Week 1 The Immigrant Experience

6/12/17

Complicating Questions of Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration by

Paula Rothenberg
Identifying as Hispanic a category created by U.S. government very few
identify as such
Basis for assigning/choosing an ethnic identity
o Common language, physical characteristics, shared culture, national
origin
White people have ability to create racial/ethnic categories and apply them
to POC; resulting in lumping them together
o Disregards social, cultural, and economic differences
Simple categorization leaves out different histories and heritages
Political conservatives keep model minority myth alive by using it to
rationalize the unequal distribution of opportunity and privilege

Social Construction of Difference by Paula Rothenberg

The categories reflect culturally constructed differences that maintain the
prevailing distribution of power and privilege in a society
The meaning of being a man or a woman differs from culture to culture and
within each society
Idea of race focuses on biological or genetic similarities whereas idea of
ethnicity focuses on shared social/cultural experiences
Race has been a social construction that has historically set apart racial
minorities from European immigrant groups
Class status has been correlated with supposed differences in innate ability
and moral worth.

When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri
1971, east coast, Pirzada is from Dacca
Differences of narrator learning all about American history and not being
aware of Indias
Contrast of her life here and Pirzadas family back in Dacca
Struggle of identities as American citizens and as immigrants

For a New Citizen of These United States by Li-Young Lee

American poet born in Indonesia
Narrator maybe speaking to a younger family member who was too young to
remember
About the struggles and hardships one must suffer as an immigrant but their
future children will not have to relate
After becoming an American citizen do you forget your past culture?
Ruins by Li-Young Lee
Use an empty ruined home to take time to remember
Metaphorical house brings up memories of what happened

Week 2 The Immigrant Experience

6/19/17

How Does it Feel to be a Problem by Moustafa Bayoumi

Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 Arabs and Muslims have become the new
community of suspicion
Arabs and Muslims are successful in integrating themselves into the
framework of American society
Yet people still continue to see them as enemies
Their situation is dependent less on what happens on the home front and
more on what happens in the Middle East

My Immigration Story by Tan Le
Her mother carried a small bottle of poison incase they were captured
They ended up in Melbourne
She is a refugee and social activist
Her mothers advise when she is doubtful is to just do it, and dont be what
youre not
Finds that its okay to be an outsider; even something to be thankful for.

Week 3 African-American Feminist Perspectives

6/26/17

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and
average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen
as work which will allow them to be more like us
Daily effects/examples of white privilege
o Can turn on the TV and see her race widely represented
o Can find staple foods that fit in cultural traditions in the supermarket
o Able to speak to a powerful male group w/o putting race on trial
o Never asked to speak for all the people of racial group
o Can be sure that if she needs legal or medical help her race will not
work against her.
o
Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women redefining Difference by Audre Lorde
Good defined in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need
Oppressed groups expected to bridge the gap between their lives and the
consciousness of their oppressor
 It becomes the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their
mistakes
Respond to the human differences between us with fear and loathing and we
handle that difference in 1 of 3 ways
o Ignore it
o Copy it if we think its subordinate
o Destroy it if we think its dominant
Poetry has been the major voice of the poor, working class, and colored
women
WOC become other when white women define women in terms of their
own experience alone
Unless one lives and loves in the trenches it is difficult to remember that the
war against dehumanization is ceaseless
Rape is not aggressive sexuality, it is sexualized aggression
Oppressed must recognize the masters difference in order to survive

Passing by Nella Larsen

Importance of ties to race:
o Irene keeps secret for Clare - feels need to protect
o Clare has no ties to race just likes exploring different lives other than her
own
o Clares indefinable race causes her death? Never getting to identify as
one or the other upon confrontation
o Clare doesnt feel fear about the white race she doesnt belong to and can
leave it whenever
o Both detached from the black community
Ways they acknowledge racism:
o Irene not wanting her boys to learn about racism stays ignorant to it
almost
o Irene though is outraged by Clares husband
o Not ashamed of their race, just fear the threat of exclusion

