Latino Americans and their Culture
Course Description:
The United States has for generations welcomed large numbers of immigrants, found productive employment for them, and successfully integrated them into its population. The United States has been an attractive destination for potential migrants, but illegal immigration has emerged as an especially controversial political and social topic in recent years as a foreign-born population of the United States increases and large Latino communities have merged in areas where they previously did not exist. Critics of illegal immigration maintain that undocumented immigrants take jobs from American citizens, do not pay their fair share of taxes, and burden social services, such as education and health care. Cultural conservatives also claim that undocumented immigrants, particularly those from Latin America, threaten the “cultural unity” of the United States by refusing to assimilate into the dominant Anglo social and cultural core.
Students will have to read materials related to the history of U.S. immigration policies, the current immigration system and its reform, and Latino culture and its pedagogical prospects for their betterment and:
(1) To briefly trace the history of the U.S. immigration and the policies that have responded to the influx of people from the different parts of the world.
(2) To understand the recent societal transformation because of the surge of Latino people in the last three years.
(3) To figure out how to explore social coexistence among culturally and linguistically diverse people in the U.S.
Course Narrative:
I took this class while studying abroad in Chuo University. I found it interesting to take a class that related to the background that I grew up with. This class fulfilled the MLO 2 requirement of Secondary culture. I found that the Latino American culture has similarities with Japanese culture. In this class, we compared how Latino Americans had grown up in the United States in the past and how they are growing up today and comparing the differences or similarities.
This class was one of the easiest class I had taken for two reasons. One reason being that it was a class offered for Japanese students wanting to study a certain subject while practicing English, so it was taught in English. The second reason is because it was Latino American culture, what I grew up with. This professor was ecstatic that I was in the class at it was the first time a Hispanic student growing in the United States was in her class. She was able to explain certain concepts and was able to ask me to expand on a topic if necessary with my own experiences. However, I still focused on comparing both Japanese and Latino American culture, and did my research presentation together with my French friend Maxime. (Final PowerPoint) We were able to talk about the outcome of second and later generations in comparison with the 1st generation immigrants to the United States. We also had many readings and our final essay reflected on how we felt about certain readings. At the end of the course, we were required to write an essay on our reflections on all of the readings we had done in the class. (Final Essay) The Japanese were to compare what they learned to their own culture, and I wrote how I gained a broader understanding of my culture.
Final Project: PowerPoint
Final Latino American Project: Essay
The United States has for generations welcomed large numbers of immigrants, found productive employment for them, and successfully integrated them into its population. The United States has been an attractive destination for potential migrants, but illegal immigration has emerged as an especially controversial political and social topic in recent years as a foreign-born population of the United States increases and large Latino communities have merged in areas where they previously did not exist. Critics of illegal immigration maintain that undocumented immigrants take jobs from American citizens, do not pay their fair share of taxes, and burden social services, such as education and health care. Cultural conservatives also claim that undocumented immigrants, particularly those from Latin America, threaten the “cultural unity” of the United States by refusing to assimilate into the dominant Anglo social and cultural core.
Students will have to read materials related to the history of U.S. immigration policies, the current immigration system and its reform, and Latino culture and its pedagogical prospects for their betterment and:
(1) To briefly trace the history of the U.S. immigration and the policies that have responded to the influx of people from the different parts of the world.
(2) To understand the recent societal transformation because of the surge of Latino people in the last three years.
(3) To figure out how to explore social coexistence among culturally and linguistically diverse people in the U.S.
Course Narrative:
I took this class while studying abroad in Chuo University. I found it interesting to take a class that related to the background that I grew up with. This class fulfilled the MLO 2 requirement of Secondary culture. I found that the Latino American culture has similarities with Japanese culture. In this class, we compared how Latino Americans had grown up in the United States in the past and how they are growing up today and comparing the differences or similarities.
This class was one of the easiest class I had taken for two reasons. One reason being that it was a class offered for Japanese students wanting to study a certain subject while practicing English, so it was taught in English. The second reason is because it was Latino American culture, what I grew up with. This professor was ecstatic that I was in the class at it was the first time a Hispanic student growing in the United States was in her class. She was able to explain certain concepts and was able to ask me to expand on a topic if necessary with my own experiences. However, I still focused on comparing both Japanese and Latino American culture, and did my research presentation together with my French friend Maxime. (Final PowerPoint) We were able to talk about the outcome of second and later generations in comparison with the 1st generation immigrants to the United States. We also had many readings and our final essay reflected on how we felt about certain readings. At the end of the course, we were required to write an essay on our reflections on all of the readings we had done in the class. (Final Essay) The Japanese were to compare what they learned to their own culture, and I wrote how I gained a broader understanding of my culture.
Final Project: PowerPoint
Final Latino American Project: Essay