"Christ": my comment to your comments

I am very impressed with what I have read so far.

I liked a lot the quotes you chose: They all mark fundamental themes and issues that will be developed in the book. It shows you read those pages with great care and attention and were able to extract the substance from the form.

Excellent job.

Discussion n. 26: "Christ" April 3

COMMENT

In separate paragraphs:

1) Is this the most difficult text you have encountered?  (If it is not, don't belittle the efforts of those who find it most challenging.)

2) Difficulty notwithstanding, is this more or less "satisfying" than Son?

REPLY

Wait until at least 8 people have left a comment then,  write your reply to a comment that grabbed your interest.

Discussion n. 25: "Christ in Concrete" By March 30

What is your favorite quote in the first book "Geremio"?

Is there something that struck you and gave you a deeper / better insight into the life and psychology of the characters? (I hope you didn't waste your time trying to remember who was who.)

Do not repeat something that has already been choses. Find an original moment.

REPLY to your favorite comment.

Discussion n. 24: "Christ in Concrete" By March 30

COMMENT
What was the your first impression about THE LANGUAGE of Christ when you started reading?

And how did you adapt to the text? What strategy did you adopt?

Write two distinct paragraphs.

REPLY: read the comments and reply to the one(s) that you find most unexpected.

Discussione n. 23 : March 20

Post the link to your THREE-MINUTE youtube presentation.

Watch your classmates' works before you post yours.

Avoid repeating the same themes and examples (I have the feeling Pascal's poverty in Italy will come up pretty early.)

REPLY to the presentation with a comment on either style or content, or both.

Discussion n. 22: THE ITALIAN (due March 20)

Contemporary analysis would attribute Beppo's murderous plan to "temporary insanity."

An interpretation more likely in those days, would be (as per Lombroso) that extreme stress woke up in him the ravenous vengeful beast that he always was.

The first one, of course, is more plausible to us because of what we are and what we (think we) know.

Is the happy ending the typical Hollywood ideology NOT to alienate the public and send them away with a saccharine sprinkled rotten apple? Or, is there something else afoot? Some other ideology?

Discussion n. 21: SON OF ITALY

Writing an autobiography is not like testifying in court under oath. You can fudge things a bit, leave out embarrassing details, embellish stories or even make them up.

My very personal hunch is that the climactic episode in the mountains when Pascal ran into the Vampire and gave her his lunch never happened. Maybe he did see her from afar and maybe he even thought of helping her out. Maybe he even left his lunch on a rock for her.

But the entire story seems a little too convenient: it seems he needed to make it up as a way to expiate for his guilt. Did he invent it to deceive himself, to make peace for himself, to look less bad to our eyes? I don't know. But something doesn't fit.

COMMENTS (I encourage disagreement with my opinions. Feel free to say that my arguments are not persuasive because......
I prefer that disagreements come with some kind of rationale, not just as quick dismissals.)

Discussion n. 20: due March 12

Here is a passage from Katharina's work on Son.

I like this approach, it is 'journalistic' in that it starts with an anecdote, and develops a larger theme. She went outside the book to find a reference in something she learned and IMPRESSED HER (this is how memories are formed: by virtue of their impact on our emotional sensors.)

YOUR COMMENTS AND REPLIES, please.

I think it is very interesting that the professor pointed out how the way we seek remedies when we become ill such as taking lots of vitamin C to boost our immune system and defenses is an example of how we are surrounded by invisible forces, such as the ones talked about in the SON OF ITALY. I have never made that connection, but it makes sense. There are many researchers who study these very same myths that we swear by, which then are disproven to work for the reasons we think they do, yet we still follow these traditional beliefs. This is an example of many other superstitions that are imbedded in societies, and we believe them no matter what may contradict them. I do want to talk about our beliefs in the invisible reality sense because I find it interesting to discuss the many beliefs that are existent within societies without us even realizing it. For example, I once read a piece within an anthropology textbook, the passage started off by describing a society of people, and the rituals they performed on teeth. I cannot recall verbatim the details in the passage, but I remember reading it, and imagery after detail I could only question what strange beliefs some people around the world adapt to their cultures. In the end of the detailed ritual, they reveal that they were describing the dentist within our society. I was in complete shock at how much wording, yet not change the actual content can make such a difference. My point is that there are many things we believe in that we don’t question “just because” that is the norm, what we were taught, and we simply don’t question. We adapt many things to our cultures without realizing that they too are beliefs, and learning about this is interesting.

Discussion n. 19: due March 12

COMMENT:

1) FIRST PARAGRAPH: Read and evaluate critically Andrei's work. What aspects (if any) strike you as being particularly effective?
2) SECOND PARAGRAPH: compare your essays on Son of Italy (superstition, economics, self reflection on notes) to Andrei's work. What do you have to learn from it, and what could he learn from yours?

1. Son of Italy seems to focus on the themes of control and escape. The control lies with the landowners and foremen, and Pascal constantly tries to escape that control both in Italy and America. By observation is that those who seek to subjugate those in desperate situations are able to find a way to do it, whether it is the landowners in Italy or the companies that told their laborers that they are “indebted” to the company, thus keeping them as long as possible. They exploited people that they knew would accept any job and only kept those that they knew were going to spend their earnings quickly, forcing them to stay with the company longer. I am even more surprised that some companies didn’t even pay with American money but instead used vouchers, further helping them contain their workers in a cycle of poverty and dependency that makes it extra difficult for one to escape their situation and find something better.

