ANT 253 Anthropology of Ethnicities Fall 2001
K. Gibel Azoulay (Goodnow 306 Tel. 4324/236-6367)
Office Hours: M-F 11-2:30 (sign-up sheet Goodnow 306 or after 4pm – By appointment)
MW 8:15-9:50
Fine Arts 242
Readings:
Course packet in Bookstore;
Project Muse (a Burling library database);.
Films: Sundays 2:15PM (mark calenders)
16 Sept: Angela’s Ashes (dir Alan Parker, 1999)
30 Sept: L’Haine (dir. Mathieu Kasovitz)
4 Nov: Sacco and Vanzetti (dir Giuliano Montaldo, 1971)
11 Nov The Accused (dir Jonathan Kaplan, 1988)
As as well as the themes of racism as a system, the relationship between education and acculturation, class and ethnicity, and nationalism and identities.
Class Format
Classes will begin with an introduction and move into a class-participatory (i.e. general) discussion of the assigned readings. Each individual student is expected to bring reading notes/outline in preparation for for class discussion including specific passages for questions and comment. Small reading groups will be organized to lead discussions although everyone is responsible for full active participation.
All students will be required to keep a journal -- entries will be submitted on a weekly basis.
Course Requirements
This course aims to sharpen skills of critical reading and thinking in order to consider various approaches, interpretations, and the social and political implications of studying ethnicity and ethnic identities. This course does not include any exams -- however extensive writing and active participation in class discussion are expected and will be graded. In order to facilitate this process, students will be expected to adhere to the following requirements:
1. Attendance is mandatory Students who miss more than three classes will receive an automatic reduction in the final grade. Five absences or more will be considered a withdrawal from the course. Attendance sheets will be circulated at the beginning of each class -- it is your responsibility to sign in. Class begins on time -- if anyone has scheduling conflicts which will cause tardiness, please discuss this with me at the beginning of the semester.
you should plan on seeing the film before the assigned time – most films will be on reserve at Burling Library.
3. Reading Journal (40%)/ Every student must keep a reading journal which notes the main points of the reading assignment as follows:
I. What is the central question and/or hypothesis? How does the author address this? What is the central conclusion? Why is it significant? What constitutes identities named “ethnic,” “national,” “racial”? How do collective ethnic, racial, national identities affect individual perspectives? How does language (vocabulary) invoke difference? Difference compared to what?
Your writing represents a conversation with the text, the author and class discussions. By mid-semester you should be considering the following questions before you write your weekly journal entry::
II. What did you learn? Why not? Are there points of identity between your life experience and what you found in the reading? Where are the differences?
How is "difference" a learned phenomenon?
The readings are grouped according to similar themes although many of these themes (and therefore foci of essays) intersect, overlap and/or flow into one another.
Format of Journal Entries: The journals are to be dated, paginated and typed. You will be expected to write at least two pages for each reading assignment. The journal entries are due each week by Friday at 4pm. Your ideas will not be graded as "correct" or "incorrect" -- rather this is an opportunity to explore, engage with and challenge ideas. A separate hand-out describes in detail the Guidelines for Writing Journal Entries. REFER BACK AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES!
The format for typing your entries is as follows: Left Margin 1.5", Right Margin 1." Double spaced and standard font. Pages must be numbered and entries must be dated (the dates are for you to review the development of your thoughts at the end of the semester.)
The journal entries count toward your final grade (40%) however during the first half of the semester you will not receive individual grades. The second half of the semester, journals will be graded as follows:
A = insightful/original linkages between course material, citations, main themes, contextualization of material to outside information (significance)
A- = linkages between course material, citations, main themes, contextualization of material to outside information (significance)
B+/B/B- = linkages to course material, a theme, a comment: varying degrees of B depend on content and more than a reiteration of class discussion.
C and below = generalizations, vague linkage:
3. Leading Discussions (20%) For each class, one pair of students will bring in an outline of the main points of the reading and will address the central question(s) of the text in relation to previous texts: how and why the text is significant and, as the semester progresses, the relevance to issues which have received attention in previous class discussions and readings. Your prepared written presentation should be no longer than 15 minutes.
5. Class Discussions (20%): Active participation in class discussion is absolutely required -- in order to fulfill this requirement you need to come to class with reading notes, ideas sparked by the reading and their relation to previous readings and films. The texts provide the information, analysis and stimulus for the conversations in class – skim once, then read carefully!
It is appropriate for there to be differences of opinion. This furthers our own understanding of the topic. Sometimes it is even important to be the "devil's advocate." Critical thinking and an engaging exchange of ideas depends on listening carefully to another person's perspective and responding respectfully. The focus should be specifically on what and why there are points of agreement or disagreement -- how is one interpretation different and in what ways should it be valued as more or less persuasive?
Personal experience is important, but it is idiosyncratic and should be drawn on as an additional resource -- not a substitute -- for information or evidence from the texts we will be reading. In other words, class discussion and journal entries are situated within the context of the readings. These may be supplemented with outside sources.
