...Hannah Dada 396809 Definitions that need clarification: • African identity- this term will be used interchangeable. (1) realizing the African continent commonality, (2) the culture and behavior of the slaves (African born and creoles)—basically what defines the slaves’ identity. • Creoles- (1) Atlantic creoles that are phenotypically and culturally mixed with African and European cultures. The Dynamic African identity: Coping with Slavery Upon considering the changes and the creation of an “African” identity (definition 2), it is important to realize that similar to the constantly changing slavery due to the frequent shifts in the social, political, and economic contexts, the “African” identity was also dynamic. Although the overall reason that prompted the development of the notion of the African continent (definition 1) might be similar across the board of slavery, the specifics of what constituted this identity (ex: religion, family formation) is largely dependent on the time period and region being discussed—ex: the 17th Century African identity in North America is different from the 18th Century identity in Europe. Several factors that enhanced the creation of the African identity (definition 2) include: (1) ability to form families as a result of the gender ratio, mortality rates, segregation from other slaves, (2) population ratio of native-born to creolized slaves, and (3) religious movement that were characteristic of the time and space. These...
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...historical basis for the problem that American Indians face in adapting to American society while maintaining their identity is complex. The colonial settlements during the early 18th century forced many American Indian groups who had exceedingly appreciative and welcoming attitudes of other cultures, race, and ethnic groups led them to question their policy in order to save their identity from moving from becoming another marginalized ethnicity (Steinman 225). The strained relationship between the U.S and American Indians has made the U.S legislative and legal systems reluctant to address issues pertaining to the survivability of their identity. As a result, the American Indians...
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...better Know Baseball Baseball hits a home run when it comes to comparing it to the American identity. Both baseball and the American identity have three aspects that are exactly the same; both are very diverse, both are rather competitive, and both are driven by business and money. America is a diverse country, according to US Census Bureau (2013) quickfacts reference page, “Caucasians alone total 77.7%, Hispanic and Latino alone 17.1%, and African American alone 13.2%”. However, America has races from every inhabitable continent; we have a large number of Asians, mass amounts of Europeans, and growing amounts of Latinos and African ethnicities. These aspects all put together combine to make a huge part of the definition of American identity. Along with diversity, another aspect that is used in the definition of American identity is business and corporations. Corporate America is one of the largest and wealthiest forms of business in the world. Wall Street deals with billions of dollars daily, corporations throughout the country grow in size and significance. Lastly, competition is the last big part of the definition because of the international trade, emphasize on sports and athletics, and between other rivalries between other countries. The same is with baseball in America; it incorporates all of these aspects into one sport. Baseball is the best definition of American identity because of the growing diversity in the sport, the multi-billion dollar industries, and...
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...with the conventional definition of Hispanic identity. In order to fully understand how the concept of ethnicity has been constructed in Latin America it is important to start with some historic background. The formation of what will be known as “Hispanic Identity” started centuries ago when Portuguese and Spanish colonists arrived to the South America and started to oppress, enslave and exploit populations that had lived there for eons (Wade, 2003). In addition numerous African slaves have been brought in, especially in places like Caribbean and Brazil where today the significant part of the population is black (Ferreira da Silva, 1998). Because of the melting pot relationships a significant portion of populations got mixed and were called “mestizos”. This mixing occurred between ingenious populations, Europeans and of course African slaves (Wade, 2003). This mixing created a very interesting phenomenon when it comes to Latin America namely the fact that ethnic and racial composition of many countries is extremely diverse and not homogenous at all especially in places like Brazil, Chile, Mexico and others. However at some point even this has changed as the new approach was to define populations based on the culture rather than on ethnicity (De la Cadena, 2000). This was taking place first in Peru in regard to the ingenious populations. Another argument was that it was not very helpful to use racial/ethnic model of the US when talking about Hispanic identity mainly because it...
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...issues. b. Analyze how technological innovation has affected economic development and society. c. Explain how interpretations of the Constitution and debates over rights, liberties, and definitions of citizenship have affected American values, politics, and society. d. Explain how interpretations of the Constitution and debates over rights, liberties, and definitions of citizenship have affected American values, politics, and society. 2. The Transformation of the West Group 1 e. Explain how different group identities, including racial, ethnic, class, and regional identities, have emerged and changed over time. f. Explain how popular movements, reform efforts, and activist groups have sought to change American society and institutions. g. Analyze relationships among different regional, social, ethnic, and racial groups, and explain how these groups’ experiences have related to U.S. national identity. h. Analyze causes of internal migration and patterns of settlement in what would become the United States, and explain how migration has affected American life. Group 2 i. Explain how ideas about democracy, freedom, and individualism found expression in the development of cultural values, political institutions, and American identity. j. Explain how geographic and environmental factors shaped the development of various communities, and analyze how competition for and debates over natural resources have affected both interactions...
