1. Ishmael Reed, “What’s American about America?” (10 points) Answer the following questions in approximately 2-4 sentences for each question. 1.What is Reed’s argument about multicultural America (U
Required Readings
Ishmael Reed, “What’s American about America?” (1988), from Writin’ Is Fightin’: Thirty-Seven Years of Boxing on Paper. Atheneum, 1988.
http://www.uhstitans.com/_cache/files/7/a/7ab7d70b-669f-4637-9ca9-5260a8e613fa/397CDAC29FF5FCD66CFF4B262AE70007.what-s-american-about-america---reed.pdf
Pew Research Center articles on U.S. immigration
How U.S. immigration laws and rules have changed through history
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/30/how-u-s-immigration-laws-and-rules-have-changed-through-history/
Key facts about refugees to the U.S.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/
5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
Key findings about U.S. immigrants
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
From the archives: In ’60s, Americans gave thumbs-up to immigration law that changed the nation
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/20/in-1965-majority-of-americans-favored-immigration-and-nationality-act-2/
Discussion 1
1. Ishmael Reed, “What’s American about America?” (10 points)
Answer the following questions in approximately 2-4 sentences for each question.
1.What is Reed’s argument about multicultural America (U.S.) and American identity? (5 points)
2. Why is “Western civilization” a problematic category and his view, and how does this category relate to conceptions of the cultures of the U.S.? (5 points)
2. Pew Research websites (10 points)
Answer the following questions in approximately 2-4 sentences for each question.
1. According to Pew Research (first website), how did U.S. laws or restrictions in 1790, 1875, and 1965 mark radical shifts in immigration policy? (5 points)
2. According to polls conducted by Pew research (last website), how have Americans views changed from 1994 to 2014 in terms of the question on whether immigrants are perceived as a “burden” to the U.S. or whether immigrants “strengthen our country”? (5 points)