 

 

    Son of Italy is an account that can resonate with many immigrants who came to America without much and built a life for themselves through hard work and perseverance. Based on my notes, I tend to focus more on the emotional toll that the author experienced and sympathize with the struggles that he faced day to day, for many years. While I did not experience such difficulties, I still find that this theme sticks out to me the most because it is a positive statement about the goals I can reach. For example, my notes tend to constantly compare his life in America to that of Italy. I point out, numerous times, that he has been in America for years and still faces the same problems that he and his family faced before he moved. In the last comment, I make sure to note that he finally improved his life in order to show a contrast between his first few years in America and the triumphant stage he is at by the end of the book.

    I believe that I focus mainly on Pascal’s transformation because I see that perseverance in myself and believe that many others would too, should they read Son of Italy. If anything, this narrative is a demonstration of how one can get themselves out of unfavorable circumstances, even when it may not seem possible. To look further into this, consider what he had to do in order to achieve success. For a long time, he lived in the cheapest room he could find, with bad odors and poor heating. He ate the cheapest food and wore torn clothes, all because he wanted to escape his life of hard labor and become a writer. He even had to BEG in his final letter in order to get recognition. Essentially, he did whatever he had to do to realize his dream, and I believe that this is an excellent example to myself that encourages me to do whatever it takes to get to where I want to be, even in unfavorable circumstances. Furthermore, this theme applies to my own family. We arrived in 1997 and, like Pascal, were escaping from poverty. We had nothing to eat and little money to our name, yet now we are considered middle class and are far more well off than before, which is another reason why I sympathize with his story.

 

 

Discussion n. 18: SON OF ITALY

One of my theories is that the first part of the book (up to the departure from Italy) is STRUCTURALLY identical to the second part, and that the Vampire's story is identical to that of Pascal.

Both the Vampire and Pascal are victims of abuse, without protection, at the mercy of others, without agency in the world. And, for all his striving and fighting, at the end Pascal has nothing to show for himself except defeat. This is when he is forced to BEGGING: begging the editors of magazine to publish his work.  If you look closely, that's what his letter is.

COMMENT: do you think this interpretation is too outlandish? Don't be afraid to disagree. Indeed.

Discussion n. 17: SON OF ITALY

COMMENT:   choose a moment in the book that has a particular meaning for you, either because it evoked a strong emotional response, or because it contained a piece of information about the past / human condition, or because it reminded you of something close and personal.

Do not repeat episodes that have already been mentioned: choose an original one.

It's best if it is a SMALL thing, a detail rather than a major mother-scene.

REPLY: choose one or more comments that also have meaning for you.

Discussion n. 16: due March 5

Below are the tasks with notes turned in by Sydney. 

I don't expect everyone to do as thorough a job as she has done, but you can use it as a general term of EXCELLENCE that goes beyond minimal requirements.

 

COMMENTS: are your notes efficient in recording the salient moments of the texts you are reading/watching? Do they also contain your personal reactions and observations? What did you learn from this example?

 

Sydney Galdames

Assignment due February 26^th

Task 1: "Late assignments and / or assignments that do not meet format requirements will not be graded."

Task 2: Take notes on lecture video

–                    Professor starts speaking of “Son of Italy “ by Pascal DeAngelo

–                    The book is an autobiography, or a story simply about your own life

–                    “biography or who you are at the time of your work”

–                    We give different interpretations for some of the acts that occur in our life

–                    gives example of a first teenage relationship

–                    Our perspective changes with time

–                    Our experiences changes, and the way we would write about those events would change as well

–                    “thing happen without a reason”

–                    “we see the consequences of our paths”, “because I did this, this happened”

–                    we must find logic and a narrative

–                    “we discard the elements of our lives that do not fit into our self-perception”

–                    Example of shoplifting, and how we would include that when describing who we are

–                    Pascal was initially illiterate, and over time was able to understand and write English

–                    speaks of his adventures and hardships

–                    focal point: attempt to make sense of his life

–                    Shakespeare quote about life signifying nothing, chaos that you cannot control

–                    First page of the book speaks of the earliest memories of his life, there is structure in the very    first page

–                    First memory is when his grandmother died, speaks of a time where is got his grandmother onions.

–                    First memory is about a lost he experiences

–                    He was a frightened child, and events occur without his control

–                    He feels defenseless

–                    One peculiar character is a woman called “the vampire”

–                    Mentality of traditional societies, pre industrialization

–                    World is full of magical spirits

–                    He has to assign a reason for the things that are occurring in order to help himself (ex- child falling sick and dying)

–                    Professor recommends to practice DEEP READING, aka- reading slow, or out load to yourself

            in private

–                    Focus and underline pieces of work you find interesting, and make connections!

