History 354-01: American (Im)migration History

Instructor: Ryan Archibald, PhD

Email: rarchibald@csudh.edu
Office Hours: T 9:30-11:00, 4-5pm; Th 1-3:30 & by appointment
Schedule Office Hours: https://calendly.com/rarchibald

CLASS SCHEDULE:

MW 11:30 am – 12:45 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

“Historical trends, movements, and patterns of global immigration to the United States . Topics
of study include: motives for immigration; anti-immigration sentiments and activities; legal and
political responses; role of distinctive cultural groups; assimilation and nonconformity” (CSUDH
Course Catalog).

This course examines the history of (im)migration to the United States. It explores how various
structural forces (capitalism, coercive labor, war, imperialism and colonialism) shaped the
experiences of multiple groups of (im)migrants to the U.S. Students will examine, within a
global context, the development of the federal government’s (im)migration policing apparatus,
interrogates the relationship between mobility, race, and law, and asks what debates over
migration can tell us about different periods of time in U.S. history. Finally, the course analyzes
how migration has shaped community and identity formation, and how (im)migrants have
collectively organized resistance to deportation, racism, and labor exploitation.

PREREQUISITES:

None

COURSE FORMAT:

Class sections will meet on the dates marked below via Zoom. Each class will consist of lectures
and discussions of assigned reading and lecture material. If you are unable to attend the live
session, you must contribute to a discussion board which will be made available at the beginning
of the week. On some of the days that we do not meet, you will post a response to a question
provided in the class discussion board and/or watch a recorded lecture.

COURSE GOALS:

Students should gain an understanding of the history of American (im)migration, race, and
ethnicity, along with the development of U.S. immigration policy. Students will contextualize
migration within the larger context of global dynamics and history, while explaining the myriad
of motivations and forces shaping individuals’ migrations. By the end of the course, students will
be able to create arguments about migration history using primary sources and interdisciplinary

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methods. In keeping with the goal that all students graduate with a knowledge of the significance
of cultural pluralism, students will be able to compare and contrast various concepts of culture
and how ideas of culture, race, and ethnicity have developed over time.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of the semester:

 Students will identify trends in American (im)migration and explain those trends in the
context of global history. (PLO 2) (GE F3.3; G2)
 Students will summarize and analyze the philosophical and economic debates related to
changes in American immigration policy. (PLO 3) (GE F3.4; G2)
 Students will identify and explain trends in anti-immigration sentiment in American
history. (PLO 2,3) (GE F3.4; G3)
 Students will evaluate the changes in immigration and citizenship laws, particularly in
regard to race, ethnicity, and gender. (PLO 3) (GE F3.4; G3)
 Students will use interdisciplinary methods to create a formal research paper on an
individual whose life intersects with (im)migration history. (PLO 6,7) (GE F3.1; G4)
 Students will compare and contrast the ways in which immigrants of various ethnicities,
nationalities, and religions contributed to a pluralistic culture, and how cultures in
American have interacted with each other historically. (PLO 3) (GE F3.5; G3)
 Students will summarize and evaluate different definitions of culture. (PLO 5) (GE F3.2;
G1)

ASSIGNMENTS:

Journal (20%): You are expected to write 4 reflections over the course of the semester. The
400-500-word typed, double-spaced reflection should address a current event, and how it
intersects with course readings and class discussions. You must cite which assigned reading you
are engaging and each reading can only be used once. Please cite the article, which must come
from a reputable news source, at the top of the page. Examples of reputable news sources include
the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, etc. If you have questions as to
whether the article you are considering is from an appropriate source, please email me or ask in
class. Your articles cannot be before November 2020. Your summary of the article should be
brief (1-2 sentences), with the majority of space dedicated to your own ideas. Some questions to
consider include: How does the article intersect with the class’s themes, readings, and questions
developed in discussion? What questions, historical and contemporary, does the article raise?
How do the reading, lectures, and discussions shape your reactions to the article? How can the
issue be examined from a different perspective, given the context of the course materials? The
reflections will be collected twice:

March 14th: 2 reflections

May 2nd: 2 reflections

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Research Paper (40%): For this project, you will interview a person, ideally a family member,
and place their life within the larger historical context discussed in class. Your interviewee does
not have to have recently migrated to the United States. How have the person’s experiences
intersected with American (im)migration history? How have historical forces discussed in the
discussions, lectures, and readings shaped this person’s life? The paper should be approximately
8-10 pages with standard font and margins. You are also expected to cite at least two secondary
sources, one listed below and one outside source. Here are some important dates, some which
include assignments, which will help you complete this project in a timely manner:

1). Choose who you will interview and prepare your questions. Submit the name and a brief
description of what you know and hope to learn about the individual via Blackboard by February
7th. (5pts, no later than February 7th).

