What makes the "right kind" of immigrant? This question has been on the minds of Americans for generations, yet we still are often left without an answer. This course explores that question by proposing another set of questions: "what is an immigrant?" "how are certain people included or excluded from this category?", and "why is immigration still a concern in the 21st century?". We will explore these questions by examining cultural materials such as films like Charlie Chaplin's "The Immigrant", music such as "Deportee" by Woody Guthrie , photographs by Ellis Island officials, and anti-immigrant ephemera alongside the social, legal, and political discourses which framed immigration throughout the long 20th century. We will learn about refugees from Europe, migrants from Latin America, and those deemed "undesirable" from around the world as they travelled to our own fine city of Saint Louis. Starting in the late 19th century this course will untangle the legislative, cultural, and political actions that impact the discussions around immigration and migration today. In the end students will walk away from this course with an understanding of the historical forces which have shaped concerns around American immigration from the calls of Benjamin Franklin to exclude Germans to the cries of "Build the Wall" in the 21st century.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Eth; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM
