HIST 387 - Immigration and the Contested American Identity

Units: 4 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-C; Diversity
An exploration into the evolving conversation about immigration in US History. Concentration on race, ethnicity, and notions of 100% Americanism, nativism and nationalism. Focus is on the era of exclusion post 1882.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Area C requirements.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: Hybrid or Online Asynchronous.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-C - Upper Division Arts or Humanities, Overlay - Diversity
Course Typically Offered: Fall ONLY

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Discuss and analyze the concept of an “American identity”;
2. Explore the roots of exclusion from this identity by tracing the evolution of US immigration policy and the concept of the “illegal immigrant” since 1882;
3. Identify the integral and pivotal role of immigrant communities in the evolving notions of nationalism, patriotism and citizenship in the US;
4. Discuss the role of race, gender, wealth, sexuality and politics in the construction of federal and state immigration policy and in the culture of ethnically diverse communities;
5. Contextualize the contemporary conversation about immigration and refugees in the US by employing the historical roots of these conversations.

UD-C. Upper-division Arts or Humanities Learning Outcomes

demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply the principles, methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in the arts and humanities;
analyze cultural production as an expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human; and
demonstrate how the perspectives of the arts and humanities are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.

Diversity Overlay Learning Outcomes

describe the histories and/or experiences of one or more U. S. cultural groups and the resilience and agency of group members;
identify structures of oppression and the diverse efforts and strategies used by groups to combat the effects of oppressive structures;
analyze the intersection of the categories of race and gender as they affect cultural group members’ lived realities and/or as they are embodied in personal and collective identities;
recognize the way that multiple differences (including, for example, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, immigration status, gender expression, color/phenotype, racial mixture, linguistic expression, and/or age) within cultural groups complicate individual and group identities.