MINORITY CULTURES IN AMERICA

AMST 411--FALL 2006

Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229

Class MW: 9:30-10:45 [Ramadhan—9:30-10:30] INTERNET: cscpo@arts.uob.bh

Office Hours: By appointment Office No.: S17-263

VOICE: 17438775 (W) 17729091 (H)

An examination of the questions of race, ethnicity and identity in the United States with special emphasis on minorities.

Grading Policy: 20% for Attendance*; 20% for the Class Presentation; 20% for the Midterm Exam; 20% for the Research Paper; and 20% for the Final Exam. A Guidelines sheet will be distributed outlining the requirements for your Class Presentation and for your Research Paper.

Grading Scale: 93-100=A; 90-92=A-; 88-89=B+; 83-87=B; 80-82=B-; 78-79=C+; 73-77=C; 70-72=C-; 68-69=D+; 63-67=D; 60-62=D-; 0-59=F

Attendance Policy*: Attendance in class is mandatory. It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet each day of class; failure to sign the attendance sheet—even if in attendance—will be counted as an absence. If your unexcused absences exceed 25% of the total number of lectures of the course in this semester, you will be automatically withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will be counted towards your GPA. As well, you are expected to follow the syllabus and accordingly be prepared for each day's class. This means that you must read the pre-assigned readings before class so that you will be prepared to discuss and debate in class the subject matter scheduled for that day and answer questions related to the issues being covered. NOTE: TURN OFF all cell phones during class.

* Absence from class may be made up by preparing a two-page, typed (i.e. using maximum 12 point font size and maximum double-spaced text with one-inch margin on all sides), summary on the missed material scheduled to be covered the day(s) of your absence. The summary must be in your own words and must not be copied material from the text(s), the internet, or any other source(s). Times New Roman font is strongly recommended; however, if you use an alternative style, make sure your font does not resemble italic or bold text. Also, Comic Sans MS font is not allowed.

Supplemental Readings: [Readings from the texts below to be supplied as handouts by the professor]

Cain, Kathleen Shine. 1994. Living in the USA: Cultural Contexts for Reading and Writing. Boston & London: Allyn and Bacon.

Darder, Antonia and Rodolfo D. Torres. 1998. The Latino Studies Reader: Culture, Economy & Society. Malden, MA & Oxford UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Naff, Alixa. 1985. Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Lyman, Staford M. 1994. Color, Culture, Civilization: Race and Minority Issues in American Society. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois.

Pedraza, Silvia and Ruben G. Rumbaut. 1996. Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethncity in America. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

NOTE: Additional class readings can be printed from the AMST 411 class webpage: [http://userspages.uob.edu.bh/cscpo/amst411.htm]

Sept. 18: Introduction to Minority Cultures in America

Sept. 20: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

Readings: InfoUSA: Information USA [CD-ROM]. “Civil Rights: A Chronology”

Sept. 24: [First day of Ramadan 1427]

Sept. 25: Assimilation Versus Pluralism [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Lyman, Introduction, pp. 1-10

Sept. 27: Assimilation Versus Pluralism [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Lyman, Introduction, pp. 11-15

Sept. 28: [Last day for dropping courses]

Oct. 1—Nov. 23: [Withdrawal period with “W”]

Oct. 2: Assimilation Versus Pluralism [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Lyman, Introduction, pp. 15-40

Oct. 4: The Test Case of Acculturation [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Marx, “On the Jewish Question”

Oct. 9: The Test Case of Acculturation [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Marx, “On the Jewish Question”

Oct. 11: Becoming American [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Naff, “Introduction”

Oct. 16: The Syrian Immigrants to America [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Naff, Ch. 2, “When They Came,” “Why They Came”

Oct. 18: The Syrian Immigrants to America [Ramadhan—9:00-9:45]

Readings: Naff, Ch. 2, “En Route: A Network of Services,” “The Immigrants”

Oct. 23-25: Eid Al-Fitr 1427—Holiday [No classes]

Oct. 30: The Syrian Immigrants to America

Readings: Naff, Ch. 3, “Amrika”

Nov. 1: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Acknowledgements, Preface, Prologue, & Ch. 1, “Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in American History”

Nov. 6: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 2, “Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in Contemporary America”

Nov. 8: Midterm Exam

Nov. 12-16: Mid-semester break [No classes]

Nov. 20: Culture, Economy & Society

Readings: Darder & Torres, “Introduction—Latinos and Society: Culture, Politics, and Class”

Nov. 22: Color and Caste

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 3, “North American Indians and the Demography of Contact”

Nov. 27: Color and Caste

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 4, “From Sundown to Sunup: Slavery and the Making of the Black Community”

Nov. 29: Color and Caste

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 5, “Farewell—We’re Good and Gone: Black Migration from the PostBellum South”

Dec. 4: Latin Americans

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 6, “Mexican Americans: Their Civic and Political Incorporation”

Dec. 6: Latin Americans

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 7, “Migration, Community, and Culture: The United States-Puerto Rican Experience”

Dec. 11: The Watershed: The Civil Rights Movement and Its Aftermath

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 16, “The Civil Rights Movement: A Social and Political Watershed”

Dec. 13: The Watershed: The Civil Rights Movement and Its Aftermath

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 17, “Que Viva la Raza: The Many Faces of the Chicano Movement, 1963-1971”

Dec. 16-17: National Day of Bahrain—Holidays [no classes]

Dec. 18: The Watershed: The Civil Rights Movement and Its Aftermath

Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 18, “American Indians and Political Protest: The ‘Red Power’ Years”

Dec. 20: Wealth & Class

Readings: From Cain, Robert Coles “The Children of Affluence”

Dec. 25: Generational and Cultural Clashes [Research Papers Due]

Readings: From Cain, Amy Tan “Two Kinds”

Dec. 27: Working Class Blues [Last Day for In-Class Presentations]

Readings: From Cain, Ben Hamper “At War with the Minute Hand”

Dec. 30: Arafh Holiday

Dec. 31-Jan. 2: Eid Al-Adha Holiday [no classes]

Jan. 1, 2007: New Year’s Day Holiday [no classes]

Jan. 3, 2007: Idealism & Capitalism

Readings: From Cain, Erik Larson “Forever Young”

Jan. 8: Follow My Religion

Readings: From Cain, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn “A Visit from Reverend Tileston”

Jan. 10: Last day of classes; Review

Jan. 23, 2007: Final Exam 11:30-13:30

Jan. 28, 2007: Last day for submitting first semester’s grades

Jan. 29-30, 2007: Ashura Holiday

Jan. 29-Feb. 22, 2007: Inter-semester Break [Holidays]