Last week’s class was interesting. Most of the lecture was on stereotyping against the Irish as well as Asians. Some typical stereotypes includes: “The Fighting Irish,” or the Asian Riff. The interesting part about the past is that even though they (stereotypes) were used to insult others, today, it has become something that either symbolizes or characterizes someone. What surprised me in class was that even Irish people weren’t considered as “white” males in America. This changes my thoughts on a lot because I always thought that the “white man” was purely indicated by their skin color, not their heritage.
We also discussed Imperialism, Catholicism, Harry Houdini, and the spreading of democracy by the United States. Although the first three didn’t grab my interest much, the latter (democracy) was quite interesting. Hearing people’s perspectives on how Bush was wrong and how this and that was fun listening to. Although it seemed like no one stood up for the President, I saw some eyes rolling as students blamed Bush for everything. I would have voiced my opinion on Bush ( I wouldn’t have rejected his approach to the war) but I was afraid of being mobbed after class.
Overall, great class with lots of thoughts and opinions.
