Race,
Ethnicity and Transnational Identity
Spring Semester 2002, Inventing America
Elliott Young
Office: Miller
406
Miller 210 Phone: x 7454
eyoung@lclark.edu
Hm. Phone 239-1154
MWF 1:50-2:50
Office Hours: T- 10-11:30, W 11:30-1
“Since
the beginning of the nation,
white Americans have suffered from a deep inner uncertainty as to who they really
are.”
-- Ralph Ellison, “What America Would Be Like without Blacks (1970)
America cannot be understood without a critical analysis of how race and ethnicity have both formed and deformed US national identity. This course will explore the historical and contemporary constructions of race, ethnicity, national and transnational identity through an analysis of the interrelational development of blackness, whiteness, brownness and mestizoness (mixed-raceness). Whither America? Postethnic, postnational, global empire or ‘ one nation undivided.’
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Everyone should come to class prepared to discuss the appropriate readings.
When short response or study questions are assigned, those should also be completed
prior to class. As many of our discussions will focus specifically on passages
from the readings, it is necessary to bring your books with you to class. 25%
of your grade will be determined based on your participation in classroom discussions
and by your written responses to study questions.
Attendance in class is mandatory and obviously makes up a large part of your
participation grade. If you are unable to make it to class for any reason please
call or email me before class to let me know that you will not be there. If
you have a medical or another emergency, let me know as soon as possible afterwards.
WRITING
Writing is one of the main aims of this class, and as such I will take it very
seriously. Among other factors, I will be looking for a thesis (ideas), creativity
(how you choose to present and organize the material), evidence, organization,
and clarity (grammar, spelling, syntax, etc.).
Re-writing and
editing is the key to good writing. You can turn in drafts of your papers ahead
of time and I will make every effort within reason to return them to you before
they are due, and with enough time for your own re-write. The earlier you get
the drafts to me, the better the chance that I will have time to review it.
You may, with my permission, rewrite papers, but do not expect a radical change
in your grade. Re-writes will always be due one week after the day the original
paper is returned to you. Also remember that the writing center is there to
help you improve your writing so take advantage of the services that it offers.
One page of film
notes will be required for each film that we see. These notes will be due in
the class following the screening. If you cannot attend the screening, you must
make arrangements to see the film on reserve in the library.
All quotations
or references should be appropriately cited with footnotes or endnotes. The
papers should be submitted to me in class on the day that they are due. If a
dire emergency prevents you from completing a paper on-time, please contact
me ASAP so that we can work out an alternative.
All papers should
be typed or word-processed and double-spaced. I estimate about 250 words per
page, so don’t try and mess with the margins, the font or the size of the
print too much because it will be all too apparent.
RESEARCH PROJECT
The class research project will focus on the issue of national and transnational
identity. It will involve field research in local immigrant communities as well
as additional readings on the subject. A more detailed outline will be provided
in the next couple of weeks.
PAPERS &
EXAMS
Study questions for the mid-term exam will be distributed one week prior to
the exam. The essay question will be chosen from one of these.
LEARNING DISABILITIES
If you have been diagnosed with a learning disability please bring it to my
attention immediately. Also, please speak with me if you feel that you may have
a learning disability so that you can be officially tested.
Grading Distribution
1st Paper- 5%
2nd Paper- 10%
3rd Paper 15%
Mid-Term Exam 15%
Final Research Paper 20%
Participation 35%
Oral Presentation (5%)
Attendance (5%)
Class Discussion (10%)
Other assignments (15%)
Texts
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
George Lipsitz, The Possessive Investment in Whiteness
Cornel West, Race Matters
WEB Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk
Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America Vol. I and Vol. II
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Solitude of Self”
Booker T. Washington, “Atlanta Exposition Speech” (1895)
David Roediger, Wages of Whiteness
Mathew Frye Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color
Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera
Gary Nash, “The Hidden History of Mestizo America”
Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, selections
Guillermo Gómez Peña, New World Border
David Hollinger Postethnic AmericaFilms
Spike Lee, “Bamboozled”
Tony Kaye, “American History X”
John Sayles, “Lonestar”
Prologue: In
Search of the Principle
Week 1 Jan. 21
M- Introduction; Ellison, Invisible Man
W- Ellison, Invisible Man, prologue-ch. 6
F- Ellison, Invisible Man, ch. 7-13; Washington, “Atlanta Exposition Speech”
Week 2 Jan. 28
M- Callahan Lecture; Ellison, “Brave Words for a Starling Occasion”
W- Ellison Invisible Man
F- Ellison Invisible Man
Week 3 Feb. 4
Individualism and Community: the Search for Self
M- Review and Planning Day
W- Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. I, (vii-xi, xix-xxi, 3-16, 254-270)
F- Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. II, “Of Individualism in Democratic
Countries”; Emerson, “Self Reliance”
Week 4 Feb. 11
Stanton, “Solitude of Self”; Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol.
II, "Of the Use Which Americans Make of Public Associations in Civil Life"
W- Toqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. I, ch. 17 (288-300)
F- Toqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. I, ch. 18 (331-381, 394-95)
Week 5 Feb. 18
M- Gould, Mismeasure of Man, intro and epilogue; West, Race Matters, Preface-
ch. 2 (First Paper Due)
T- Film- Bamboozled 6 pm, Miller 105
W- West, Race Matters, ch. 3-5
F- West, Race Matters, ch. 6-8
Week 6 Feb. 25 E(racing) Whiteness
M- Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk, ch. 1-2
W- Roediger, Wages of Whiteness, ch. 5-6
F- Roediger, Wages of Whiteness, ch. 7
Week 7 Mar. 4
M- Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color, ch. 2
T- Film- American History X, 6 pm, Miller 105
W- Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color, ch. 3
F- Lipsitz, “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness”
Week 8 Mar. 11
Neither White, Nor Black, but Brown
M- Mid-Term Exam
W- Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory, prologue- ch. 2
F- Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory, ch. 3- 4
Week 9 Mar. 18
M- Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory, ch. 5-6
W- Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera, ch. 1-2
F- Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera, ch. 3-5
Spring Break
Week 10 Apr.
1
M- Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera, ch. 6-7 (2nd Paper Due)
W- Gary Nash, “The Hidden History of Mestizo America”
F- Spickard, “Who is an Asian?;” Espiritu, “Possibilities of
a Multiracial Asian America”
Week 11 Apr.
8 Research Projects
M- Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, selections
T- Film- Lonestar, 6 pm, Miller 105
W- Gómez-Peña, “The New World Border: Prophecies for the
End of the Century” in The New World Border
F- Review and Research methods (3rd Paper Due)
Week 12 Apr.
15 Postethnic America
M- Research Paper Proposals Due
W- Research Time
F- Hollinger, Postethnic America, ch. 1-2
Week 13 Apr.
22 The Nation and Beyond
M- Evaluations and Review
W- Conclusion
F- Class research Project Presentations
Week 14 Apr.
28
M- Class research Project Presentations
W- Class research Project Presentations
Remaining Final Research Papers and Oral Presentations will be presented during
Final Exam Period, Monday,, May 6th 1-4 pm.