LITR 4333 American Immigrant Literature at UHCL

Objective 1. To identify the immigrant narrative as a defining story or model of American culture and recognize its relations to "the American Dream” and other multicultural narratives and identities.

Such applications identify four multicultural groups or narratives for the United States of America.

The standard immigrant story of escaping the Old World and assimilating to the New World and its dominant culture: eastern and central Europeans and Jews (late 1800s to early 1900s), and Asian Americans in late 20th-early 21st century--sometimes called "model minorities" for conformity to American economics. Color code may vary to other physical differences.
The minority narrative (African Americans, Native Americans) is not an immigrant story of voluntary participation and assimilation but of involuntary contact and exploitation, resisting assimilation, and creating an identity more or less separate from the mainstream. Color code as wild-card factor.
The New World immigrant (Hispanic/Latino/a and Afro-Caribbean), which constitutes the largest wave of contemporary immigration, combines immigrant and minority narratives, voluntarily immigrating from the Caribbean/West Indies or MesoAmerica but often with experience of involuntary contact and exploitation by the USA in other countries, or identification with minorities through the color code.
The Dominant Culture of earlier immigrants from Northern and Western Europe--despite their predominance and power, this group is often the hardest to identify because of their "unmarked" status: often identified with whiteness but also with middle-class modesty and cleanliness. Following the Exodus story, the dominant culture does not assimilate to pre-existing cultures but conquers and displaces earlier traditions. Two major strains: middle-class Puritans emphasizing education, community, and progress, and Scots-Irish or hillbilly, emphasizing common-sense traditions, individualism, and resentment.

These categories are not exclusive or definitive. Borders or boundaries are more or less permeable.

explanation of objective 1 in terms of American educational goals

Objective 2. To chart the dynamics, variations, and stages of the immigrant narrative.

Background

Essential terms: Assimilation, melting pot, and "minority"

Stages of the Immigrant Narrative

Character by generation: associations or identities of immigrant generations

Objective 3. To compare and contrast the immigrant narrative with the minority narrative—or, American Dream versus American Nightmare:

Differences between immigrants and minorities

“New World Immigrants,” including Mexican Americans, other Latinos, and Afro-Caribbeans,

“The Color Code”

Objective 4. To identify the United States' “dominant culture” to which immigrants assimilate.

Examples of national migration and dominant culture for objective 4

Objective 5. Immigration and Public Education

2009 reading & lecture schedule

IA = Imagining America (2^nd edition)

Thursday, 27August: introduction: immigration history and terms with historical readings

Students provide contact information with any presentation preferences

Readings:

Crevecoeur, "What is an American?" & "Description of Charles-Town: Thoughts on Slavery . . . " (1782)

+ videos on Dominant Culture

Video Questions: What identifying qualities for dominant culture? What values or styles? In what ways does it dominate?

In "Story of English," how are American Indians treated as a minority?

In "Hillbilly," what recognizable traits of dominant culture? What about assimilation?

Thursday, 3 September: Examples of the classic or standard American Immigrant Narrative

Class readings:

Anzia Yezierska, “Soap and Water”
Nicholasa Mohr, “The English Lesson” (IA 21-34)

Discussion leader: Christi Wood

Dominant culture moment: instructor

Poem: Joseph Papaleo, “American Dream: First Report”

Poetry reader: Dawlat Yassin

Thursday, 10 September: “Model Minorities”: Asian American Immigrant Literature

Class readings:

Sui Sin Far, "In the Land of the Free" (IA 3-11)
Gish Jen, “In the American Society” (IA 158-171)
Maxine Hong Kingston, from The Woman Warrior (VA 195-200) [handout]
Carlos Bulosan, from American is in the Heart [handout] + pinoy definition

Discussion leader: Debbie Johnson

Poem: Shirley Lim, "Father from Asia"

Poetry reader: Lanh Thi Le

Term: Model Minority

Next 2 classes: How does the minority narrative differ from the immigrant narrative?

Thursday, 17 September : African American Minority vs. the immigrant narrative.

