Oral History Worksheet: Name Of Your Subject They Can Remain

Oral History Worksheetname Of Your Subject They Can Remain Anonymous

Oral History Worksheet name of your subject: (They can remain anonymous if they prefer and no information will be shared) Your relationship to the subject: Date/Location of your oral history interview. How did you conduct and record your interview? Date and Place of Birth: (If they are willing to share that!) Ethnicity/Racial Identity: (You can invite them to answer this in several ways: How they identify themselves; How others identify them; How they are identified in "official" records such as the Census. Date of immigration (if applicable) to the U.S. or date of immigration of the family member who first came to the U.S. If they do not know this, or if their family has been in the country for several generations, invite them to talk about how they describe their ethnic or racial or national identity.

Write your own questions (minimum 5) for the interview that touches on themes from the course. (For instance: their American national identity; what prompted them to come to the US; experiences with racism; labor issues; etc). Here are some ideas for you, please also develop your own.

• How would you describe your American national identity?
• What prompted you to come to the U.S.?
• Have you experienced instances of racism since your arrival in the U.S.? Are you comfortable sharing some examples or situations that you were involved in?
• Have you experienced difficulty in finding employment or problems at work as a result of your race or immigration history?
• In what ways do you balance or belong to both cultures and how does this transcultural identity impact your everyday life experiences?
• When you first immigrated to the U.S., what cultural differences were most apparent to you? Was it difficult to adjust to your new environmental and cultural surroundings?
• Were the people you met supportive of your immigration to the U.S. in helping you adjust or not?

Worksheet: Name and address of the website you accessed the oral history interview: Name of your subject: Date of Birth: (If given) Date of immigration (if applicable) to the U.S. or date of immigration of the family member who first came to the U.S. (if applicable)

Analysis

(2-3.5 pages, double spaced) In this section, provide an analysis of how selected parts of the interviewee’s responses provide insight into the themes of the class. For an A, you should describe a minimum of three historical trends in the history of US immigration and ethnicity that pertain to the life history of your subject. For instance, if you chose the life history of a Hawaiian-born Japanese American citizen who was incarcerated in WWII, you can refer to the readings on a) Japanese American incarceration, b) the history of racism against Asian Americans starting from the Chinese Exclusion Act, and c) US expansion into Hawaii.

You should cite the readings on these topics. You must include readings from the class with citations. This assignment is meant to help you prepare for the Final Exam. You will be able to use your analysis of this oral history in the exam.

References

• Ngai, Mae M. "The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics." University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
• Cheng, Anne Anlin. "The Melancholy of Race: Psychoanalysis, Assimilation, and Hidden Excess." Duke University Press, 2001.
• Ng, Wendy L. "The Chinese in Hawai'i." Harvard University Press, 1999.
• Said, Edward W. "Orientalism." Vintage Books, 1979.
• Takaki, Ronald. "Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans." Little, Brown, 1989.
• Nguyen, Mimi. "The Republic of Fruits and Nuts: A History of Hawaii." University of Hawaii Press, 2020.
• Foner, Nancy. "From Ellis Island to JFK: Immigrant New York and the Making of the American Identity." Columbia University Press, 2000.
• Lee, Jennifer K. "The Chinese Exclusion Act: An Off-Limits Law." Smithsonian Institution, 2011.
• Hattori, Tomoko. "Japanese American Internment." Greenwood Press, 2004.
• Roth, Michael S. "Race Migrations: Latinos and the Cultural Transformation of Race." Stanford University Press, 2010.