–                    Retain the things that provide tools to develop our own understanding of this text, make effort and read slowly to see a difference

 

Task 3: READ Son of Italy pp 1-98, Write notes and summary (not just the plot, include personal observations)

-(pg 7) D'Angelo speaks of his first memory, one of his grandmother telling him to get the onions for dinner. D'Angelo's first memory is of a woman who pasted away, this may signify a strong relationship between them.

-(pg8) D'Angelo speaks of how his family used to curl up in odd positions just to sleep on the same bed.

- He mentions a storm one night, the rain was falling onto his face and it was freezing.

(I can only imagine how startled he must have been, it is a very sad thing that a little boy had to experience this kind of mess just in order to get some rest)

-( pg8) D'Angelo also mentions how he fell off of his parents bed quite frequently because of the lack of space, he says “Avery narrow bed it was. Almost every night I fell, having my head continuously decorated with swollen spots about the size of a full ripe cherry.”

-(pg 10) D'Angelo tells a story about a child getting hurt, and him being blamed for the child's injury. He says that his own parents would not defend him against the little boys parents so there was no use in fighting the repercussions. He says “ I could not go home because I had no protection there.” (This quote is extremely sad, as a child my mother would always defend me before she even knew the situation. It was always nice to know somebody had my back and that makes me feel sorry that young Pascal felt helpless).

-(pg 16) D'Angelo gets home to realize that he is not in trouble and that the blame fell on the right boy.

Pascal is thankful but still upset so he sobs out loud.

(I too have cried tears of relief as a child, sometimes children create so much anxiousness where it is not necessary).

-(pg 19) “This man had been know as a sort of wizard. He lived alone and had nothing to do with the world”  (I am curious what Pascal means by this man being a “wizard”?)

-(pg20) the “wizard man” was struck by lightening right in front of Pascal and his mother

-(pg22) Pascal first entered school at the age of seven years old (I myself entered school when I was only 4 years old).

-(pg24) Pascal stopped going to school at the age of 12 in order to work and get money to help out the family

-(pg25) “We were very poor people. We rarely had meat, and our food was of the poorest kind. Yet we were happy.” ( This quote is very meaningful and beautiful to me, as I too growing up was poor. My mother was on food stamps when I was a child because my dad had left and was not supporting me. My mother worked very hard to provide for me, and my childhood was still a happy time in my life regardless. People do not consider the importance of relationships in children's lives and how a strong family relationship can benefit a child tremendously for the rest of their lives.)

-(pg27) Pascal speaks of witches, wizards, and vampires. These people to him are so terrible that he must pretend they are not fully human in order to accept it. (I now realize why he called the man who got struck by lightening, a wizard).

-(pg33) Pascal speaks of a sick baby who could not get better with medicine that was provided. Pascal says “In our valley a baby who cannot be relieved from an immediate illness will be at once classified as an innocent victim of the vampires.”

 ( This quote just reinforces the belief that when these people cannot come up with an explanation for terrible events, they blame a make believe source to cope. )

-(pg 41) “her eyes seemed to gaze through me as through a crystal to some point far beyond. Beyond the skies” 

( when I read this quote I imagine this woman to be blind. I have worked with blind elderly people before, and they have this same gaze when you speak to them. It always makes me feel a little sad when I am speaking to someone who is blind and I realize that they cannot see the faces of people who speak to them.)

-(pg47) the mother says “I cannot blame him. He works so hard and never seems to get any better” (This quote to me is the sad truth behind the middle/lower class of people living in America today. Unfortunately sometimes no matter how hard you work, the rich just seem to keep getting richer while the poor keep getting poorer.)

-(pg53) D'Angelo describes the crying wife with her “multitudinous tear” and I can visualize this woman and her sobbing.

-(pg59) Pascal describes a woman looking at him with a sense of pity in her eyes. He said that “he wondered if he should stand up and bow to her”.

( this line is very sad to me, that a young boy felt the need to bow down to a woman because she was looking at him like he was less than, or unfortunate.)

-(pg62-64) Pascal describes the men in the town. The men all sound like decent people, who are not involved in any suspicious activity. Even though these men are nice guys, I'm sure they will be discriminated against because they are immigrants.

-(pg69) Pascal describes the American woman as fat and ugly, I wonder if she really was “ugly” or if Pascal has a sort of resentment towards the americans, because they were not nice to him. 

-( pg78) A gold chain in America was only 49 cents. Pascal was shocked to hear how cheap gold was in America, much like I was to read that gold was only 49 cents!

-(pg84) The banana price is 3 for one penny. That is quite a bargain

-(pg88) Matteo is in a fight with an American boy and things get ugly. When they go to the police station, the officer is treating Pascal and the others with no respect, even telling them to shut up.

-(pg 93) “In a sonorous Neapolitan dialect” I did not know what sonorous meant until I googled it. It means “deep and full sounding”

-(pg98) finally after searching for three more men to share the fee with them, the guys are on their way to a new job. Things are looking up for the Italians.

 

 

 

Task 4:

(xviii) – The introduction speaks of lynching, and why is it that the lynching of African Americans is the only thing that comes to mind when we hear the word “lynching”. Why is it that schools only teach about this specific group of people, and not of the other minority groups that deal with lynching? ( It is a very strong argument, and I myself am also unsure as to why schools do not teach us about these lynching’s, I believe it is discriminatory against the Italian immigrants and their history.)

