Honors Core III: U.S. and Them
Project #1

Description: Ethnic autobiography.

Due date: Thursday, September 20

Assignment details:
Where do you come from? Of what cultures are you a part, willingly and unwillingly? In this assignment you will investigate, report, and reflect on your family’s ethnic heritage.

1. The information that is available to students in this class about their families’ ethnic origins will probably vary widely. Some of your families may have already collected documentation and details about your genealogy reaching back many generations. Some of your families will have only stories or uncollected memories. No matter what is available to you to work with, your task is not only to find out what you can, but also to think about what it means to you.

2. You will want to talk to family members and others who can give you information. Unless you are interested in doing so, there is no need to do detailed genealogical research on your own; what is already available to you through your family is sufficient for this project. The object is to find out as much as you can about where your ancestors came from. All of you will have immigrant origins; some of you may have native origins as well. What were the circumstances that led your family here -- to America and to this region? You may be able to fill in a lot of details with documented information, and/or you may choose to use your imagination to add motives and feelings to the evidence you have.

3. Now reflect on your own reaction to what you’ve learned. What did you know already, and what information is new to you? Are you used to being proud of your ethnic heritage? What is your general impression of the groups to which you are related? Does the knowledge that you have a connection to these groups affect your feeling about the group in any way? What are your thoughts about ethnicity and immigrants overall, and how are they affected by your family connections?

4. Write up your project in a short essay of three to five typed, double-spaced pages. Tell us about the process of discovery -- what did you learn and how did you learn it? Then tell us about what you’ve discovered about yourself in your process of reflection. Has anything changed in the way you view yourself and others? If so, what and why? If not, why not?