This morning I came across an interesting New York
Times interactive feature,
"Remade in America: The Newest Immigrants and their Impact," which traces immigration trends over the course of the 20th century. Given our interest in the "American identity" and its "defining characteristics," the feature might help us to ask--if not answer--some questions regarding the ever so elusive "landscape of American Literature." (The quoted phrases reference the first paragraph in the class syllabus.)
Bonus Point Opp:- Check out the interactive feature and then post a comment below in which you pose an open-ended discussion question that somehow connects the immigration trend of the map to our study of American lit.
- Or, in a few sentences, answer a question that someone else has already posed.
For many of you (if not for me) this may be a cognitive stretch, but I'm willing to risk it.
Posts
3 comments:
Over the past 100 or so years the biggest immigrant populations have changed significantly. Does this change in immigrant and the change in population change what it means to be american? If so should we change the literature we study to reflect this change?
woot first post!
Do foreign born immigrants, who settled in America forever, consider themselves from their country or from America or both? Or did they maybe decide to consider themselves more American after staying for x months, years in the US? Id their passing generations also stayed in the US? What would they consider themselves? Did pride in their ancestry's country fade?
Natalie
"Over the past 100 or so years the biggest immigrant populations have changed significantly. Does this change in immigrant and the change in population change what it means to be american? If so should we change the literature we study to reflect this change?"
I don't think that what it means to be american changes with the changes in immigrant populations, it just changes who is identifying with what it means to be american in a different way and interpreting the defenition for themselves. However we should study different literature from ethnic groups most prevolent in the United States so that we can identify with how they see "being american" and what it means to them.
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