(pg 6) –“Massacre at Aigues-Mortes, in the Camargue, a region of southern France” -A large number of Italians were killed in France, due to people competing for jobs.

(pg 9)-

“Bloody explosions of brutal wickedness are now to be found in states like Washington, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Delaware, Indiana, Alabama and Virginia. The phenomenon is now beginning to worry even Americans who still do not seem to be fully conscious of the shamefulness of such barbaric acts.”

(How ironic, many Americans STILL to this day turn their heads and pretend to not be affected by barbaric acts that happen. What comes to mind is the killing of innocent black men by police officers, and many people pretend that there is nothing wrong with this.)

(pg13)-  “The most common argument used to justify lynching was the almost total certainty that the victim was guilty”

(I believe that this argument is faulty. It is the same argument people jump to conclusion these days, without ever finding out if a person is “guilty” or not, lynching is brutal and inhumane.)

(pg14)- Tampa Bay Times refers to the lynching of the two Italian men as “a lynching and a lesson” , How disgusting is that ! A public newspaper feels secure enough to publish such hateful words.

(pg 21) - “A rigid and uniform norm on naturalization was imposed on the states only after the lynching of five Italians in Tallulah.”

(Of course it was imposed only after the murder of five Italians)

-Money was distributed to the families, as if that was going to heal their broken hearts from losing their loved ones!

(pg22)- In the case of the lynching’s, the Americans would try and claim the immigrants already had U.S citizenship in order to prevent the Italian government from defending them.

How sneaky and disgusting of them.

(pg 28)-  “the New York-based Italian newspaper L’Araldo screamed its outrage against the acceptance of indemnification by Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Prinetti, accusing him of a “state crime” and attacking him with never-heard-before words”

(I am glad that the Italians living in America had some type of news source to defend them at that time. I am surprised America didn't try and shut it down.)

(pg 36)- “This is history that for the longest time many tried to erase.”

(I completely agree with this quote, it is so completely accurate when discussing lynching in general, but especially the lynching against the Italians. Before this class I had NEVER heard of the lynchings of Italian men.)

(pg 44)- “The atmosphere had become even more tense after the acquittal a few weeks earlier of an American citizen who had killed an Italian, defined by the Progresso as “the poor Tironi.”

(This quote reminds me of NYC after the acquittal of the police officer that killed Mike Brown, and the police officer that killed Erik Garner. The hostility on the streets was insane, and the anger soon unfortunately turned into the murder of two police officers, this was a time I will never forget living in NYC.) 

(pg 50)- “Corte wrote in a letter to the ambassador — only to a point the irritation of the population and the bloody outburst, but I cannot understand how the educated class could become the leader of such a shameful assassination.”

( It is a hard lesson in life to learn that sometimes education and logic can hold NO power over ignorance and racism. This is a lesson I myself have learned very well since the election of Donald Trump.)

(pg 55)- “In particular the New York-based L’Eco d’Italia, in a special edition issued immediately after the news of the lynching on March 14, 1891, came out with the headline 7 Sicilians butchered in New Or- leans, reporting with horror the killing that took place following the not-guilty verdict.”

(I am glad that the L'Eco d'Italia published this information right away after the lynching. The people deserve to know the truth, and they deserve to know it ASAP.)

(pg63)-  The acquittal of the officer is described to have “happened with premeditation and with the complicity of law enforcement officers.” That does not surprise me at all, it almost seems obvious, and that is quite scary.

(pg63)- The quote given by Mr. Corte is what I had predicted would happen before I read about it. In order to silence the cries of the Italians, the Americans took away their voice by forcing Mr. Corte to leave. Corte stated ““I am now threatened by a request for my recall by the United States government”. As a punishment for acting openly and undiplomatically in defense of the Italian colony, the consul was “sacrificed”

(pg73) - A very powerful quote that stuck out to me was a quote by Saint Martin, he said “This acquittal represents a danger for the future. It is universally known that the New Orleans lynching was the consequence of the acquittal of the murderers of Chief of Police Hennessy, an acquittal that was obtained in a way similar to the recent one, and that was considered a success for Mafia.”

(pg 77)- Italians were given the worst of the worst job positions. They were desperate for money so they did what they had to, but when compared to white people the Italians were struggling. This reminds me of some Mexican immigrants I see around NYC. They work so hard day in and day out, while white men complain that they're stealing “our” jobs, jobs that the white man would NEVER apply for.

(pg83) – The events that occurred in Colorado are explained. An American man was murdered and an Italian man named Lorenzo Andino immediately confessed. He and five other men were arrested, but before they could get to the prison they were gunned down. Two of the men were arrested and when in prison they were attacked and killed. Regardless of if these men were criminals themselves, the prison guards did not uphold the law and the killers avoided detection from the guards.

(pg94)- “three defenseless Italians whose safety should have been guaranteed by this Country’s justice system.”  The key words in this quote are “should have” unfortunately the rights these men were entitled to be not given to them, just because of their ethnicity.

( pg98)- Describing the events in New Orleans there is a quote that talks about the incident. “Over three hundred armed people removed the three prisoners and hanged them from the trees in the prison’s courtyard. Still not satisfied, they started looking for the other two. They found them and they hanged them in a slaughter- house nearby.” This entire description makes me sick to my stomach, it is so painful to imagine.

