Instr: Gregory Jay
Office: GAR 324; 229-6327
e-mail: gjay@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: T 5:30pm-8:10pm; CRT 321
The United States has always been a diverse society, composed of people from many cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Yet too often the study of American history and literature has not done justice to this diversity, or faced honestly the conflicts and challenges that it presents. Today, more than ever, all of us need to expand our understanding of cultural differences and gain new skills in cross-cultural communication.
This course will provide students with a candid look at race, ethnicity, and multiculturalism in America, using literary texts as the primary tools for understanding. The study of literature will be placed in specific historical contexts through units that focus on the experiences of America's diverse groups, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Native Americans as well as Americans of European descent (Irish, Italian, Jewish, etc.). Students will also learn about Multicultural Milwaukee through a Service Learning Experience.
This class fulfills UWM's General Education Requirements in the areas of Humanities and Cultural Diversity. It also serves as the Core Course for the Cultures and Communities Program. Students in past semesters report that this course is more challenging than most other lower-division offerings, and more rewarding.
