Ethnic Groups in American Society

elective courses

The class if for students familiar with the U.S. history and civilization

This course provides an overview of the main waves of immigration both to colonial America and to the United States, immigration policies of the American authorities, ethnic, and discusses some issues in the nation-building processes. The course will examine some ethnic groups, including ethnic stereotypes, ethnic conflicts, contributions to the mainstream American culture, etc., in the context of the multiethnic and multicultural state.

The American society is the product of the greatest ever intercontinental migration of people. This course provides an overview of the main waves of immigration both to colonial America and to the United States, immigration policies of the American authorities, ethnic, and discusses some issues in the nation-building processes. The course will examine main trends in ethnic studies, concepts of ethnicity, group relations, assimilation, and selected issues in intercultural communication. Several ethnic groups will be characterized, including ethnic stereotypes, ethnic conflicts, cultural traits, contributions to the mainstream American culture, etc., all in the context of the multiethnic and multicultural state.

Topics for discussion:

1. Major waves of immigration to America.

2. Immigration policies.

3. Ethnicity and related concepts.

4. Group relations.

5. Assimilation processes.

6. Intercultural communication.

This class may include optional topics, like:

- selected ethnic groups, eg. Hispanics, Polish Americans, Jewish Americans,

- language and ethnicity,

- bilingual America,

- ethnic press,

- ethnic families,

- ethnic stereotypes,

- ethnicity and the US Army.

Terms and conditions:

- participation in class discussions,

- attendance, as required by the Institute of English Rules and Regulations,

- presenting a selected topic in the class,

- semestral test.

Allen, James P., Turner, Eugene J. We, the People. An Atlas of American Ethnic Diversity. New York: McMillan Publishing Company, 1998

Gołębiowski, Marek. An Encyclopedia of American Culture. Peter Lang, Bern, 2016

Kottak, Conrad Phillip. Cultural Anthropology.Appreciating Cultural Diversity. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Parillo, Vincent. Strangers to These Shores. Allyn & Bacon, 2014

Parillo, Vincent. Diversity in America. Paradigm Publishers, 2012

Samovar, Larry, Porter, Richard. Communication Between Cultures. Belmont, Albany, Bonn, Boston: Wardsworth/Cengage Learning, 2014

Pew Research Center - online sources

periodic handouts

primary source documents (laws, ordinances, cases) available online

Knowledge: the graduate will be able to

K_W01 Identify and characterize on an advanced level the place and status of cultural studies within the humanities, with the focus on immigration, ethnic minorities and their mutual relations, based on the US context

K_W02 Describe on an advanced level the current trends in cultural studies research, including immigration processes, ethnic minorities and inter-group relations, based on the US experience

K_W04 Characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in cultural studies with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems in the scope of immigration and ethnicity

Abilities: the graduate is able to

K_U01 Apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to cultural studies, including studies on ethnicity, immigration, assimilation, in the US context

K_U02 Apply advanced research methodology within cultural studies, to include studies on immigration, ethnic minorities, inter-group relations, with the US as the country of reference, respecting ethical norms and copyright law

K_U03 Apply knowledge obtained during the course of study to account for and solve a problem, thereby completing a research task minimum: one) related to the subject-matter of this course

K_U04 Analyze cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal, historical and economic factors on an advanced level in the scope of immigration processes and ethnic relations in the US

K_U06 Find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for research related to the topic of the course

K_U09 Present knowledge in a coherent, precise and linguistically correct manner in English on level C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, ensuring an appropriate register and form

Social competences: the graduate is ready to

K_K02 Apply knowledge and skills obtained during the course of study to undertake lifelong learning, as well as personal and professional development, making use of knowledge and skills acquired in the class discussing, among others, the complexity of the US society

K_K03 Take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings

K_K04 Assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to the studies

K_K06 Value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions, based on the US experience in this respect

In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.

Language training level: minimum B2+.

1. Presentation, participation in classroom discussions, test in the end of semester; retake: test; two absences allowed

2. On-line edition using Moodle IA, GoogleMeet, @uw.edu.pl

Assessment: as above

No