(pg106)-“recommends that we inform privately and confidentially our counterparts that if the

American government offered an indemnity to the Tallulah victims’ families, the Royal

Government would not consider itself authorized to deprive them of such benefit.”

(pg107)- Describes the situation in America to be rather embarrassing. Embarrassing is a polite way of describing the shadiness of the U.S

(pg110)- “The truth was that, by asking for the standard indemnity of $2,000 for each victim” $2,000 is not good enough for the murder of a family member of mine. There is no price tag on human life.

( pg113)- L'Alrado said in a interview that the lynching in America was an incurable disease. Lynching in America was eventually “cured” but other discriminatory killing still occur today.

( pg116)- Minister Prinetti- “This is in line with the traditions of the South where lynching is not considered a crime and where anyone trying to track down the assassins would be exposed to the danger of re- prisals.”

(pg117)- “The minister also underlined a new aspect that made this case even more egregious than the previous ones: the Italian victims had not been charged with any offense” I did not know the definition of “egregious” so I looked it up and it said it meant “outstandingly bad” which makes complete sense in the sentence.

(pg128)- “We also know that the filthy savagery of the America people will not drop the enjoyment of killing Italians.”  This would change eventually, due to the hard work of these men, continuing to fight the discrimination against the Italian people.

(pg 138-139) – The event that occurred in Mansura Louisiana is described “his house was targeted by a volley of bullets shot by several firearms that left forty or fifty bullet holes in the walls. The boy and three other young Italians living in the house survived by throwing themselves on the floor.”

-This event was started out of pure jealousy that the Italians were successful and they were not.

(pg145) - The event of what happened in Pittson, PA are described and it mentions that “The citizenship immediately reacted with threats of lynching.” The fact that lynching was used to threaten criminals is super unethical.

(pg 151) - “They have thrown stones against trains and finally there was the attempted killing of Joe Cosio, a Spaniard, who was mistakenly identified for his brother who is vice president of the manufacturers’ association.”

(pg 152)- “The description of the lynching and the plan set in place to actuate it constituted a major accusation against the lynching mob but most of all against the public authorities that did nothing to prevent it”

(pg160)- However, once it was determined that one of the victims was a foreigner, the federal authorities had the right and duty to act directly and take serious, punitive measures” Punitive: Intended as punishment

(pg 163 )- Cusani stated that ““the weak spot of our protest in comparison to the New Orleans lynching, when it could be proven directly that the police was at fault.” And I would definitely have to agree with him. They should have fought more to prove the police were guilty.

(pg 168)- “After several cases of lynching of foreigners remained unsolved, the federal government felt the need to take the jurisdiction over these crimes away from the local courts and from local prejudices.”

-Finally! What took so long to decide this?

(pg171)- “The statistics presented by Senator Gallinger showed that just in 1901 there were 135 lynching’s, not a very high number in comparison to other periods, such as 1892, when there were 235 lynching’s.”

-It is crazy to me that there was a time where 135 lynchings was considered to be “not a very high number”, it's very sad and eye opening to see these numbers.

 

 

Discussion n. 15: PLAGIARISM (due March 5)

Two students from our class dropped out after I confronted them with evidence of plagiarism. As you can easily guess, they lifted material from the Web.

This presents an opportunity for a discussion:

• To what extent are anti-plagiarism rules really effective?
• In a society where many forms of art are based on "sampling," what does no-cheat mean anyway?
• Isn't the real WEB REVOLUTION the fact that you don't have to KNOW things anymore, but just WHERE to find the information you need and HOW to find the best ?
• If you do a search on a topic and sift through several sites until you find the KIND of information and the FORM of information that you want to convey, why shouldn't you simply copy an entire paragraph or more (with attribution)? What is this thing that you have to paraphrase concepts when someone else has expressed them better than you ever could?
• And what is the point of trying to enforce these rules when we all know that there are zillions of sources that could never be detected?
  I imagine you know that there are services that commission papers to people in foreign countries. These people write the papers in their native language: the papers are published online, the students download them and then pass them through an automatic translator. All they have to do is to clean up a bit the inevitable errors and that's it.  (I identified a few of these papers thanks to my knowledge of linguistics and foreign languages -- but I could never find where they came from and could not prove plagiarism.)

COMMENTS? And REPLIES?

Discussion n. 14: due FEB 26

SON OF ITALY

COMMENT: write what you liked and/or did not like so far in the book (it could be the writing style, the imagery, the story itself, whatever you want to talk about.)

REPLY: find a comment you disagree with and explain your perspective.

Discussion n. 13: due Feb 26

Son of Italy

COMMENT:  choose a SMALL DETAIL (but it must be really small, like a word you didn't know, an expression, an image, a hint) that caught your eye and send you mind wondering about bigger questions.

It must be an original detail that has not been discussed by anyone before.

REPLY:  pick a comment that helped you see something you had overlooked before and that you recognize has some relevance in the story and for your comprehension of the story.

Discussion n. 12: due Feb 26

From either The Black Hand or The Skyscrapers of NY choose   a SMALL DETAIL that most likely only you noticed. Describe it clearly (when, who, where) but briefly.

