This quiz made me realize something very interesting about our history and how it is reflected. For the first two questions on naming white men and women, it came fairly easy. I was able to give names for each of the six centuries. When I searched famous people in history I got a large amount of hits that came up white men. The world has a past of being prejudice and this could be why it is east to research a person with a white ethnicity compared to one of Middle East. There could have been some very important names or paces that were of a different ethnicity that have been completely left out of the history books. Not only were ethnicities discredited against but so was a whole gender.
Women, I found it to be harder to name women on the quiz than men it didn’t seem to matter what ethnicity it was that women were harder answer then the men one reason that I came up with, was that women were not able to do the same things the men were suppose to do. Men made more money and were able to get better education and get put in the history books. The white women seemed to be the easiest and as I went down the line through the different ethnicities, the number of answers was getting less and less, even after taking the 1st quiz and going online to look up some people there was very few women names that came up.
The primary groups that were talked about in our American history books were white, black, or Native American. The white ethnicity discriminated against both the black and Native American ethnicity and made up a large portion of our history. The books that we read and discuss in our classes are based our the region that we live, since we live in the United States we get taught the events that happen in our country’s past. If you were to live in China your textbooks would have more information on the history of China and so on.
Some groups that don’t make up a large part of the history of the United States would be the Asian and the Middle Easterners. I think that they are left out of the history books because we most of the people that were immigrating to the United States were European and African American there wasn’t a large majority of the other groups in the United States at the time. Their impact on the history of the United States was very slim.
These quizzes that we took made me think about how much of the rest of the world’s history that I don’t know about. Some of the people that I was able to come up with on the quizzes were former presidents and their wife’s. Some inventors like the Wright brothers and Amelia Earhart. All these people were easy to remember because they made a large impact on our history. Who where some of the people that you came up with on your quizzes?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Ethnicity Activity three
Ethnicity and Communication
When people read my last name they tend to make some sort of comment about it being French. Although my last name is indeed French and I am also part French, the majority of my ethnicity is German. With both my grandfathers being almost completely German it is inevitable that I am too. Besides being German, I am also Italian and Norwegian. These three are what is the most prominent in my ethnicity. However I don’t think that it made that big of an influence on the way I was brought up.
The way I was raised was not focused so my ethnicity instead it was focused the traditions that my mother was brought up with. My grandmother spoke German and English, but it was not forced on us growing up to know German. I think that spending most of my childhood at my grandmothers made me the person I am today. She grew up with thirteen siblings in a small farm house, so obeying her parents was a must and doing your part around the farm was something her or her siblings couldn’t get out of. I grandmother took the ways she grew up and instilled that into her children and my mother instilled it into me and my sisters and brother. My grandmother is a strong catholic and attends church weekly, although my beliefs are different than hers I believe that I am a better person today because of her influences that she had on me as a child. She grew up in a house where swearing and talking back we not tolerated. These rules stuck with her and it is still in place today. I think that since I was raised in a house where there was no swearing and we had to do daily cores it will have an impact on the way I raise my kids. I think that it I good to know where your roots are and to have ties to your ethnic background. Knowing about your ancestors is an exciting experience.
I believe that when people meet me they would not be aware of my ethnic backgrounds. By my looks I don’t think people would assume off the bat that I have a strong German background. After getting to know me I think then you may be able to see something’s that tie me to my ethnicity. I am told that I can be stubborn and that trait links me to my German side. Other than that and my last name I don’t think people would be able to tell what my ethnicity is.
After doing this assignment I began to think about what I would want to learn from my ethnicity. I think that someday I would like to learn German and possibly how to cook the German food that my grandma makes. How about you what would you like to learn from your ethnic background?
When people read my last name they tend to make some sort of comment about it being French. Although my last name is indeed French and I am also part French, the majority of my ethnicity is German. With both my grandfathers being almost completely German it is inevitable that I am too. Besides being German, I am also Italian and Norwegian. These three are what is the most prominent in my ethnicity. However I don’t think that it made that big of an influence on the way I was brought up.
