MINORITY CULTURES IN AMERICA
AMST 411--FALL 2003
Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229
Class
UT: 13:00-14:15 [Ramadhan—12:00-13:00] INTERNET: cscpo@arts.uob.bh
Office
Hours: By appointment Office No.: S17-263
VOICE: 438775 (W) 729091 (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.
Attendance Policy*: Attendance in class is mandatory. 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.
Required
Texts:
InfoUSA:
Information USA [CD-ROM].
2002. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, Office of
International Information Programs.
[Supplied by professor.]
Supplemental Readings: [Readings
from the texts below to be supplied as handouts by the professor]
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.
Oct. 5:
Introduction to Minority Cultures in America
Oct. 7:
Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
Readings: InfoUSA:
Information USA [CD-ROM].
“Civil Rights: A Chronology”
Oct. 8:
[Last day for dropping courses]
Oct. 12: Assimilation Versus Pluralism
Readings: Lyman, Introduction, pp.
1-10
Oct. 14: Assimilation Versus Pluralism
Readings: Lyman, Introduction, pp. 11-15
Oct. 19: Assimilation Versus Pluralism
Readings: Lyman,
Introduction, pp. 15-40
Oct. 21: The Test Case of Acculturation
Readings: Marx, “On the Jewish Question”
Oct. 26: The Test Case of Acculturation
Readings: Marx, “On the Jewish Question”
Oct. 27: [First day of Ramadhan 1424]
Oct. 28: Becoming American [Ramadhan—11:40-12:40]
Readings: Naff, “Introduction”
Nov. 2: The
Syrian Immigrants to America [Ramadhan—11:40-12:40]
Readings: Naff, Ch. 2, “When They Came,” “Why They Came”
Nov. 4: The
Syrian Immigrants to America [Ramadhan—12:00-13:00]
Readings: Naff, Ch. 2, “En Route: A
Network of Services,” “The Immigrants”
Nov. 9: The
Syrian Immigrants to America [Ramadhan—12:00-13:00]
Readings: Naff, Ch. 3, “Amrika”
Nov. 11: Midterm Exam [Ramadhan—12:00-13:00]
Nov. 15-19: Mid-semester break [No classes]
Nov. 23: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America [Ramadhan—12:00-13:00]
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 1, “Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in American
History”
Nov.
25-27: Eid Al-Fitr 1424—Holiday [No classes]
Nov. 30: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 2, “Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in
Contemporary America”
Dec. 2:
Culture, Economy & Society
Readings: Darder & Torres, “Introduction—Latinos and Society: Culture, Politics, and Class”
Dec. 7:
Color and Caste
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 3, “North American Indians and the
Demography of Contact”
Dec. 9:
Color and Caste
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 4, “From Sundown to Sunup: Slavery and the Making of the Black
Community”
Dec. 14: Color and Caste
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 5, “Farewell—We’re Good and Gone: Black Migration from the PostBellum South”
Dec. 16-17: National Day of Bahrain—Holidays; no classes
Dec. 21: Latin Americans
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 6, “Mexican Americans: Their Civic and Political Incorporation”
Dec. 23: Latin Americans
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 7, “Migration, Community, and
Culture: The United States-Puerto Rican
Experience”
Dec. 28: The Watershed: The Civil
Rights Movement and Its Aftermath
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 16, “The Civil Rights Movement: A Social and Political Watershed”
Dec. 30: 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”
Jan. 1: New
Year’s Day [Western]—Holiday; no classes
Jan. 4: The
Watershed: The Civil Rights Movement
and Its Aftermath
Readings: Pedraza & Rumbaut, Ch. 18, “American Indians and Political
Protest: The ‘Red Power’ Years”
Jan. 6: Last day of classes; Review
Jan. 17, 2004: Final Exam 14:30-16:30
Jan. 22, 2004: Last day for
submitting first semester’s grades
Jan. 20-Feb. 11, 2004:
Inter-semester Break [Holidays]