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...war to the mid 1920s displays to a great extent of the identity that Americans possess. Even though there are racial disparities, I believe there is an underlying theme that can relate to all Americans as a whole. This theme could not have been said better than Theodore Roosevelt, in "The Strenuous Life", because the strenuous life leads us in the path to make choices that describe who we are. Change is the foundation of the strenuous life; Nobody likes to experience change especially due to the discomfort it brings, however, it has created the hardworking and innovative Americans that we are today that wouldn't not be have been the same without the civil war, industrialization and expansion west....
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...Paul Spickard is Professor and Chair of Asian American Studies at UC Santa Barbara. W. Jeffrey Burroughs is Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, Hawaii. The major idea of the text is to discuss ethnic processes of connection and identity as they affect individuals and groups. The reading was assigned to give us a more complete definition of ethnicity. An arrangement of people who see themselves as biologically and historically connected. We are a People was published on January 7th, 2000, under the full title We Are a People: Narrative and Multiplicity in Constructing Ethnic Identity. This course strives to teach students that culture and society are multifaceted. Thus, this text relates by providing an explanation of how the...
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...of the peninsula” (today more commonly referred to as the Seminoles), arrived in Florida late in the eighteenth century. Although other Indians previously inhabited the peninsula, European diseases and wars, along with the immigration of southeastern Indians devastated the aboriginal population. Those few remaining Florida Indians who survived eventually, for the most part, allied and assimilated themselves with the incoming Creeks, other exiled Indians, and runaway slaves seeking freedom. The Creeks’ Muscogee language became the most prevalent in the peninsula, and influenced the generalized grouping of the Florida Indians. But political factors, racial identity, and race relations contributed heavily to...
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...Anonymous Race and Identity 512 17 February 2013 Short Paper: 2 One of the main social and political tasks of 1830’s America was to define what it was to be a free American. Challenged by reformist ideals “purifying” the land and the Industrial Revolution cementing capitalism into the framework of the nation’s economy, Black people and Indians found themselves pushed out of the national identity. Much of this struggle can be witnessed through an analysis of American theater at the time. Stereotypical portrayals of Black Americans through Black Face Minstrelsy and of American Indians in Indian Plays highlight how White Americans invented social constructs to dehumanize or ridicule “other’ races and protect an imagined White American identity with no static definition. The basis for arguing in defense of a singular definition or identity begins with the denial of all others. In the case of White Americans, this was accomplished by dehumanizing all “other” races. With the advent of abolition and its ideals permeating society, Black slaves had the hope that freedom was attainable, and free White’s adopted fears of a common people class developing in the future with “unthinkable” consequences like widespread amalgamation. Slavery would no longer be the precondition for separatism. The void was filled in part by theories of racial science as developed by scientists like Craniologist Samuel Morton. According to his studies, races could be determined by the size and shape of their...
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...formal definition of Native American is; “A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The ancestors of the Native Americans are generally considered by scientists to have entered the Americas from Asia by way of the Bering Strait sometime during the late glacial epoch.” Legally speaking, by white man standards, one has to take the definition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs which says; “According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in order to be officially defined as an American Indian, a person must meet all of the following criteria: • He must be listed as a member of a federally recognized tribe. • He must be able to definitively trace his Indian ancestry back at least three generations. • He must be formally approved by BIA officials. • His blood quantum must be at least 1/4 American Indian. There are other criteria for a whole tribe to be recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That consists of seven requirements. Those government definitions are: • Traditional • Constructed as imagined community • Blood Quantum • Residence on Tribal lands • Construction by others • United States government definitions • Self-Identification (including personal reasons for self-identification) Having gotten the legal definition of what it means to be Indian out of the way, you can begin to get to the heart of the question; “Who are the Blackfeet?” My own personal definition is -...
