History 1BB3: America and the World: The Twentieth Century

Dr. Stephen M. Streeter

McMaster University, Winter 2002

 

Tutorial 9

Introduction:

Historians used to restrict their subject matter mostly to elite white males. Since the 1960s, a strong effort has been made to make history more inclusive by studying those who live on society's bottom. This tutorial samples this new area of scholarship, known as "social history," by exploring the lives of recent immigrants to America.

Background Reading:

Elliott Barkan, "The Recent Era of Immigration to the United States, 1965 to the Present," in Jon Gjerde, ed., Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History (1998), pp. 465-75

Sources:

See Gjerde, ed., Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History, pp. 450-85.

Discussion Questions:

1. Who tried to settle in America after 1965 and why?
2. How well did these immigrants fare in America? What sorts of problems did they encounter and how did they adapt?
3. As a case study, what does Fong's essay suggest about the impact of immigration on America after 1965?

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