In this course, we will explore the struggles and triumph "inbetween peoples" after Reconstruction and before WWII.
When I was thinking back over civ I and II, a continuing theme, we were told, was how many people confronted the problem of creating the United States and how to find a model a new nation. To this point, we looked at efforts to use memory (like the alamo), collections and displays of American [...]
I must say that coming into this class I had little idea of what the term “inbetween peoples” really meant. Although I knew that American history is one wrought with turmoil, I was largely unaware of what that really meant for the people who lived during the centuries prior. I must say that this cultural [...]
When reading theoretical pieces during the first part of this semester, I found subconsciously that I identified both “in-between” people and “insiders” described as foreign. Unintentionally, I placed myself and my own life as far removed from those illustrated. Despite the fact that I am not and was not ignorant to the issues addressed in [...]
I found the most interesting part of the class to be learning about instances when people took the law into their own hands. When both historical figures and literary characters did this, they stretched their potentially insignificant inbetween position into something that would define standards for other people. But these stretches didn’t remain unchecked, and [...]
So I won’t lie, I went to my transcript to remember all the old classes I took over my 2 and half years here. They weren’t all great nor do all of them have to do with American Studies, although Freshman year registration periods were before I saw the light. During this past semester, we [...]
In my opinion, Civ I and II were all about trying to define what is American. This semester we continued that discussion, focusing on groups of people who were certainly recognized as “other” initially.America from Reconstruction through WW1 was not the melting pot that it is rumored to be. The [...]
I remember when I first met with Dean Cloke about entering the American Studies program as a second semester freshman. I have always had a passion for American history, but I wanted to make sure that becoming an American Studies major was the right course for me. So I asked him what it was all [...]
One of the questions I can clearly remember from last class was which aspects of our American Civ courses have “stuck” with us so far. For me, that lesson is never to underestimate the power and influence of consumer culture. I can remember my year’s Civ I’s projects where we broke up into [...]
Over the course of this semester, we explored many layers of “in betweenness.” I enjoyed that aspect of the class; it made every week different, but it was still easy to see the links between people who were marginalized by their race, [...]
One thing I will take away from this semester is my understanding of the social construction of racial identity. Whiteness did not necessarily mean skin color. In fact, it meant your level of being accepted as American. Before this class, I wasn’t really aware that Irish, Greek or Polish immigrants were considered “non-white” during the [...]