Evaluation Paper (10%): A 6-7 page paper (maximum 10 pages) paper summarizing your cumulative learning throughout the semester. This is not a soul-searching exercise – rather it allows you to review your journal entries, films & documentaries as well as supplementary material in order to reflect on the information and analyses which you have encountered in this course. How has your thinking about the notion of ethnicity evolved as a result of insights from the cumulative impact of semester’s texts? What practical implications are there to acquiring familiarity with the conceptual challenge of defining ethnicity?
FILM SCHEDULE – attendance required (most films will be on reserve in Burling until Friday. If you cannot attend the screening, you must make coordinate another time with me).
Mark your calenders for the following dates -- Sundays at 2:15 pm:
16 Sept: Angela’s Ashes (dir Alan Parker, 1999) – recommended The Commitments
30 Sept: L’Haine (dir. Mathieu Kasovitz) – recommended Café au Lait
4 Nov: Sacco and Vanzetti (dir Giuliano Montaldo, 1971) recommended: Matewan (dir John Sayles)
11 Nov The Accused (dir Jonathan Kaplan, 1988)
25 Nov Mississippi Masala (dir. Mira Nair, 1992)
After you have seen the film, write your reflections; you may add a later addendum to your comments and if so, be sure to date it.
WEEK #1
Mon 3 Sept
INTRODUCTION: Initial Perspectives on Ethnicity -- vocabulary, social categories and ideas
Search Assignments:
1. Outline a comparison of the contrasting definitions of “ethnicity” in Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology and Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology [Available in Burling Library. Bring to class copies of the encyclopedia entries]
2. Here is the Office of Management & Budget U.S. Federal Government Racial and Ethnic Classifications for U.S. Census 2000. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/Ombdir15.html. Print out -- Consider the categories in terms of the vocabulary used to formulate the definitions.
3. In Coursepack #1 – read: (i) AAA Statement on Race , (ii) 4 definitions of race, (iii) Benedict Anderson, “Concepts and Definitions.”
Ethnic/ Ethnicity as a social science concept
Wed 5 Sept
** Read: Ashley Montagu (Prefaces from 1942, 1944, 1952 & Appendix A: “‘Race’ and ‘Ethnic’ Group”) What distinction does Montagu draw between the concepts “race” and “ethnicity.” Why? Note the references he makes to contemporary politics. Who do you think he is writing for? What is he reacting against? Consider his style of writing – is his argument still pertinent? Does it feel outdated? Why?
WEEK #2
Mon 10 Sept
Barth, Fredrik. “Introduction.” In ed. Barth. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1969), 9-38.
Wed 12 Sept.
Jenkins, Richard. “Ethnicity Etcetera: Social Anthropological Points of View.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 19, 4 (October 1996), 807-822.
Bring in examples of how “ethnicity” is represented from newspapers, magazines or academic essays (You may also bring in a film or TV clip). How is “ethnic” depicted? What does that tell us about “non-ethnic?”
Representations of Nationalism and Ethnicities
WEEK #3
Film: Sun – 2:15 pm Angela’s Ashes (dir Alan Parker,1999 – based on Frank McCourt’s autobiography)
Mon 17 Sept
Taylor, Lawrence. “There are Two Things that People Don't Like to Hear...The Anthropology of Ireland and the Irish View of Anthropology.” South Atlantic Quarterly 95, 1 (Winter 1996), 213-
Wed 19 Sept
Bowie, Fiona. “Wales from Within: Conflicting Interpretations of Welch Identity.” In ed. S. Macdonald. Inside European Identities (Providence/Oxford: Berg, 1992), 167-193.
WEEK #4
Mon 24 Sept
PROJECT MUSE: Bartlett, Robert. “Medieval and Modern Concepts of Race and Ethnicity.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 31, 1 (2001), 39-56.
Wed 26 Sept
Schwyzer. Philip. “The Scouring of the White Horse: Archaeology, Identity and ‘Heritage.’” Representations 65 (1999), 42-62.
WEEK #5
Film: Sun 30 Sept -- 2:15 pm L’Haine (dir. Mathieu Kassovitz)
Mon 1 Oct
Beriss, David “Scarves, Schools and Segregation: The Foulard Affair.” French Politics and Society 8,1 (Winter 1990)1-13.
Wed 3 Oct
Keyes, Charles F. “Who Are the Tai? Reflections on the Invention of Identities.” In eds. Lola Romanucci-Ross and George DeVos. Ethnic Identity: Creation, Conflict and Accomodation. (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1995), 136-160.
WEEK #6
Mon 8 Oct
Yoshino, Kosaku. “Culturalism, Racialism and Internationalism in the Discourse on Japanese Identity.” In Constituting the Nation in Japan, Korean, China, Malayasia, Fiji, Turkey and the United States. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 13-30.
In Class Film: Doubles: Japan and America’s Intercultural Children (dir. Reggie Life, 1995)
Wed 10 Oct
Bierwirth, Chris. “The Lebanese Communities of Cote d’Ivoire.” African Affairs 98, 390 (1999), 79-99.
WEEK #7
Mon 15 Oct
Medina, Laurie Kroshus. “Defining Difference, Forging Unity: the Co-Construction of Race, Ethnicity and Nation in Belize. Ethnic and Racial Studies 20, 4(October 1997), 757-780.
Wed 17 Oct
Tilley, Virginia. “The Terms of the Debate: Untangling Language about Ethnicity and Ethnic Movements.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 20, 3 (July 1997), 497-521.
SEMESTER BREAK
Assignment over Break:
Over semester break, collect as much information as you can on your family genealogy and consider it in relation to the texts we have encountered to date (e.g. migrations, dates of immigration, inter-group marriages; languages; celebrations; food; etc. – this should include as many extensions of the family branch as possible. Then look up academic research on ethnicity/race which applies to these histories (make a bibliography).
Read and compare the Margaret Mead and Richard Handler articles: what are the differences in their perpectives? What do you think accounts for these differences? What does Mead take for granted that Handler takes up for examination? Write down your thoughts for presentation in class on Monday 29 Oct. If you have news clippings or notes from television, radio, journals these may be useful examples to relate to the two articles and will be a good contribution to class (bring me a copy and I’ll make photocopies for the class).
Race, Ethnicity and Assimilation in the US
WEEK #8
Mon 29 Oct
Mead, Margaret. “Ethnicity and Anthropology in America.” In eds. Lola Romanucci-Ross and George DeVos. Ethnic Identity: Creation, Conflict and Accomodation. (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1995), 298-320.
Handler, Richard. “Studying Mainstreams and Minorities in North America: Some Epistemological and Ethical Dilemmas.” In Constituting the Nation in Japan, Korean, China, Malayasia, Fiji, Turkey and the United States. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 249-263.
Wed 31 Oct
Harmon, Alexandra. “When is an Indian Not an Indian? The 'Friends of the Indian' and the Problem of Indian Identity.” Journal of Ethnic Studies 18,2 (Summer 1990), 95-123.
WEEK #9
Sunday 4 Nov 2:15 pm Film – Sacco & Vanzetti (dir Giuliano Montaldo, 1971)
Mon 5 Nov
Barrett and Roediger. “Inbetween Peoples: Race, Nationality and the ‘New Immigrant’ Working Class.” Journal of American Ethnic History 16, 3 (1997), 3-44.
Wed 7 Nov
Cunningham, George E. “The Italian, A Hindrance to White Solidarity in Louisiana, 1890-1898.” The Journal of Negro History 50, 1 (January 1965), 22-36.
WEEK #10
Film Sun 11 Nov 2:15pm – The Accused (dir Jonathan Kaplan 1988)
Mon 12 Nov
Cuklanz, Lisa M. “News Coverage of Ethnic and Gender Issues in the Big Dan’s Rape Case.” In ed. Anghard N. Valdivia. Feminism, Multiculturalism and the Media: Global Diversities. (Thousand Oaks, California, 1995), 145-162.
Wed 14 Nov
Hannan, Kevin. “Ethnic Identity Among the Czechs and Moravians of Texas.” The Journal of American Ethnic History. 15, 4 (Summer 1996), 3-31.
WEEK #11
Mon 19 Nov
Cruz, Jose E. “A Decade of Change: Puerto Rican Politics in Hartford, Connecticut, 1969-1979. Journal of American Ethnic History 16, 3 (Spring 1997), 3-44.
Wed 21 Nov
PROJECT MUSE: Ropp, Steven Masami. “Secondary Migration and the Politics of Identity for Asian Latinos in Los Angeles.” Journal of Asian American Studies 3,2 (2000), 219-229.
In Class Film: Another America (documentary by Michael Cho, 1996)
WEEK #12
Film: Sunday 25 Nov: Mississppi Masala (dir. Mira Nair, 1992)
Mon 26 Nov
PROJECT MUSE: Koshy, Susan. “Morphing Race Into Ethnicity: Asian Americans and Critical Transformations of Whiteness.” boundary 2 28, 1 (2001), 153-194.
Wed 28 Nov
Film In Class: Mississippi Triangle (co-dir Christine Choy, Worth Lang, Allan Siegel, 1987)
Skim before class and review carefully after watching documentary: Loewen, James W. The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White. (Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press, 1988),185-242.
WEEK #13
Mon 3 Dec
Nazil Kibria. “The construction of ‘Asian American’: reflections on intermarriage and ethnic identity among second generation Chinese and Korean Americans.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 20, 3 (1997), 523-543.
The Local and the Global: Individual Insights
Wed 5 Dec
Hall, Stuart. “The Local and the Global: Globalization and Ethnicity.” In eds. McClintock et al. Dangerous Liaisons: Gender Nation and Postcolonial Perspectives. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997), 173-187
Week #14 “Wrapping Up”
Mon 10 Dec
Family Histories: reflections on genealogies and geographies
Wed 12 Dec
Class discussion of ethnicity, race and globalization concludes.
COMPLETE JOURNALS DUE NO LATER THAN 5 P.M. MONDAY 17 Dec. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE GRANTED. -- This consists of all your written work, with my comments -- do not print new copies! All journals to be submitted in an envelope with your campus address
** NOTE: If you will not be returning to campus in the Spring semester, SUBMIT in a stamped self-addressed envelope.