The way I was raised was not focused so my ethnicity instead it was focused the traditions that my mother was brought up with. My grandmother spoke German and English, but it was not forced on us growing up to know German. I think that spending most of my childhood at my grandmothers made me the person I am today. She grew up with thirteen siblings in a small farm house, so obeying her parents was a must and doing your part around the farm was something her or her siblings couldn’t get out of. I grandmother took the ways she grew up and instilled that into her children and my mother instilled it into me and my sisters and brother. My grandmother is a strong catholic and attends church weekly, although my beliefs are different than hers I believe that I am a better person today because of her influences that she had on me as a child. She grew up in a house where swearing and talking back we not tolerated. These rules stuck with her and it is still in place today. I think that since I was raised in a house where there was no swearing and we had to do daily cores it will have an impact on the way I raise my kids. I think that it I good to know where your roots are and to have ties to your ethnic background. Knowing about your ancestors is an exciting experience.
I believe that when people meet me they would not be aware of my ethnic backgrounds. By my looks I don’t think people would assume off the bat that I have a strong German background. After getting to know me I think then you may be able to see something’s that tie me to my ethnicity. I am told that I can be stubborn and that trait links me to my German side. Other than that and my last name I don’t think people would be able to tell what my ethnicity is.
After doing this assignment I began to think about what I would want to learn from my ethnicity. I think that someday I would like to learn German and possibly how to cook the German food that my grandma makes. How about you what would you like to learn from your ethnic background?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Activity 2.
Daily activity two
For this activity I visited the local library. I sat at a computer that overlooked a couple tables and the children’s section of book. The book checkout was towards my left and the door to get out the library was to my far right. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect about this activity, I have never actually taken the time to people watch. Was wasn’t expecting it to be as interesting as it was and it was fun to watch the way people reacted to the people that they were with and with complete strangers.
One of the interesting things that I noticed was when people would be in line waiting to get their books checked out, they wouldn’t stand right behind the person in front of them, instead they out be space a couple feet apart making sure not to over crowd. Also if two people wanted to look a certain section of books they would not stand right next to each other, instead I noticed that one would look around until the other person was finished looking at the section and then go over there.
The conversations that were going on consisted of the librarians giving patrons advice on what books they have read or have gotten good reviews. I noted that the librarian’s voice would change when she was talking to different types of people. At one point she was talking to a mother and her per teen daughter. When she would talk to the mother she would talk normal, however when she would talk to the daughter she would use simpler sentences and she would slump forward towards the girl almost as if she were talking down to the girl.
The universal rule that everyone should know about the library is that you talk quietly. I noticed that the people’s voices would change when they walked into the library. It was if they subconsciously lowered their voice when they came through the doors. At one point of my observation two middle school aged girls came in and sat at one of the tables. They began to talk in their normal voices not noticing the librarian and a few of the people around them giving them obvious looks that they were interrupting the rest of the people in the library. It was made clear to me after some observing, that they were aware that they were being looked at but the attention that they were getting for going against the crowd was amusing to them.
This activity made me more aware that the unwritten rules seem like something we do without even knowing it. Lowering our voice when we walk into a certain building, respecting others space, and using different tones when talking to different types of people are all things that we do and are a type of norm that we follow.
Doing this activity made me more aware of the what I was doing in my life, was I giving people space like the people in the library were, was I lowering my voice when I was in a certain building. Did you have these same feelings? If so what were you more aware about after the activity?
For this activity I visited the local library. I sat at a computer that overlooked a couple tables and the children’s section of book. The book checkout was towards my left and the door to get out the library was to my far right. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect about this activity, I have never actually taken the time to people watch. Was wasn’t expecting it to be as interesting as it was and it was fun to watch the way people reacted to the people that they were with and with complete strangers.
