Essay on "Ethnic History and Construction of Race"
Essay 4 pages (1269 words) Sources: 5
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Ethnic History And the Construction of RaceFor this paper tracing family history, I have decided to focus on my mother's family since that was where I could find the most pertinent information. I was able to trace three of my four great-grandparents back to their emigration to the United States, but was unable to find anything solid for the fourth. My mother's maiden name was Albensi, which is of Italian origin, and all four of her grandparents were immigrants from Italy. Of the three that I could find information about, two departed Italy from Naples and were from the southern part of Italy, and one was from Genoa in the north. This distinction is noted on the two passenger lists where under ethnicity/race/nationality it says "Italian (South)" for my family from the area of Naples but on the list for my great-grandfather from Genoa, it just notes "Italian." (Ancestry.com) I am not sure if this had any bearing in the United States, but it is interesting because in Italy there is definitely a cultural, political, and socio-economic split between the north and south, with the south often looked down-upon by those in the more advanced northern parts of the country. My assumption is, however, that once Italians came to the U.S., native residents probably did not care about these subtleties.
My great-grandparents arrived to the U.S. In 1902, 1913, and 1915, all at the height of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. (Ancestry.com) My mother's maternal grandparents, Berardino Albensi and Immacolota Dauria, met and were married in Dover, NJ. Berardino worked in the mining industry through the Depression and then moved into agriculture, growing vegetables and raising livestoc
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My mother's paternal grandparents, Paul Dirupo and Antonia Luciani, also lived in New Jersey in the town of Netcong. Paul was a mason by trade, and Antonia worked in the family bakery. These occupations required more interaction with people outside the Italian community and both of them spoke fluent English. Antonia eventually became the assistant postmaster and took part in the women's suffrage movement. (Grey) Although they did live in a largely Italian neighborhood, because of their professions, this side of the family was more assimilationist. Overall, I would argue that my family fits in more closely with the cultural pluralist model of acculturation because both sets of great-grandparents chose to live in Italian communities, for the most part marry other Italians, and keep alive their traditions and language.
In his book, Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race, Matthew Frye Jacobson is trying to explain the idea that race is not a biological absolute, but rather, is malleable and therefore can be used and defined for political purposes. His main concern in this work is to dispel the notion that race is a biological certainty and not a social fabrication. For him, the awesome power of race as an ideology resides in its ability to pass a natural fact. (Jacobson, 10) Before the great waves of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Ethnic History and Construction of Race" Assignment:
This paper is designed to explore your family*****'s ancestry (will fax) and how it relates to the US social constrution of whiteness. Trace the ethnic origin of your famil. Specific information to look for is country or specific region of origin, date of arrival in US, internal migration within the US, occupation of ancestors, and level of acculturation. Do you think your family exemplifies the assimilationist or cultural pluralist model of acculturation? Why? A total of 3 sources will need to be consulted. You will need to conduct at least 2 sperate searches of cunsus recored, ships registers (done will fax).
The second half of the assignment is focused on how your family*****'s ethnic history relates to the socio-historical construction of whiteness as defined by Matthew Frey JAcobson in *****"Whiteness of a Different Color.*****" Regardless of your racial status, the construction of whiteness as a relational category has a direct, if not opposite, effect on your family process of adjustment to the United States. Given when your or your family migrated, where they migrated from, occupation, and their mode of acculturation; discuss how whiteness impacted your family*****'s hsitory. Either discuss how your family became white or how the construction of whiteness shaped the life chances of your family. *****
How to Reference "Ethnic History and Construction of Race" Essay in a Bibliography
“Ethnic History and Construction of Race.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/ethnic-history-construction/8022. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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