Assignment – Making Ethnic Choices and   Highland Heritage

For your first class meeting (Monday, Sept. 24)

• Read the Preface and Introduction, and look over the Table of Contents to see the general thrust of the book.
• Write a summary that includes:
  • The central theme of the book. You might find it useful to phrase the question to yourself as: What problem is the author seeking an answer to?
  • The major theoretical claims the author is making.
    • Pay attention to the theoretical debates the author discusses, and where she locates herself inside of these debates
    • Pull out key concepts or terms that define the problem she addresses
  • The primary methods used by the author (This will be easier for Leonard than for Ray)
    • Include the specific kinds of data she sought

At your first meeting you will

1. Appoint someone (a “reporter”) to write a summary of your discussion.
2. Discuss the issues outline above. Note where you have consensus and where you differ in the points you found central.
   1. Your reporter will report these in written form, then.
   2. Circulate it to everyone in the group for modification
   3. Write up the final summation and send it to everyone in the group and to Dr. Adams
3. Divide up the book by chapter, assigning each chapter or chapters to members of the team.
   1. Leonard has 10 chapters plus Introduction. With 7 members of the group this poses a challenge! Chapters run c. 20 pages each, and some chapters might make logical pairs for someone who is particularly interested in a topic.
   2. Ray has 7 chapters plus Introduction and Conclusion. If everyone reads the Introduction and Conclusion, the division is easy
4. Figure out the schedule of reports. You will have six class periods to cover the book (including Monday, when everyone reads the Preface and Introduction). With Leonard, you can cover 2 chapters each session; Ray will have to be divided up in your first meeting.
   

Procedure for subsequent meetings:

Each member of the group will have primary responsibility for their assigned chapter(s). You will “teach” that chapter to the rest of the group, though all group members should have general familiarity with it (the model used in Death and Rebirth of the Seneca). For your assigned chapter(s)

a.       Create an outline that pulls out the main points – theoretical, methodological, and factual.

b.      Distribute this outline to your teammates.

c.       Email it to Dr. Adams <jadams@siu.edu> for posting on the website

d.      Discuss it with them.

You might find it useful to build a PowerPoint presentation as  you create your outline. You could distribute the PowerPoint as handouts to your teammates and/or email it to them.

At your final group meeting,

a.       discuss the Conclusion (everybody summarize) and will also

b.      discuss how you will present the book to the other half of the class. You will have to compress 6 hours of discussion into one hour (50 minutes) – a real challenge! Suggested format:

A.     Key issues the book deals with (Introduction)

B.     Key findings in the book – the “story” – Who, what, when, where

C.     Conclusions

Week 3:

Monday: Report on Celeste Ray, Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South

Wednesday: Report on Karen Isaksen Leonard, Making Ethnic Choices: California’s Punjabi Mexican Americans

Please feel free to use PowerPoint presentations.