What the Literature Tells Us About Us

You have been thinking about identity in America this week quite a bit.  How do you feel the literature we read, the essays, stories, and poetry will help you to define what "identity" even is in America today?

Identity in America

Yesterday in class you all wrote how you would define your own identity.  What kinds of criteria did you use?  Do you use age, gender, religion, race, ethnic background, hair color?  What kinds of criteria do we tend to use when we "identify" others--and do we honestly think others use that criteria when they "identify" us?

What sources are you using?

Now that some of you have established what aspect of the American Dream you will explore in your essays, you should discuss what sources (besides  the literature) you plan to use.  Tell each other how you found each source and how you intend to use it in your essay to support your thesis.

What is it exactly, the American Dream?

What particular issue or aspect of the American Dream are you planning to explore in your essay? Try to be as specific as you can here--as you prepare for invention on Tuesday.  Will you look at how the dream is alive? Is a nightmare? Is possible? Is based on income? race? gender?  This list is not exhaustive but is meant to get you started.

The American Dream and Social Inequality

Use specific examples from the essays and stories we discussed this week in class to show how social inequality (based on income, gender, and/or race) influences how the American Dream is defined and achieved.  You can even speculate on whether or not you think the idea of the American Dream still exists.

We started this in the discussions in DIWE, but now you can further develop your ideas--especially about the essays or stories that we didn't have enough time to discuss fully.

Take the Week Off

We will begin this discussion again with a prompt on March 27. Have a nice--and safe--Spring Break.

Crime and Deviance in America

Irrespective of some form of absoluteness, the idea of crime and deviance is spatiotemporal—they differ from  time to time, from one social context to the other. The idea of the American Dream can be very important in understanding the social construction of crime and the associated consequences.

American dreams aspire individuals toward hard work and success. Does the concept of the American dream have the same meaning for everybody? How could the idea of American dream lead to the adaptation of deviant routes toward realization of one’s dreams?