Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| AMCS2007 | American and Canadian Studies | 2 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- AMCS2007
- School
- American and Canadian Studies
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This course examines the history of immigration to the United States from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. It traces the making and remaking of immigrant communities, cultures, and identities from the nineteenth century to the present day. The course analyses models of race, ethnicity, culture, and nation by focusing on the perception and reception of immigrant groups and their adjustment to US society: how have institutions and ideologies shaped the changing place of immigrants within the United States over time? How have immigrants forged new identities within and beyond the framework of the nation state? And how has immigration transformed US society? The course examines the immigrant experience through historical, literary, and cultural texts.
Students who need to complete one or more components of assessment during the summer, due to extenuating circumstances or for progression purposes, will be required to submit one essay of 2,000 words. This form of assessment has been set in order to accommodate early submission deadlines for candidates undertaking a year of study abroad, who will not be resident in Nottingham during the usual summer examination period. The essay will be due on the third Wednesday in July.
Target Students
Available to Year 2 SH and JH American and Canadian Studies students. Also available for Liberal Arts and History students. Available to Year 2 students in Arts and Social Sciences. Available to international exchange students hosted by the School of CLAS.
Classes
- One 2-hour lecture per week for 12 weeks
- One 1-hour seminar per week for 12 weeks
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies operates an attendance policy. The details of this policy can be found in the student handbook on Workspace and in module handbooks.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: Coursework - 2,300 - 2,500 word essay
- 20% Participation: Seminar Participation
- 30% Exam 1 (3-hour)
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
a) To explore the immigrant experience and the related issues of race, ethnicity, culture, and nation through a range of historical, literary, and cultural textsb) To understand how ideologies, structural forces, and institutions have shaped social identities and the changing place of immigrants within the US over timec) To explore the ways in which immigrants have adjusted to and/or transformed US society; to examine the ways in which immigrants have recreated cultural and ethnic identities within and beyond the framework of the American nation.Learning Outcomes
a) Knowledge and understanding:
- to demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of the immigrant experience across space and time;
- to understand the centrality of race, ethnic, cultural, and national identity formation to the immigrant experience;
- to analyse and begin to critique existing models of race, ethnicity, culture and nation
b) Intellectual skills:
- to develop a critical approach towards a variety of source material and methods of analysing the immigrant experience;
- to communicate these skills in both written and oral form
c) Professional skills:
- to develop written communication, independence and skill in identifying and selecting appropriate research material from a variety of sources
d) Transferable skills:
- to organise and articulate ideas through oral communication and to improve group interaction and time management