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The unit we covered in the book and in class the past few weeks was one of the most interesting to me. Some of the topics we covered I was very familiar with, and others I have never given much thought to. The first area I focused on in this paper is the transition that Jewish people had from a minority, to being white, which I have not given much thought. The second was the idea of white privilege, and its implications. The third is rape culture, and how we can possibly combat it. Both of these topics I am more aware of, and has been things that have interested me for some time. I hope to further my understanding of these issues by learning from outside sources and using the book and lecture material.
I did have a few previous pre-conceptions about the different topics I chose. My family is Jewish-Romanian, however, I never experienced any discrimination because of this and have always considered myself white, further proving how assimilated Jewish people are into the “white” group. I was somewhat aware of the concept of white privilege, and was aware that I unjustly benefit from it. I knew it was something that was wrong, and was a symptom of the larger problem of racism in America, however I did not ever think about the extent of it. The third topic of rape culture was something I had the most information on, as it was something I studied on my own and was aware of since high school. Because I know the issue so well, and had already researched its many examples, I decided to focus more on how to combat it.
The first topic I thought was interesting was on how Jewish people got assimilated into being white. The book Race, Ethnicity and Gender: Selected Readings by Joseph Healey had an article that talked extensively about how th...
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... knowledge with white privilege and rape culture. All of these issues have affected my life personally, and it was really interesting to additionally exploring them. I think it is important to be educated on all of these in order to be aware of yourself, and know how to impact society more positively.
Works Cited
Healey, Joseph F., and Eileen O'Brien. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: Selected Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge, 2004. Print. Second Edition.
Moore, Deborah Dash. "Assimilation in the United States: Twentieth Century." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. .
"What Is the “Rape Culture?”." Marshell University. Women's Center, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .
Fiske, R., & Cyrus, V. (2005). Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: Fourth Edition. Boston: McGrawHill
In order to obtain religious, social, political, and equality 23 million Jews immigrated to America during the years between 1880 and 1920 (Chametzky, 5). Anzia Yezierska wrote about her experiences as a poor immigrant in her fictional work becoming a voice of the Jewish people in the1920s. She struggled to obtain an education that allowed her to rise above her family’s poverty and gain a measure of autonomy. Rachel and Sara, the female protagonists, mirror the author’s life going from struggling immigrant to college graduate. Yezierska uses her own experiences to portray the Jewish immigrant experience with a woman’s perspective. She successfully gained a commercial following that allowed her to mediate the cultural differences between the mainstream culture and the Jewish people that helped resolve differences between the established Americans and these new immigrants for a time (Ebes...
Both authors rely on case studies of specific ethnic groups as a platform to push their respective arguments. For the purpose of this essay, only the Jewish and Black ethnic groups will be discussed since conjunctively they reflect the dichotomy of assimilation “success” and “failure”. One of the strengths of Sowell’s work though is how extensive and detailed he goes into ethnic groups. Not only does Sowell cover a large variety of ethnic groups, he also discusses differences within ethnic groups. Steinberg instead groups ethnic groups more
The three topics I picked are gender, race, and religion. However, my views on these subjects have not changed because I considered myself to be a very open-minded person. After reading "The Berdache Tradition" I learned that the several Native American tribes had a different kind of cultural construction of gender within their group. I was very fond of their origin myth that was about several worlds and crossing over them to find equal ground for everyone. I found this reading to be very interesting because it seems that no one takes the chance to mention the subject of having more than one gender. Usually people are focused on physical differences of sex and the expectations that are associated with gender. The same goes for the group in
Stavans, I. (2005). Assimilation and Jewish Ethnic Identity. The Jewish Identity Project: New American Photography, Rpt. In Race and Ethnicity. Ed. Uma Kukathas. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Contemporary Issues Companion. Retrieved Apr 4, 2014, from http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy.hvcc.edu:2048/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displa
As a result, my thinking and perception was shaped and influenced by many of the negative stereotypes of African Americans that has been perpetuated in our society at large (this is where education can be a great liberator of falsehoods and misconceptions). I have come to appreciate Professor Marie’s Intercultural Communication course, for the class has broaden my critical thinking skills and stretched my thinking and understanding. Finally, how do I think this information will be of use to me? True understanding and teamwork will not begin to occur until individuals begin to speak up about address and embrace the controversial topics of race and culture. Setting aside the problem of racism and covering it up by saying that everyone is the same, does not eliminate the issue. Trying to patch up issues around the world dealing with culture and racism only provides a quick, short lasting solution, for when the temporary patch falls away, the problems will have grown twice as big. All it does is temporarily set aside what we know is still there.
Hertzberg, Arthur. (1973). The Jews of the United States. New York: Quadrangle/ The New York Times Book Co.
I talked about a lot about race, ethnicity, and the different movies we watched in this paper. I believe that continuing on in this class will help myself get a better understanding of different races and cultures, which will make me more knowledgeable in the future and better me in the long run. I cannot wait to see what we are going to learn about in the weeks to come!
Following the declaration in 1977 by Israeli government officials that the Law of Return applied to Beta Israel, a flow of Ethiopian Jews have immigrated to Israel with values and traditions that has influenced the emerging society in their host country. Ethiopian Jews tend to possess more differences with Israeli Jewish culture in comparison to other immigrant groups and it is this that makes their adaptation to society a multifaceted process. The emergence of Zionism promised freedom, redemption, revolution, liberation and normalization ; concepts that appealed to Beta Israel who had been persecuted in Ethiopia. Simultaneously however, Israel was facing worldwide immigrants including those from the former Soviet Union, and it is the immigration of Russian immigrants that will provide a stark contrast in the differences of their assimilation. Israel, being a country of wide immigrant absorption, adopted the ‘melting pot’ idea in the hopes to create a unified Israel; this has proved unsuccessful following the problems that emerged from its use that was highlighted in the immigration of Ethiopian Jews. Immigrants perceived this ‘melting pot’ ideology as an instrument that was assisting to subject them to discrimination, which arguably led to a form of ethnocentrism taking place in Israel. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s culture is to be preferred over all others and provides a frame of reference in which to evaluate other beliefs, often leading to stereotyping and misplaced judgment . In recent years there has been an increase in the approval of cultural pluralism, however, this research paper will discuss the many factors that led to the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel as well as the factors that rendered this absor...
Buck, Pem Davidson. “Constructing Race, Creating White Privilege.” Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. Ed. Paula Rothenberg. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2010. 32-37. Print.
Though the United States is home to many immigrants, controversy surrounds the issue of immigrants in the United States. The United States in a melting pot of various backgrounds and cultures, yet it is hard for all to merge into acceptance of one another. The first chapter of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and class covers stratification, prejudice and discrimination, and inequality.
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
The topic I chose to discuss was about sex trafficking. I learned that women are more likely to be involved with sex trafficking than men are. Specifically, that Native Americans experience a high percentage in this social issue. One reason that they experience such a high rate is because of the sovereign territory that they live in can cause jurisdictional issues making it nearly impossible for the Native women to be protected. Precisely, they face being left out of the Violence Against Women Act where it aims to protect women of the U.S. Unfortunately, Native American women and other affiliations pose a problem of not getting any type of justice. Overall, the social issue is that not all women are being protected as they should be and that
In conclusion, Dr. West did an incredible job in his book. He clearly displayed, not only that race matters, but how and why it matters. It should serve as a reference on key racial issues for all parties dealing with race per se. My question and thesis concerned Dr. West’s ability to enhance my knowledge of how race matters. He did so in a way that I will always remember. I know, through the essays/book, how race impacts my life, others, African American Politics, and American society as a whole.