One of the interesting things that I noticed was when people would be in line waiting to get their books checked out, they wouldn’t stand right behind the person in front of them, instead they out be space a couple feet apart making sure not to over crowd. Also if two people wanted to look a certain section of books they would not stand right next to each other, instead I noticed that one would look around until the other person was finished looking at the section and then go over there.
The conversations that were going on consisted of the librarians giving patrons advice on what books they have read or have gotten good reviews. I noted that the librarian’s voice would change when she was talking to different types of people. At one point she was talking to a mother and her per teen daughter. When she would talk to the mother she would talk normal, however when she would talk to the daughter she would use simpler sentences and she would slump forward towards the girl almost as if she were talking down to the girl.
The universal rule that everyone should know about the library is that you talk quietly. I noticed that the people’s voices would change when they walked into the library. It was if they subconsciously lowered their voice when they came through the doors. At one point of my observation two middle school aged girls came in and sat at one of the tables. They began to talk in their normal voices not noticing the librarian and a few of the people around them giving them obvious looks that they were interrupting the rest of the people in the library. It was made clear to me after some observing, that they were aware that they were being looked at but the attention that they were getting for going against the crowd was amusing to them.
This activity made me more aware that the unwritten rules seem like something we do without even knowing it. Lowering our voice when we walk into a certain building, respecting others space, and using different tones when talking to different types of people are all things that we do and are a type of norm that we follow.
Doing this activity made me more aware of the what I was doing in my life, was I giving people space like the people in the library were, was I lowering my voice when I was in a certain building. Did you have these same feelings? If so what were you more aware about after the activity?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Far and Away Activity 1
The Immigrant Experience
The movie “Far And Away” gave two different perspectives into the lives of two unique immigrants and their journey to the United States. Shannon Christie and Joseph Donelly both lived in Ireland and both wanted to leave their country for the United States. They both come across unexpected challenges and struggle with their new lives.
Shannon Christie played by Nicole Kidman grew up in a very wealthy home, her father being a powerful landlord was able to provide Shannon with everything she needed. She struggled with the expectations that her family had for her. She dreamed of owning her own land as well as doing what she pleased with it and had planned to run away to the United States. She got her chance when Joseph Donelly played by Tom Cruise fell into her life.
Joseph Donelly, son of a poor famer, is trying to overcome his own troubles. The landlord has all the land and his family is not making enough money to keep them from losing everything. After a dispute over the landlord, Joseph’s father suffers from a terrible fall and passes away. Shortly after his father’s death, the landlord’s helpers burn Joseph’s house. With nothing left to call his own Joseph decides he is going to kill the landlord, who is also Shannon’s father. Josephs attempt failed and he was caught, this was what Shannon required, someone who was daring enough to confront a powerful person, all she needed was to convince him. With the idea that in America they just gave land to whoever wanted it. This idea was more than enough to get Joseph to come with to America.
On their arrival to America, Shannon and Joseph realized what they had heard about America and the land was not what they had expected, but that was only the beginning of their troubles. After Shannon looses all her valuable silver spoons, to a man who scammed her, they are left with no money and nowhere to live. Joseph is spotted fighting; he and Shannon are given a place to live and somewhere to work. Joseph soon gets caught up in the fame and fortune of the boxing world and this frustrates Shannon. Jealousy soon over takes both of them and they lose their fortune, their home, and their jobs. What they both thought was going to be a fresh start to their lives in America was far from it. Their expectations were not fulfilled and may have lost more by coming to the United States then what they would have if they would have stayed in Ireland. Joseph and Shannon go their separate ways and begin to settle down in their new country. Then the thing that brought them to America in the first place will bring them together again at the end of the movie, land. The run for land is yet another challenge both Shannon and Joseph have to overcome. They both want the same section of land and the only way to get it is to get there before the other. As fate would have it, Shannon and Joseph end up getting the land together. Although they got what they came to America for in the end, they didn’t get it easy. They faces money troubles, they struggled to find a place to live and fought to keep their view of what America was like alive.
