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 approach to studying history has changed the way I look at the topic as a whole. Acquainting myself with different groups and individuals has given me a greater depth of understanding than I knew existed. For example, I had heard the term “typhoid mary” but had never walked with Mary Mallon. I now understand that studying an individual event at such close range allows one to better understand the culture as a whole. Largely magnifying a subject and then taking steps back from it allows one to finish the study with a clearer picture than if one were to approach a subject as a whole. I think what I am trying to say, then, is that this class has taught me an entirely different method of study.
At first, I was unsure of how all these different texts would combine to give me a general understanding of this time period. It was difficult for me to see how a constant focus on the “other America” would give me an idea of society as a whole at that time period. Now I understand that by looking at each facet we have a better understanding of the whole.
If I had to write a definition of “inbetweeness” I think it would look something like this: Inbetweeness is a quality apparent in people in transition. It means people who are fighting to level the playing field or perhaps to elevate themselves to the next wrung of society.
America is often referred to as the melting pot, and it is in this time period that we come to understand just what that means. I have particularly been affected by the study of racism during this time period. Understanding what each group of people has gone through in order to call themselves an American has forever changed the way that I will look at our nation. I will admit my own ignorance, in that prior to this class I did not really understand the racism that was palpable in the lives of early twentieth century immigrants. I am also particularly intrigued with the changing definition of whiteness. Growing up in a suburbian bubble, this is never something that I spent much time thinking about. Most everyone at my school looked like me and thus I had no reason to question what was “whiteness” meant. To think that some of my family members and very close friends were at one time discriminated against because of their ethnic origins was alien to me until Civ III.
It is my natural inclination to think about how history applies to the present, and I think that much of what we’ve learned in this class is applicable today. It is important not to make the same mistakes as our forefathers, and I hope that everyone will think about racism today. In some instances it has a different face but in many instances it does not. In a country so divided, it is as important as it ever was to break down barriers and to embrace the melting pot.