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...Cultural Diversity One of the unique aspects of the United States is the diversity of its people. With different cultures, ethnicity, and race all being intertwined in one country, the definition of a melting pot has been formed. Over the years, the United States has matured from being a white supremacy country to a diversified country that gives every racial person born in the United States a chance to lead its people. This historic moment happened in 2009 when Barack Obama became the first African American President in the United States. But even with all the progress we have made, there is still prejudice, discrimination, and idealistic beliefs that have overshadowed a cultural movement that is trying to free this country from a divided line of beliefs. As a result, we must look into the meaning between culture, race and ethnicity to understand the world we live in. “Culture is that unique characteristic that separates the human from the rest of the world of living things.” (Naylor 3) According to Naylor, culture is the basis of human thought and behavior and gives us a sense of identity. He also states that culture makes all humans basically the same, yet it also makes them different as each human group creates and develops its own version of culture designed to respond to their own particular needs and wants, and because of the choices they make. (Naylor 3) The author states that culture is different for each individual and that the environment that one lives in,...
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...Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was a 20th century movement of diverse art forms occurring in New York City. During the time this change was referred to as "New Negro Movement” (Johnston). The movement was responsible for giving new opportunities to African American artists. Additionally, the Harlem Renaissance empowered everyday black Americans that were discriminated against. During this time, there were several notable figures that helped lead and expand the movement. As a result, the Harlem Renaissance has made an enormous cultural impact in the United States. The initial emergence of the Harlem Renaissance can be traced back to 1865. During this time, African Americans were experiencing their first chance of freedom. After...
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...Kelsey Abbrat 17 April 2014 The Contribution of Slave Narratives to American Identity Literature as a whole has contributed to the totality that constitutes American identity. It is a powerful tool because of its ability to create conceptions that shape the thoughts and ideas of its readers. It gives glimpses into history by the experiences of its characters; the power of suggestion and information implants ideas into the minds of those who care to explore its pages. From the literature of Native Americans to that of modern day authors, each category has developed a different facet of the definition of an American, and each is needed in its own unique way. The same is true of the writings of those who were forced into slavery in America, who came against their will and suffered under horrific circumstances. Their stories expand the definition of an American into broader territories and reveal the difficult journey that many faced as they endeavored to find their place in a country that championed liberty yet enslaved them. Writers like Harriet Jacobs helped jump-start a new genre in American literature that came to be known as the North American slave narrative which greatly contributed to the defining of American identity. The North American slave narrative was unique in that its authors went to great lengths to present their own personal narrative of their experiences while remaining in the confines of the genre expectations. The goal of these narratives was of course...
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...The Meaning of Identity: A Brief History The term identity as the dictionary defines it today is almost as new as the sciences devoted to studying it. The definition of the word identity has undergone several transformations since it was first used by European philosophers emerging from the Dark Ages. It wouldn’t be until 1950 that the word would undergo its final stage, the one seen used in psychology textbooks across the world. Erik Erikson’s eight stages of the life cycle gave us its modern meaning. The way the term identity has been used by philosophers in the past has given it definite significance and seriousness. Despite this, its use in relation to the individuality of a person was very casual and lacked depth. Only recently has the term identity come to represent an analytical psychological concept (Gleason, 1983). Before modern social sciences evolved, the term identity was associated with philosophical thought and the ever-present questions about the mind-body connection and the nature of self. The root of the word identity is Latin in origin. The word is “idem” and it means “the same.” The word identity has been found in philosophical texts going back to 1690 with John Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (Gleason, 1983). The term seemed to be used only to describe “self” as the philosophers viewed it. The definition of identity that we have today did not come about until much later and when it did it gave much insight into issues that...
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...conflicting viewpoints: Plato encouraging skepticism among all previous historical, cultural, and personal perspectives; Descartes questioning definitions of reality and his very existence; Emerson encouraging self-trust and confidence in one’s ideals, opinions, and convictions. Surprisingly, reconciliation can be reached from these three differing hypotheses. Emerson’s thesis merely expounds from Descartes and Plato’s philosophies. He builds from Descartes’ search for self-identity and reconciles Plato’s skepticism with his views of self-trust and unconformity among scholars. Throughout “Mediations I and II”, Descartes disputes definitions of reality and identity, establishing a precursor to Emerson’s philosophy. Initially, Descartes questions all notions of being. In “Mediation I”, Descartes begins his argument explaining the senses which perceive reality can be deceptive and “it is wiser not to trust entirely to any thing by which we have once been deceived” (Descartes 59). But, he then continues to reason; “opinions [are] in some measure doubtful…and at the same time highly probable, so that there is much more reason to believe in than to deny them” (Descartes 62). Descartes maintains trust within his established personal beliefs though he may doubt certain physical senses. Additionally, Descartes seeks to establish his identity in “Meditation II”. Even as he questions his very existence, he begins trusting himself: “was I not then likewise persuaded that I did not exist...
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