Week 2: Millennials

Week 2: Millennials
Mon 2.1/Wed 2.3
Read: There—Part 1: Remain
Class: Introductions; Watch—"Adulting School: Growing Number of Programs Teach Life Skills to Millennials" from CBS News; Lecture—"Crafting the Essay: Writing as a Process"
Due: REFLECTION 1

Upcoming:

Week 3: American Indians
Mon 2.8/Wed 2.10
Read: There—Part II: Reclaim; eR—"My Mother is Native American, but I Look White. My Identity is More than My DNA." (Washington Post), "Who Decides Who Counts as Native American?" (New York Times), "Native American is Not My Race—It's Who I Am" (Vice), "OpDocs: A Conversation with Native Americans on Race" (New York Times), "Indigenous Voices: Life as a Young and Native American" (Vice)
Class: Reading discussion; Watch—"On Reservations, At-Risk Native American Youths Find Few Places to Turn" from Washington Post; Presentation partner and topic assignments; Lecture—"Building a Better Multimedia Presentation: An Annotated Look" and "MLA Style 101"
Due: DIAGNOSTIC

Identity News 1.30

• Asian Americans: Backlash against Netflix's Bling Empire for flaunting Asian extravagance during a pandemic (NBC News)
• QAnon: Newly surfaced video shows recently-elected Congresswoman harassing a teen school shooting survivor (CNN)
• Trans Americans: Biden reverses ban on trans soldiers, but other battles are brewing (AP)
• Gen Z: Teen vaping rapidly expanded from 2017 to 2019, but slowed in 2020 (Psychiatry Advisor)
• Progressives: Progressive Dems push President Biden for recurring stimulus checks (Politico)

 

Reflection 1: A More Perfect Union—On the Future of Mixed-Race Americans

President Obama was often lauded as our first Black president, but he might've been more accurately identified as our first mixed-race president. That he was called Black, when was actually half Caucasian, pointed to our country's complicated relationship with race. Even today, Vice-President Kamala Harris often faces confusion about her own mixed heritage. In fact, Obama and Harris may well be providing us a peek into our future. Twenty-first century Americans will look markedly different than those that came before them. Current models predict America will become a majority-minority nation by 2045. And mixed-race Americans (sometimes called "biracial," "multiracial," or "interracial"), who are growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole, may play a pivotal role in that transformation. But just how might future mixed-race individuals, couples, and families reshape what has been a traditionally majority-white nation? And what challenges could they face along the way? How might they reshape American identity?

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "The Biracial Advantage" (Psychology Today)
• "Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers" (Pew Research Center)
• "My Heritage is Mixed Race. Chances Are Decent That Yours is, Too" (Daily Beast)
• "What Makes Someone Identify as Multiracial?" (FiveThirtyEight) 
• "Kamala Harris is Asian and Black. That Shouldn't be Confusing in 2020—But It is to Some" (NBC News)
   

Required:

• MLA Style
• Approximately 300 words
• Works cited 

Due: Thu 2.4

Week 1: WASPs

Week 1: WASPs
Wed 1.27
Class: Syllabus Review; Watch—"WASP Lessons" from People Like Us (PBS) 

Upcoming:

Week 2: Millennials
Mon 2.1/Wed 2.3
Read: There—Part 1: Remain
Class: Introductions; Watch—"Adulting School: Growing Number of Programs Teach Life Skills to Millennials" from CBS News; Lecture—"Crafting the Essay: Writing as a Process"
Due: REFLECTION 1

Welcome to ENGL 1B