Cultural Diversity

FLK 280 for the Navitas Program | WKU | fall 2012 | MONDAYS | 1-5 pm | Tate Page 302 JENNIFER JOY JAMESON | missjameson@gmail.com | Office Hours: TBD

in the UNITED STATES

COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we will examine the cultural ways in which Americans live their individual and collective lives in a globalized world. We will focus on the differences in various American experiences, examining multicultural forms of expressions, customs, identity, and worldviews. We will use the tools of folklore and ethnography to address the ways in which such experiences are shaped and defined by factors of race, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, socio-economic class, political persuasion, religious and/or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, region, and age. Our course will make special use of ethnographic film in our discussion and written responses to understanding diversity in America. We will find ways to engage with the local community, when possible, in order to add to our experiences and perspectives on local and regional diversity. Cultural Diversity in the US fulfills the Category E General Education requirement (World Cultures and American Cultural Diversity). It will help students to meet this general education goal: an appreciation of the complexity and variety in the worlds cultures.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Cultural Self-Assessment [Short Paper 1] Insider: Interview someone of your own culture [Short Paper 2] New Cultural Experience Essay [Short Paper 3] Outsider: Interview someone of another culture Ethnographic paper Final Exam Weekly Reflections Participation and attendance TOTAL

5% 10% 10% 10% 20% 10% 20% 15% 100%

ASSIGNMENTS + PAPERS
By using the tools of folklore and fieldwork, we can truly begin to understand cultural diversity through first-hand experience and conversation. Much of the work we do in this class will build on our ability to not only recognize and comprehend examples of diversity in the US, but also our ability to interpret the topic and write well about it.

Papers

You will have several shorter assignments, including three short papers in which you will briefly write about a new cultural experience you engaged in or an ethnographic interview you completed. These short fieldwork assignments will help you to summarize and analyze the information you gather, and allow you to provide your own insights or points of view on cultures and cultural traditions that are within and beyond your own communities. The ethnographic paper you complete near the end of the semester will require the inclusion of scholarly sources and some combination of basic fieldwork techniques (interviewing, documenting, participant observation, etc.).

Weekly Reflections

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Each Monday, you are required to turn in a personal reflection on the assigned reading(s) for that day. Reflections should be approximately 1 page in length, double spaced, 12 pt. font, and handed in hard copy to me at the end of class. Share what you learned, what surprised you, or explain something that you disagreed with, and why. Reflections are purposefully loose in formyou may be as creative as you like, as long as you are respectful of the topics and cultures discussed. Late reflections will result in point deductions.

It is your responsibility to demonstrate your engagement with the material by actively participating in class discussions. In order to thoughtfully discuss issues throughout this semester, it will be crucial that you come to class prepared (by completing the readings and assignments), work collaboratively in any group activity, and participate by voicing your opinions and reactions to class materials and discussions. This class cannot work without participation and your contributions. I will try to be mindful of any translation issues please let me know how I can help!

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Because our class only meets once per week, it is important that you regularly attend class and keep up with the coursework. Absences will result in a 10 point deduction (out of a possible 100 points) from your participation grade. Excused absences include medical and family emergencies and unique circumstances in which you and I make a prior agreement. Being late for class may result in an absence for the day. If you are

absent, you are responsible for consulting with your classmates about what youve missed and/or meeting with me during my office hours. Students who arrive late should check with me after class to make sure your arrival was noted. Dont forget!

LATE WORK + MAKE-UP EXAMS

All papers and class work must be turned in on time. Written work that is turned in late will be marked down one full grade (from a B to a C for example) for each class it is late. Late work may be turned in without penalty only in the case of prior consultation for legitimate reasons (contact me in person or by email or phone prior to missing the due date for a paper or an exam), or in the case of serious emergency with documentation.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices before coming to class. Obviously, you may not use such devices during class. The use of laptops for note taking is permissible; however, students using laptops for other purposes during class will lose this privilege. Ask me about using any translation-aiding devices.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Aug. 27 Introductions | Intro to Folk Studies Intro to the course Basic concepts of folklore and fieldwork Class activities Sept. 3 LABOR DAY (No class) Sept. 10 Identity | Folklore Groups, Folklore Genres READ: Jan Harold Brunvand, The Field of Folklore Elliott Oring, Ethnic Groups and Ethnic Folklore FILM in class: Wild Wheels (1992, Harold Blank) Sept. 17 Worldview DUE in Class: Cultural Self-Assessment READ: Horace Miner, Body Ritual of the Nacirema Barre Toelken, Folklore and Cultural Worldview: Culture and Meaning *Fieldwork Workshop Sept. 24 Oral Traditions + Verbal Art READ: Elliott Oring, Folk Narrative Barre Toelken, Ballads and Folksongs

 FILM in class: The Performed Word (1982, Gerald Davis) Oct. 1 Material Culture + Folk Art DUE in Class: Insider: Interview someone of your own culture READ: FieldWorking: Reading an Object: The Cultural Artifact Class Activity: Reading an Artifact (FW, Box 13) Amy Kitchener, The Holiday Yards of Florencio Morales Oct. 8 Customary Traditions in New and Old Settings READ: New York Times, Rediscovering a Towns Roots, Feet First Rural Mardis Gras reading (TBA) Casey Man Kong Lum, Karaoke as Status Symbol: The Voice of a Taiwanese Community in the Affluent Suburbs of New Jersey FILM in class: Let Your Feet Do The Talkin (2010, Stewart Copeland) Oct. 15 The Culture of Food WATCH: Two (2) short films from the Southern Foodways Alliance (http://southernfoodways.org/documentary/oh/index.html) READ: Michael Owen Jones, What's Disgusting, Why, and What Does It Matter? Introduction, Matzoh Ball Gumbo Oct. 22 Emergent Traditions DUE in Class: New Cultural Experience Essay READ: Contemp. folklore reading, TBA Various news articles on: Museum of Contemporary Arts Art in the Streets exhibit The Surfing Madonna mosaic Yarn-bombing Online cultures FILM in class: Style Wars (1984, Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver) Oct. 29 The Culture of Holidays READ: Jack Santino, Holidays in America: Ritual, Festival, and Celebration SEE: Alan Jabbour, Decoration Day in the Mountains/North Shore Cemetery Decoration Project FILM in class: Ten Thousand Points of Light (2010, George King) Nov. 5 Case Study: The Mexican-American Experience DUE in Class: Outsider: Interview someone of another culture FILM in class: Chulas Fronteras (1976, Les Blank) READ: Rachel Gonzalez, Dress and Transnational Identities in

 Mexican American Quinceaeras Dia de los Muertos reading, TBA Nov. 12 Religious Diversity READ: Maysan Haydar, Veiled Intentions: Dont Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering Larry Danielson, Religious Folklore FILM in class: Trembling Before G_D (2003, Sandi Simcha DuBowski) Nov. 19 Race, Racism, Class | Space and Place READ: Beverly Daniel Tatum, Can We Talk? Kimberly Roppolo, The Real Problem with Indian Mascots LISTEN: Selections from StoryCorps DO: Privilege Walk FILMS in class: Voices of Cabrini: Remaking Chicago's Public Housing Halsted Street USA Delmar Blvd Nov. 26 New Issues in Diversity | Moving Forward DUE in Class: Ethnographic paper READ: New York Times, Whats So Bad About a Boy Who Wants to Wear a Dress? (2012) Patricia Hill Collins, Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender Nicole McClelland and Kristina Rizga, The Top 10 Youth Activism Victories in 2007 Dec. 3 Wrap up | PRESENTATIONS Dec. 10 FINAL EXAM in class