COMMENT:

WHY did you notice it? Is it important for your own understanding of the story? What does it TELL YOU about the characters, the director, the audience  or whatever you want?

FIND YOUR OWN ORIGINAL DETAIL. DO NOT REPEAT something that has been mentioned before

REPLY: find a comment about a detail you missed but that you find intriguing in any way shape or form and explain why you chose to reply to that particular comment.

Discussion n. 11: due FEB 26

Chances are you did not know that Italians were also victims of lynching.

 

1) How does this piece of information FIT with the new info you have encountered in the course so far?

 

2) What was your immediate reaction when you found out as opposed to rational thoughts that "explained" the phenomenon (by that I mean that, given the context and human nature being what it is, even something like that can be "explained.)

 

3) What else do you begin to suspect that is being kept hidden from you about history? And why is it kept secret?

 

 

REPLY TO THE CLASSMATE WHO WROTE THE COMMENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOURS (that means you will have to come back to check.)

Discussion n. 10: due FEB 26

In your comments:  choose one section of Brandon's assignment and

 

Don't choose the same sections that were already chosen by others 

 

1) compare it to you work (if you did it).

2) explain why you will use it as a MODEL for future assignments, for what purpose.

3) evaluate critically Task 5 writing. CRITICAL can also mean NEGATIVE.

 

Use a numbered list 1) 2) 3) as above.

 

BEFORE YOU START:

 

- Look back at the previous comments left to Gabriela's essay: a lot of them feel purely perfunctory, with little interest. They add very little to the discussion.

 

- Take every possible opportunity to express your ORIGINAL take on thing, your ORIGINAL reactions. Make your voice count.

 

 

Brandon's work is EXTENSIVE -- give it the time it deserves.

 

===============================================================

Brandon Green                                                                                   February 18

task 1:  Copy the following statement: "Late assignments and / or assignments that do not meet format requirements will not be graded."

task 2:   Type clear but short NOTES of the videos below:  1, 2, 3, 4

1

-This class will not focus on the adulterated/stereotypical facets of Italian culture

-Instead, it will hone in on the collective experience of  immigrants and their migration to a new country

-We are all immigrants; excluding Native Americans and African Americans (since they did not willingly come to America)

-The Great Migration- Migration from southern-----northern states. Started end of Civil War----- approx. 1960s. Very similar culturally to migration of large groups of people who share a connection (social structure, tradition, background, etc.).

-Most in the Great Migration came from sharecropping backgrounds in rural southern areas. Spurred by Industrialization that came about from WWII.

-Young men went to war; many jobs open up in factories for African Americans from the south.

-Left only place that they knew for, literally, another country; very similar to what other populations experienced.

2

-Christopher Columbus first Italian (?) to set foot in country.

-Casesar Alberti Venetian immigrant to Amsterdam; led trickle of immigrants.

-1600-1700s- Very large wave of migration from England and, later, from Germany. Ben Franklin wary of Germans, recommends that they would be barred from speaking language, restrict freedoms, etc. refrain from integration.

-Important because immigrants have been changing/influencing country from the beginning.

-After Germans, Southern German immigrants come in. Catholic, which adds to culture/language difference, leads to enormous conflict.

-1840-50s- Potato Famine in Ireland. Crop fails, country starving. One mill. Irish die, one mill migrate to America, and one mill remain in Ireland. Not welcome when arrive in America bc Catholic; seen as very dangerous. American group tries to limit immigration of Irish in every possible way (destroy stores, attack schools, etc.). “Know-nothing’s/”

-Newspaper media destroyed Irish image. Attacked stereotypes.

-One ace in the hole, and that is Irish ability to speak English. Could integrate into society easily in this sense by working/holding jobs.

-Later, Eastern European Jews enter into America to escape from Russian pressure. Die or leave. Expelled into large groups and shipped to America. Jews had several strikes against them. Not Anglo-Saxon, not Christian, HOWEVER, all males (and many women) knew how to read/write. All spoke common language of Yiddish (hybrid of German/Hebrew). Russians started in late 1800s and continued into 20^th C. ENTIRE society moved away, including all layers involved. As such, could continue activities almost instantly, not much difficulty integrating.

-Now, Italians (1880s). MAJOR obstacle- cannot speak English. Italy essentially split into two languages: formal Italian (1300s, major common language) and local dialects (lower status citizens, peasants, etc.). Dialect here does not refer to difference in pronunciation; completely different language. Sicilians and Neapolitans could not communicate with one another (changed today, however). As such, impossible to link completely, come in uneducated, illiterate, peasants. Could not communicate, and had no assets. Filled jobs could handle, lowest possible jobs at times. Many even go south and fill jobs abandoned by African Americans.

3

-A Wop cartoon- Scientific representation. Psychological/criminological theory that criminals born as they are; innately criminal/deviant. Criminal naturally associated w/ mental illness, and as such someone committing crimes basically bc born that way. You can tell who they were by way they looked, which many at the time pointed towards the Sicilian look (short, dark skinned, hairy, lips, etc.) .Encompassed features that resemble that of an ape. Becomes dominant theory of the time. PEOPLE COMMITTING CRIMES WERE INNATELY DRAWN TO CRIME. Italians fit stereotypical “deviant” look.

