Ethnic Studies
Ms. Portman

Discrimination
Read "Betrayed by Their Country: The World War II Internment of Japanese Americans" (188-189) and "A Birthright Denied" by Monica Sone (190-201)

Imagine what it must have been like for the Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps. How do Sone and her family appear to deal with this treatment? Do you think anything like this could ever occur in the United States again, why or why not?

Immigration I
Read "El Norte: Up from Mexico" (239-241) and "A Song of El Norte" by Camelia Palafox (248-261) and "Stigmatizing the Immigrant" by Paul Correa

What do you think about the American immigration restriction debates occurring now in politics? Should anyone who wants to work and contribute to the United States be allowed to live here? How is Camelia's immigration story similar to the immigration stories in all of American history? How is it different?

Immigration II
Read "Selective Immigration is Essential" by Lothrop Stoddard and "The US Should Accept All Immigrants" by Percy Stickney Grant

One could argue that both Stoddard and Grant simplify the issue of immigration. In what ways are their arguments limited? How is the issue of immigration more complex than either a "genetic danger" or the "American ideal?"

Paper Topic
Find someone who has immigrated to the United States within the past 20 years. It can be a family member, friend, stranger on the street etc. Ask that person why he/she came to the United States and what their immigration experience was like. Was it difficult to become an American citizen, is their family here, do they ever go back to their native land, what does being an American mean to them? After gathering the data, analyze what this individual story tells us about the variety of immigrant experiences to the United States.