Family Ethnicity Research Project Guidelines

Geography 320 – American Ethnic Geography

Spring Quarter 2001-2002

Due Date: May 23^rd

Expected Length:

Around ten pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. font; you may include any supporting material you wish, such as maps, photographs, numerical tables, etc. You are required to consult at least two academic sources (books, articles in scholarly journals, etc.) that address your particular ethnicity. Most likely, these will be historical in nature. Keep in mind that you will present the findings of your research to the rest of the class during the last week of classes.

Expected Content:

The overall end product of your research should be an essay that addresses your own personal ethnic background from the viewpoint of a historical/ethnic geographer. That is, within the context of the issues that we are addressing in class this term. I would like for you to address the following issues, but aside from these you may take your research in any direction that you wish:

• A description of your own ethnic background. This may be a mixture (e.g. Irish and German); it is up to you if you want to focus on one ethnicity or more than one
• The “when” and the “why”: a description of the history of “your people” coming to North America. When did they come? Why did they come? Where did they settle in the U.S.A.? Feel free to include any circumstances you feel may be significant to the story. You might want to focus solely on your family’s particular experience, or more generally on your ethnic group as a whole. Ideally, you would include a little of both.
• A description of how “your people” “fit” in American society. Were there any restrictive or exclusionary immigration policies in force that affected their opportunities here? Did they encounter any type of discrimination in their local communities?
• A discussion of how your “ethnicity” has affected you personally. Are there aspects of your ethnic background that are important to your family and you in terms of defining “who you are”? Are there aspects of this ethnicity, such as foodways, folkways, patterns of communication, etc., that contribute to your way of thinking and your world view? Are there strengths that you possess that can be traced to your ethnic background and/or your family’s history?

There are many ways in which to explore these issues. For example, you might want to ask parents, grandparents or other relatives for their impressions or histories. You can consult library sources (as well as your textbooks) to find out about such things as ethnic cultural customs of your group, immigration history of your group, etc.