What are the BASIC ideas of Lombroso's theories?

-Lombroso’s theory maintains that: 1) Criminality is inherited, and 2)Criminals can be identified by certain physical traits (e.g. pointed noses, bloodshot eyes, wrinkled skin, etc.) Stated that people with >5 biological traits were criminals. Hypersensitivity to pain and touch,    use of special criminal slang,   grotesque expression of thoughts,    tattoos and    unemployment were other criminal traits in Lombroso’s theory.

-Broke criminals into three groups: Born criminals (30%), abnormal criminals (alcoholics, paranoids, etc.), and occasional criminals.

-Found females to be “far more ruthless than males” (historyextra) in terms of action; also pointed out physical defects in them that could spell out “criminal.” (darker hair and smaller skulls than most women)

-While there were numerous flaws found in Lombroso’s theory as time passed (which led to stereotypes of particular groups of people), he is still considered one of the first to study crime/criminals through a scientific lens.

-Also known as early sexologist and believer in the paranormal. Studied these fields as well.

How can we connect THE APE CARTOON TO LOMBROSO'S Theories?

-The “criminal appearance” that Lombroso depicts in his theory resembles that of Sicilians and, to a further extent, apes. This, coupled with the negative perception Americans already harbored towards Italians (Catholicism, inability to speak English) led to the stereotyping of Italian immigrants in media outlets such as political cartoons, newspapers, etc. The Ape Cartoon is a prime example of how Americans twisted the Lombroso theory to poke fun and hate at a great Italian culture that they knew nothing about, in that the general public was instructed to associate animals/criminals with the Italian tribe.

Are today's studies into DNA and the brain going to bring us back to the same point?

-I recently read a DNA study in which scientists detailed how one’s habits/tendencies could determine a lot about a particular person’s character. This is eerily similar to Lombroso’s study, in that if one habit, say, cracking knuckles, for example, just happens to appear in one specific demographic in a study, people might take this as an indication of an entire tribe, and proceed to make it into an ongoing stereotype. History often repeats itself.

4

-Phrenology is the study of relationship between personality and shape of skull; let’s see the connection in this clip.

-Ben was a slave (?), therefore African American (presumably). Crops in Mississippi.

-“Why don’t they (African Americans) kill us?” Racist, says “surrounded by black faces all life.”

-Says “submissive” part of African American brain is larger than any of its kind on Earth. I feel disgusted. “Unburdened by genius,” missing “civility” in brain.

-Trying to justify mistreatment of human being by the shape of his skull. VERY similar to Ape cartoon towards Italians. Wrong, but then again this is how people attempted to justify racism at the time.

Task 3:   Research: in google, enter the following string:   <New Orleans 1891 italians lynching.>
Writing: write a summary of the events in New Orleans 1891 IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Don't even think about lifting text from websites. A solid paragraph is enough but make sure you show you understood the dynamics of those events. Read more than one quick website.

On the night of October 15, 1890, Chief of Police David Hennessy was shot and killed in front of his home in New Orleans, Louisiana.  As Hennessy died, he allegedly mumbled the words, “The Dagoes (derogatory Italian term) did it,” which gave the community the excuse they needed to fledge a hate war. Mayor Joseph Shakespeare then ordered the police to round up every Italian in the city, which resulted in the arrests of about 45 Italians across the area. Ultimately, 21 of these men were charged with the murder of the Chief, and 11 stood trial. We must keep in mind here that the police had NO evidence against these men, and absolutely NO reason whatsoever to believe that an Italian had, in fact, killed Hennessy. None of the 11 were found guilty, but all were taken to prison and locked away. Jump to the morning of March 14, and children/wives are cheering as their fathers/husbands march towards the jail to “seek justice.” They would end up infiltrating the prison and brutally killing all 11 men; again, none had been found guilty. I was appalled at the lengths that the citizens of New Orleans went to satisfy their racist tendencies; murdering innocent human beings in this manner is beyond incomprehensible, and it is false justification (NONE were even linked to the crime) like in this case that spurred similar events such as the Holocaust (Jews are “evil,” downfall,  etc.).

task 4:  The "GREAT MIGRATION" of African Americans from the rural South to the industrialized North.  Watch   "ONE WAY TICKET" and listen to "THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS"   TAKE NOTES   (scroll below)

One-Way Ticket

- works of Jacob Lawrence, who was first African American artist to have personal show at MoMa.

-Captures piece of migrant experience in art form.

-Completed 60 paintings in 1941 at just 23 years old. Focused on themes like crowding, anxiety, and leeriness in his works, while also honing in on areas like New York and Chicago that were central points for many African Americans during the Great Migration.

-Color(ad lack thereof) is used as a symbol of how people during this movement felt, leaving behind everything they knew for what was literally like a different country (North).

-Audio-

-Isabel Wilkerson- Pulitzer-prize winner. Seeks to answer many questions about family and how their experiences in the Great Migration.

-Identifies as an immigrant; pour into same cities at same time that immigrants from other parts of the world are.