Use white privilege to their advantage/passing

o Passing useful to gain but restricts individuality
o Both fail at passing Clare is found out and Irene becomes paranoid
o Irene passes at the Drayton Larsen gives us no hints that Irene is not
white, or that it was a white only establishment until Clare is staring at her
o Bellows Assumption of everyones whiteness example of passing
regardless of intentional
o Race only defined by skin color
Homosexuality and Identity
o Irene acting as a straight married woman who is not lusting over Clare
Does not accept her feelings towards her, buries them, does not
identify with them
Jealous of Clare and obsessed destroys her own sense of self
 Irene is insecure due to confused sexuality and her comparisons to
other people not necessarily race
o Clare threatens Irenes idea of security i.e. affair with Brian marriage
will crumble
o If Clare no longer passes Irenes world will crumble
o Irene strives to mask behavior that appears uncivilized
Identity Malleable or nonexistent
o Trying to pin point it is fatal ends in death
o Are death and tragedy and insanity what happens when society tries to
assign you one identity if you fall out of societal norms, is it death?
o Unstable identity disrupts stability of communities
o Clare disrupts this by not acknowledging the communities she is socially
obligated to be in

Week 4 African-American Feminist Perspectives

7/3/17

Talking Back by Bell Hooks

Grew up with a passion for speech and writing
Was always told to be quiet and not so opinionated
If she were a boy she could talk more but girls were supposed to be polite
and keep their thoughts to themselves
Always seen as talking back or acting out when she tried to join the
conversation
She hid her writing because she was afraid of being mocked, her writing was
seen as a hobby, not something to be taken seriously
Women who wanted to write for a living were sometimes seen as crazy
She always felt like she was silenced, received harsh criticism, and kept a lot
of secrets in order to be able to write but she couldnt be herself 100%

Week 5 Indigenous Perspective

7/10/17

Civilize Them With a Stick by Mary Brave Bird with Richard Erdoes
Describes education Native American children received
They were taken from their homes, religious views were forced upon them,
treated like they were uncivilized
Education intended to punish them for their culture and wanted to fix them
Unable to fit in when they return back home feeling isolated
Result of educational discrimination is mistrust and hatred for all white
people.
Because my Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi
Hendrix Play the Star Spangled Banner by Alexi Sherman
Native American marriages used to end in civil manner
Now they fight until the very end because their whole lives have to do with
survival
White people coming in and taking over creates a constant need to fight to
survive
Indian fathers treated worse than white fathers when they leave their
children it is a behavior picked up from white men and therefore is seen as
assimilating to white culture

I Give You Back by Joy Harjo

He is no longer letting fear dictate his life
Is fears white soldiers, food being stolen
He was scared about how his emotions would impact his life educators
would punish him based on if he was happy or angry
Fear was meant to kill the man but man made fear come to life in the first
place

Week 6 Indigenous Perspective

7/17/17

Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves by Evelyn Alsuntany

She is constantly being asked where she is from most people are never
satisfied with the answer New York
She is either seen as Cuban or Arab
No one wants to see the other part of her they want one cultural identifier
and do not like it when she doesnt fit their expectations
Finds that she cant be completely herself, like she has to be one or the other
depending on who shes talking to.
It is tiring constantly explaining to people why they shouldnt ask about
ethnicity its not her job to answer white peoples many questions and
biased opinions

Crossing the Border without Losing Your Past by Oscar Caesres

Born in America but him and his father refer to themselves as Mexican-
American
Even though his father was born in America he is still Mexican ancestry
determines identity
In society his ethnicity is changed based on where he is suddenly people
refer to him and a group of many others from all different places, as Hispanic
When telling someone he was born in America they say oh so youre
American, and he wonders where did the Mexican-American part of him go?
Grouping ethnicities into one big label strips individuals of their identity
El Velorio by Rudalfo Anaya
Velorio is a wake
Rufus wants to take his son home for an open casket wake and the coroner is
very against it and Rufus ends up carrying him home anyways
He struggles somewhat with the casket but no one helps him carry it this is
something he has to do by himself
The neighborhood helps clean the house and prepare for the wake. Women
are cooking and cleaning and then a singer comes and prays.
Everyone is deeply moved and together in that moment, contemplating life
and death and eternity.
For this night, everyone comes together and understands the need for
tradition.