Class readings:

James Baldwin, from No Name in the Street [handout]
Toni Cade Bambara, “The Lesson” (IA 145-152)
Alice Walker, “Elethia” (IA 307-309)

Discussion leader: Amy Barnett

Poem: Patricia Smith, “Blonde White Women”

Poetry reader: Jackie Baker

Thursday, 24 September: American Indian Minority vs. the immigrant narrative

Class readings:

Leslie Marmon Silko, “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” (IA 205-209)
Louise Erdrich, "American Horse" (IA 210-220)
Mei Mei Evans, “Gussuk” (IA 237-251)

Discussion leader: instructor

Dominant culture moment: Ashley (Brown) Alexander

Poem: Chrystos, “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government"

Poetry reader: Andrew Beem

Next 3 classes: New World Immigration (Hispanic or Caribbean) as immigrant + minority?

Map of New World / Western Hemisphere

Thursday, 1 October: Mexican Americans: Immigrant / American Dream story, or Minority?

Class readings:

Richard Rodriguez, from Hunger of Memory [handout]
Gary Soto, “Like Mexicans” [handout]
Nash Candelaria, "El Patron" (IA 221-228)
Sandra Cisneros, "Barbie-Q" (IA 252-253)

Discussion leader: Faron Samford

Poem: Pat Mora, “Immigrants"

Poetry reader: Ashley Strange

Thursday, 8 October: Other Hispanic Americans: Immigrant / American Dream story, or Minority?

Class readings:

Junot Diaz, "How to Date a Browngirl . . . “ (IA 276-279)
Oscar Hijuelos, “Visitors, 1965” (IA 310-325)
Judith Ortiz Cofer, "Silent Dancing" [handout]

Web highlight (midterms): Omar Syed

Poem: Martin Espada, “Coca-Cola and Coco Frio”

Poetry reader: Julie Mash

Thursday, 15 October: Afro-Caribbean Immigrants: Minorities or Immigrants?

Class readings:

Edwidge Danticat, “Children of the Sea” (IA 98-112)
Paule Marshall, “The Making of a Writer: From the Poets in the Kitchen” [handout]
Paule Marshall, “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam” (IA 368-377)

Discussion leader(s): Karina Ramos

Poem: Claude McKay, "America" & "The White City"

Poetry reader: Ryan Smith

Thursday, 22 October : Midterm exam and research report proposal

Thursday, 29 October: More “Model Minorities”: Indian & Pakistani American Literature

Class readings:

Chitra Divakaruni, “Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs” (70-83)
Tahira Naqvi, “Thank God for the Jews” (IA 229-236)
Bharati Mukherjee, “A Wife’s Story” (IA 57-69)

Discussion leader: Amanda Pruett

Poem: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, “Restroom"

Poetry reader: Theresa Davis

European-American Immigrant Literature / Prototypes of American Dominant Culture: Ancient Jews & New England

Thursday, 5 November: Bread Givers: Jewish-Americans, or Chosen People in the New World

Class readings: Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers (1925)

Glossary to Bread Givers

Discussion leader: Randi Hall

Poem: Lyn Lifshin, "Being Jewish in a Small Town"

Poetry reader: Lisa Whiteman

Thursday, 12 November: The Exodus story

Class readings: selections from the Exodus story in the Old Testament of the Bible

Discussion leader: Christi Wood

Web highlight (research reports): Melissa Sandifer

Thursday, 19 November: The Pilgrims as model of the dominant culture

Class readings: William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (chapters I-IV)

Discussion leader: instructor

Web highlight (final exam essays): Sarah Wells

Poem: Enid Dame, “On the Road to Damascus, Maryland"

Poetry reader: Christine Pearson

Thursday, 26 November: No meeting—Thanksgiving Holiday: read about the “first Thanksgiving” in Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and Mourt's Relation

Thursday, 3 December : Pilgrims & Exodus model of dominant-culture migration

Class readings: William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (see Second Day's assignments)

Parallels between the Exodus story and the Pilgrims

Discussion leader(s): Tori Cyr

Poem: Hamod (Sam), “After the Funeral of Assam Hamady”

Poetry reader: Faron Samford / Dawlat Yassin

Thursday, 10 December: final exam & research report