-Defines perseverance and strength as key traits that those coming in the Great Migration needed in order to succeed. Callers echo this notion.

-Sought opportunity, chance, etc. (African Americans) came for same reasons as other ethnic groups. Much in common. Sought a better life and important/crucial part of American history.

task 5:  screening: Screen and TAKE NOTES      The Black Hand and Skyscrapers of New York.  (see below)

The Black Hand

-Italian thugs have hats, mustaches, stereotypical look.

-Thugs threaten to take butcher’s daughter, Maria.

-Kidnap Maria. Take her in horse/buggy.

-Hide out in junk shop; perhaps a subtle insult to Italian immigrants?

-Thugs drink excessively and gamble/play cards… All stereotypes of Italians at the time

-New York

-The Black Hand - gangsters

-Italian thugs are not smart at all- bumbling and aloof.

-Police arrest Black Hand; Maria and family safe

Skyscrapers of New York

-New York City skyline- plenty of smoke/smog

-Workers are busy; men appear to be hammering/constructing edifice of skyscraper. Steelworkers?

-Seemingly low level job… perhaps these men are immigrants (and, to a further extent, Italian immigrants)?

-Yes, probably Italians… Professor mentioned in lecture that 1880’s was high time for Italian immigration to America

-Several men glide together on one rope. Very dangerous… where is the supervisor? Safety regulations?

-Dago Pete- Italian. Derogatory term. Depicted as violent (starts fight), as well as a thief (retaliates by robbing contractor). Common stereotypes of Italians at the time (“criminals,””evil”). Also tells lies by accusing someone else of stealing.

-Dago Pete is embodiment of Italian stereotypes. Director presents him in this way to make a negative statement about Italians and their culture.

-Resorts to violence in fight atop skyscraper. Deepen the stereotype by adding violence to the mix. Contractor needs to be rescued.

-Apprehended and taken to court. Justice served?

NOTES and BRIEF ANSWERS:  what kind of REPRESENTATION of Italians emerges from these two shorts? What is the main theme?

In these two shorts, Italians are represented as vicious and conniving criminal with mustaches. They are only shown in a negative light, and never in a positive one. Italians fight, steal, lie, and drink in these films, which allows the respective directors to present Italians in such a way that showcases the stereotypes that applied to them at the time (early 1900s). This negative perception of Italians in media is the common theme in these two shorts, and one that contributed to Americans’ distaste of Italian immigrants at the time.

task 5  WRITING     . reflect on the message of cartoons and shorts WITH CLEAR EXAMPLES. What was the public being told about Italians?  (If you want you can compare today's media message: what are we being told by many sources about Mexican immigrants, Muslims, Black Lives Matter etc.?)

                The common theme between the cartoons and shorts is that of hostility; a hostility from American media outlets towards Italians in the Early 20^thC simply because they were “different.”(Catholic, non-English speakers, differed from standard Anglo-Saxon mold) By presenting Italians as criminals, alcoholics, and derelicts (just to name a few of the commonly used stereotypes), authors of cartoons and directors of shorts were able to use media to influence the negative public perception of Italian immigrants. A prime example of this can be found in the “Five Vignettes”  cartoon, which depicted Italians as barefoot, alley-living bums who derived pleasure from undesirable activities such as playing with knives and committing crimes; the vignette concluded by offering a “solution” to the Italian immigrant issue in caging/drowning the tribe as if they were rats. Compare this to the Black Hand criminal organization from the 1906 film of the same name, and we see Italians depicted as more of the same; that is, mustached alcoholics/gamblers that lie, fight, and steal .This led many Americans to buy into the misguided notion that all Italian immigrants lived and behaved this way, which resulted in the strong opposition to Italian Immigrants in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

            The initial disgust I felt when reading through the cartoons and watching the shorts soon turned to a sense of resignation and acceptance. Several notable news outlets (CNN, etc.), multiple organizations (Breitbart, etc.) and even a certain elected public official still use this method on a daily basis, and as such we must (regrettably) accept that this stereotyping  of an entire tribe through media is here to stay. Let us look at the recent work of Mr. Trump , for instance. Here we have a president who used his election campaign as a medium to bash the entire Muslim culture and to imply that every member of that tribe was a senseless, violent terrorist with no regard for humanity. Fast forward a bit, and not much has changed in our elected leader; racist ideas are constantly embedded in presidential advertisements and twitter posts from Trump to suggest a “remedy” (i.e. banning ALL Muslims from immigrating to America) for curing the Muslim “problem,” which is eerily similar to the Five Vignettes Cartoon’s solution for dealing with Italians. In the cartoon, readers are told that arresting and drowning Italians are the best ways to handle the “issue,” which is not far off from the outright ban Trump placed on Muslims looking to enter into the United States just a few short weeks ago. Like the representation of Italians in the shorts, Trump and his disciples only depict Muslims in a negative light, never once focusing on all of the benefits that these tribes could bring to the country. Italians in The Black Hand are shown as violent and alcoholic criminals while Muslims in the Trump agenda are pegged as barbaric and ruthless terrorists. One hundred year’s difference, and yet the same rings true- the American public is shown and told only what those who control the media want them to see and hear, resulting in unmitigated hatred and uninformed stereotyping of entire groups of people.