Citizen Nation

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Here’s what we’re up to upon our return to campus.

Tues 12/2 Citizens v. “Illegals.” Reading: Keyssar, Right to Vote 246-257 + Jose Antonio Vargas, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” (New York Times, 22 June 2011) + watch either of these recent speeches by President Obama (or both, if you have the time and inclination)

Address on Immigration Reform from the White House, 20 November 2014 (16 minutes)

Speech on immigration at Del Sol High School, Las Vegas, Nevada 21 November 2014 (31 minutes)

You might also be interested in checking out Vargas’s web project: DefineAmerican.com

The final exam study guide will be handed out in class.

There is also a response paper due, and here is the prompt. Address at least some of these questions in a 2-3 page response paper: what are the fundamental problems in the current US immigration system? What are some of the proposed solutions? What is within the president’s powers of executive action, and what action is he taking? What effect do you think these changes will have? What stories, statistics, or ideas from these readings/viewings stand out to you? How does immigration reform (or lack of immigration reform) affect you personally?

Thurs 12/4 CITIZEN Lightning Round. See the project guidelines for details – each person should prepare an exactly-2-minutes presentation on your CITIZEN web page. By this date I will have the essays posted on the site for you to proofread.

Make corrections to your page by altering the Google Doc I shared with you; the deadline is midnight on Monday night, December 8th.

Tues 12/9 #Occupy Citizenship. Course wrap-up day and preparation for the final exam. The CITIZEN website corrections will be up & it will be in its final version.

Due in class: Response Paper #6 = course reflection paper. The student learning outcomes of this course were:

• Develop a theoretical and interpretive framework for the concept of citizenship and how it has changed over time in the US
• Analyze and compare key episodes in US history in light of dynamic or competing definitions of American citizenship
• Explain the development of the US & MA constitutions in context of historical political processes, including: convention, drafting, ratification, amendment, judicial rulings, challenge, protest, and reinterpretation
• Trace the expansion of the boundaries of American citizenship by constructing a well-researched historical narrative
• Craft a historically informed personal understanding of one’s own citizenship

How well have you achieved each of these outcomes? What elements of the course helped your learning the most? The least? Are you more likely to vote or be politically involved/aware as a result of this course? What would your advice be to the students in next semester’s class?

Thurs 12/11 Final Exam at 8:30 am. Download Study Guide here (PDF).