means and efficiency. Use examples from students’ oral history presentations to illustrate these laws.

In what ways is the notion of the United States as a “melting pot” a myth?

Were African slaves immigrants? Why or why not?

Discuss the role of indentured servitude in the peopling of America. Which groups resorted to this practice and why?

How did transportation options to the Americas evolve as migration patterns changed over time?

Why is it important to read first-hand accounts like Equiano’s?

What do we know about the African history and culture slaves brought with them to America?

What are some of the challenges involved in attempting to trace the immigration histories of various groups such as Germans, Poles and Jews?

How can the Cajun experience be used to illustrate the impact of a group’s attitudes towards assimilation?

What are the roots of Anglo-conformity? Why was the founding concept of American-ness so Anglicized?

What is meant by the “ethnic escalator”?

Why did some consider early Chinese and Japanese migrants “sojourners”? Were they considered immigrants? Why or why not?

Who were the “paper sons”?

In what ways and why did Polish immigrants maintain their national heritage while residing in the United States?

In what ways were Irish settlers involved in US politics?

How could attitudes towards education have an effect on a group’s success or failure in the United States?

Why did males outnumber females in the immigrant populations from so many different countries? Discuss the impact of the male/female ratio of two of the groups we’ve studied.

What is the “Turner thesis”?

Today is Columbus Day. Should the US continue to celebrate this holiday? Why or why not?

http://cnnradio.cnn.com/2012/10/09/romney-obama-have-one-big-difference-on-foreign-policy/?hpt=hp_t2

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/political-display-morgan-hill-home-called-racist/nSX3C/