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Wednesday, August 6th, 2003
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1:53p - Classes
I am registered for classes now!
I got up this morning to go to work at 10:00. It turned out that I didn't have to be at Tanenbaum until noon, so I went to the bursar's office and got a override so that I could register. This is this fifth semester I have had to get one, so the woman in charge of these matters is quite familiar with my case. Now that I'm registered, I can go see her again tomorrow, fill out my usual tuition deferment form, and be ready to take:
1. History of the Filipino Diaspora - This course studies the history of migration among Filipinos from the time of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, to the reform movement of the late nineteenth century, American colonization, and current displacements in the wake of globalization. We will study the origins of economic disparities in Philippine society and look at how a history of colonization has formed perceptions of class, race, identity and nationalism. Diaspora communities in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Europe will be examined for patterns of migration, assimilation, discrimination, and empowerment. Course materials include readings and video screenings. For their finals, students will be asked to propose policies for overseas Filipinos, with particular emphasis on migrant workers.
2. "Chinatown" and the American Imagination - What is a "Chinatown"? The word evokes many images, sounds, smells, tastes from many different sensibilities. For recent immigrants it can be a home away from home, for "outsiders" an exotic place for cheap eats, for male action flick fans Chow Yun Fat (or Mark Walhberg) in The Corruptor, and for you ?!? (fill in the blank). Students will explore the nooks and crannies of Chinatown in the American imagination and in its New York realtime, non-virtual existence. How do we know what we know and not know? What does Chinatown have to do with the formation of normative "American" identities? What are the possibilities (and limits) of crossing cultural divides? Class members individually and/or in groups research, experience, and document a chain of persons, places, and/or events creating their own narrative "tour" of this place's meanings. Novels, history books, tourist guides, films and pop culture will supplement the primary "text" of New York Chinatown. This is a collaborative, discussion-intensive, field research-driven class limited to twenty students.
3. Inventing America: Myths of the New World - In this course, we explore how sixteenth-century Europeans tried to make sense of the ‘discovery’ of America. While China, Africa, and India had been slowly incorporated into the European imagination, America constituted a ‘New World’ which had to be incorporated into the Europeans’ geographical, historical, and anthropological understanding. Through readings of well-known texts, we will analyze the rhetorical and iconographic strategies utilized by explorers, missionaries, and men of letters in their attempts to bring this new world into European consciousness. We will consider, as well, how this process contributed to the formation of a Eurocentric view of the world and the role played by these texts in the history of colonialism, paying particular attention to the ways in which native peoples and their societies were represented and their lands appropriated. Readings include Columbus’ Four Voyages, Cortés’ Letters from Mexico, Grafton’s New Worlds, Ancient Texts, Las Casas’ In Defense of the Indians, Lery’s History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, Montaigne’s Of Cannibals, and Raleigh’s The Discovery of Guiana.
4. An independent study - Since I haven't done the forms for that yet, I am temporarily registered (so that I will be registered for 16 credits and know how much my tuition is) for:
Maid for Convenience - Who are the members of the "invisible army" that clean our homes, schools, and offices? Representations of female domestic/custodial workers (maids) are prevalent throughout popular culture. In popular media these women are often romanticized, sexualized, and/or demonized. What is the relationship between the fictive (and often idealized) representations of maids and their factual reality (and their actual social and ethnic identities)? What do we know of these women and their lives, voices, and personal histories?
There were 10 spots left in this class, so I'm not taking a spot away from anyone, even temporarily.
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