Shannon and Joseph got what they wanted in the end but was it worth what they lost? I believe it was, they came to America for land and for freedom and they gained both. Yes, they had their struggles, but they overcame them and fought for what they truly wanted. No landlord to deal with and no one taking their earnings, just them and their land. They found that the “American Dream” was not all that dreamy and that if they wanted something it was not just handed to them, they had to fight to it. But overall I think that they gained much more than what they lost.
How do you feel about this, was their fight for the land and leaving their home country worth what they gained in the end?
The movie “Far And Away” gave two different perspectives into the lives of two unique immigrants and their journey to the United States. Shannon Christie and Joseph Donelly both lived in Ireland and both wanted to leave their country for the United States. They both come across unexpected challenges and struggle with their new lives.
Shannon Christie played by Nicole Kidman grew up in a very wealthy home, her father being a powerful landlord was able to provide Shannon with everything she needed. She struggled with the expectations that her family had for her. She dreamed of owning her own land as well as doing what she pleased with it and had planned to run away to the United States. She got her chance when Joseph Donelly played by Tom Cruise fell into her life.
Joseph Donelly, son of a poor famer, is trying to overcome his own troubles. The landlord has all the land and his family is not making enough money to keep them from losing everything. After a dispute over the landlord, Joseph’s father suffers from a terrible fall and passes away. Shortly after his father’s death, the landlord’s helpers burn Joseph’s house. With nothing left to call his own Joseph decides he is going to kill the landlord, who is also Shannon’s father. Josephs attempt failed and he was caught, this was what Shannon required, someone who was daring enough to confront a powerful person, all she needed was to convince him. With the idea that in America they just gave land to whoever wanted it. This idea was more than enough to get Joseph to come with to America.
On their arrival to America, Shannon and Joseph realized what they had heard about America and the land was not what they had expected, but that was only the beginning of their troubles. After Shannon looses all her valuable silver spoons, to a man who scammed her, they are left with no money and nowhere to live. Joseph is spotted fighting; he and Shannon are given a place to live and somewhere to work. Joseph soon gets caught up in the fame and fortune of the boxing world and this frustrates Shannon. Jealousy soon over takes both of them and they lose their fortune, their home, and their jobs. What they both thought was going to be a fresh start to their lives in America was far from it. Their expectations were not fulfilled and may have lost more by coming to the United States then what they would have if they would have stayed in Ireland. Joseph and Shannon go their separate ways and begin to settle down in their new country. Then the thing that brought them to America in the first place will bring them together again at the end of the movie, land. The run for land is yet another challenge both Shannon and Joseph have to overcome. They both want the same section of land and the only way to get it is to get there before the other. As fate would have it, Shannon and Joseph end up getting the land together. Although they got what they came to America for in the end, they didn’t get it easy. They faces money troubles, they struggled to find a place to live and fought to keep their view of what America was like alive.
Shannon and Joseph got what they wanted in the end but was it worth what they lost? I believe it was, they came to America for land and for freedom and they gained both. Yes, they had their struggles, but they overcame them and fought for what they truly wanted. No landlord to deal with and no one taking their earnings, just them and their land. They found that the “American Dream” was not all that dreamy and that if they wanted something it was not just handed to them, they had to fight to it. But overall I think that they gained much more than what they lost.
How do you feel about this, was their fight for the land and leaving their home country worth what they gained in the end?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
two truths and a lie!
Introductory blog activity
two truths and a lie
1. I was once ran over by a 4-wheeler
2. Im obsessed with Family Guy
3. I live in the middle of nowhere wisconsin on a farm
two truths and a lie
1. I was once ran over by a 4-wheeler
2. Im obsessed with Family Guy
3. I live in the middle of nowhere wisconsin on a farm
hello
hello, this is my first blog so if any one has any tips on what blogging is made up of feel free to comment. looking forward to getting to know the class in a different way!
sara bellefeuille
sara bellefeuille
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