Bells by Jimmy Santiago Baca

Starts with his coming into the world and maybe walking home
His body is that of the church also a symbol of importance of religion in
identity
His mother jokes he is made of bells
Maybe the importance of how hometown and church define him

A Place without Shame by David Baraza

Identity shifts according to location
When he is outside he is uncomfortable, stiff, quiet
Once he gets inside with people of the same ethnicity everyone is able to
relax
They can talk without thinking of their words or accents, they laugh, they can
be as loud as they want, they sing and dance to the songs of their culture
Their insecurities are left outside and they can be themselves in a safe
environment
They are given a sense of belonging

Week 7 Questions of Identity Difference (Ability/Disability)

7/24/17

Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History by Douglas

Baynton
Western political thought refuse to take for granted inequalities between
persons/groups
Societies produce rational explanation for unequal treatment
Disability used to clarify who deserved citizenship
Disability has functioned for groups as a sign of/and justification for
inferiority
Normality a means of measuring and managing populations
 Natural and normal are both ways of establishing universal good and right
Exclusion of disabled people was central to the laws and work of the
immigration service
Racial and ethnic prejudice is exposed while prejudice against people with
disabilities is passed over as insignificant and understandable
In order to gain equal rights seeking to distance group from disabilities
accepts the idea that disability is a legitimate reason for inequality

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Greely

Gets cancer at a very young age, misses a lot school
Spends most of her time in the hospital where the kids are ranked by how
long they have been there and how sick they are the longer and sicker
receives more respect
Her mother and father worked and lived far from the hospital so they only
visited, they didnt stay long
Father always felt like he had to talk and entertain for visits, the mother just
sat and knitted she knew it was the company that mattered, not the
conversation
She never really knew she had cancer until much later, brushed off peoples
opinions about it, didnt get why her friends were asking her if she was dying
She liked having something wrong with her something that made her feel
special
She went through many many facial surgeries trying to make her jaw more
symmetric and all the bone grafts ended up sinking in and they had to start
the process all over again
Very long process, very tiring recovery, always felt excited about how she
might look and ended up disappointed every time
Always had difficulties with her face and accepting herself assumed she
would never be loved or that anyone would be attracted to her
Decides truths are important only in the moment and that they change
throughout your life must be here now not try to remember for the future

Stella Young TED Talk

Talks about inspiration porn motivational posters about people with
disabilities are motivating for able bodied people, something to tell them
they can do whatever they are struggling with
Disabled people are not here for inspiration or encouragement they are
people and seeing them as anything else strips them of identity
When she was younger they wanted to give her a medal for her contribution
to the community
She didnt do anything for the community, and the town felt she was special
because she was doing everything a normal teenager was doing, but in a
wheelchair
She went to teach a class and a boy didnt think she was a teacher and instead
thought she was a motivational speaker
 We need to stop expecting disabled people to inspire and encourage us and
see them as people just like us and not put them on a pedestal
They are using their bodies to the best of their ability just like abled people
are using their bodies to the best of their ability

Week 8 Questions of Identity Difference (Disability/Sexual

Identity)
7/31/17

Against Bullying or On Loving Queer Kids by Richard Kim

About a man the same age who committed suicide because he was gay
Many are pushing for harsh punishment for the two kids who posted a video
that prompted the suicide
Kim calls for not necessarily punishment but a look at more of the
environment
If there is more acceptance of gay people in the world, people will not be so
cruel
There should be gay teachers children will be able to see that being gay is
survivable and that there is a happy future
By hiding this from the public, queer kids learn: please dont exist

Truth Serum by Bernard Cooper

Explores how being gay made him fearful of being found out all the time
Very on edge never wanted to tell his mother as she had a bad reaction
He thinks his teachers might be gay because he is passing notes for them and
is surprised he couldnt tell
He tries to condition himself to be straight, goes to a party to kiss girls, does
not like it
Still has a crush on his friend his friend has a test to see if people are gay
Some regrets are that he was not truthful with Theresa maybe he wouldve
met a more accepting community