2). Conduct your interview and take careful notes or record your conversation. If you decide to
record your interview, California law requires you to ask for permission. Your questions should
be phrased so as to allow the narrator to steer the conversation. Be careful not to ask “yes” or
“no” questions. These questions will serve as a guide to your interview, but you should not feel
obligated to follow these strictly. When conducting your interview, be sure to ask follow-up
questions or ask your interviewee to delve deeper into a topic you find interesting. Please see the
Blackboard page for more resources and tips on conducting oral history interviews. (No later
than February 21st)

3). Review your notes and choose which personal experiences and historical themes you wish to
address. You may need to conduct a follow-up interview. (No than later than February 28th)

4). You have selected the major theme(s) of the paper. Select two or more secondary sources to
help you contextualize the individual’s life. One must come from the course. A working list of
books available via the library can be found on Blackboard. If you want a recommendation, I am
more than willing to help. Do not rely on Google Books. You will submit a brief description of
the topic and the sources you will consult by March 7th. (5pts, No later than March 7th)

5). Complete an initial outline with a preliminary argument. Your argument should explain how
and why your subject’s life experiences were shaped by various forces discussed in American
migration history. (No later than April 4th)

6). Write your rough draft. As you are writing, be sure that you are advancing your argument
through your discussion of the individual’s history and not merely summarizing their life story.
Half of the paper must be dedicated to explaining how their experiences intersect with course
themes and American (im)migration history. Cite your sources using either MLA or Chicago
format (see Blackboard for citation guides). Our last day of class will involve a peer review
session that is mandatory. (5pts, No later than May 11th)

7). Edit and finalize your paper. Be sure to proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes.

DUE DATE: No later than midnight on May 19th, but you are encouraged to submit the
paper earlier.

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Midterm (25%): March 24th. I will post the midterm via Blackboard on March 17th, giving you
one week to complete it.

Participation (15%): Students are expected to participate in class and in class discussion boards
(asking questions, answering questions, contributing to discussion). Active participation means
that you have completed the reading and are engaged in the class. We will often break up into
smaller groups or have larger group discussions to discuss the readings. The discussion board
posts on the days we do not meet will also count towards your participation grade. Your
comments should be substantive. Examples of insubstantial comments include “I agree” or “This
is great.” Substantive comments can build off the arguments of others, respectfully challenge
another’s assumptions, or lead to further questions.

Late Work or Alternative Test Date Policy: If you have a family or health emergency, please
notify me as soon as possible so I can best help you succeed in the course despite the emergency.
Alternative due dates and/or test dates will only be provided in the event of an emergency or for
religious observations. For the latter, you must notify by the end of the first week of class
with documentation (January 29th). All other late work will be deducted 5% each day past the
due date. Work other than the research paper will not be accepted beyond the 5th day after the
due date except in cases approved by the instructor. THE RESEARCH PAPER WILL NOT
BE ACCEPTED AFTER May 20TH.

GRADING:

Your letter grades will be determined based on the following scale: 94-100% = A; 90-93% = A-;
87-89% = B+; 83-86% = B; 80-82% = B-; 77-79% = C+; 73-76% = C; 70-72% = C-; 67-69% =
D+; 60-66% = D; 1-59% = F

PLAGIARISM POLICY:

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course. Plagiarism involves the intended and unintended
use of another individual’s words or ideas without proper citation or attribution. If I discover that
you have plagiarized, I will report you to the proper university authorities. Please ask me if you
have any questions regarding how to avoid plagiarizing. For more information, see the
University’s Statement on Academic Integrity: http://csudh.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-
2021/Catalog/General-Information/Academic-Integrity.

READINGS:

This course relies on your informed participation. Readings should be completed prior to
attending the lecture for which they are assigned. All readings will be available online via the
class’s Blackboard page.

This course assumes you have a basic understanding of U.S. history from the sixteenth to the
twentieth century. A good, free resource for those wishing for more context or to review, can be
found at www.americanyawp.com.

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ONLINE ETIQUETTE AND COURSE POLICIES:

Behavior, including online correspondence, that disrupts the class and/or impedes students’
learning will not be tolerated. The instructor reserves the right to report a disruptive student to
the Student Affairs Office (WH A-410, 310-243-3784) for possible disciplinary action.

Outside of office hours, please post your questions to the Blackboard Question Forum. Students
are encouraged to answer each other’s questions regarding the syllabus, readings, and/or lectures.
If no one has responded within 48 hours, or there appears to be some confusion, I will intervene.
You may email me directly if you would like to maintain your privacy.

COMPUTER, SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, AND LITERACY REQUIREMENTS:

You will need ready access to Blackboard to access all course materials and submit assignments.
While Blackboard, Zoom, and other applications are compatible with some cellular phones, it is
strongly encouraged that you utilize a computer or tablet device. These can be rented through the
CSUDH Technology Loaner Program: https://techloaner.csudh.edu/. Links to Blackboard
tutorials and general technical assistance can be found below and accessed via the course
Blackboard page under the menu item “Help and Troubleshooting.”

Blackboard Tutorials for Students: https://www.csudh.edu/academic-technology/blackboard-lms-

support/tutorials-students/

IT Service Portal: https://csudh.service-now.com/it

Zoom Video Tutorials: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-

Tutorials

Zoom Mobile Phone Help: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/sections/200305413-Mobile

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

CSU Dominguez Hills adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and
guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations for students with temporary and
permanent disabilities. If you have a disability that may adversely affect your work in this class, I
encourage you to register with the Student disAbility Resource Center (SDRC) and discuss with
me in office hours how I can best help you succeed in this course. I maintain strict
confidentiality. Accommodations for assignments and exams are contingent upon registering
with the SDRC in Welch Hall (WH) D-180. For more information, please contact the SDRC via
phone, (310) 243-3660, or email, dss@csudh.edu. To use a telecommunications Device for the
Deaf, call (310) 243-2028. For more information, see their website at
https://www.csudh.edu/sdrc/.

LECTURE AND READING SCHEDULE:

Jan. 25: Course Introduction (Meet via Zoom)

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Jan. 27: Historiography and How to Read Like a Historian (Meet via Zoom)

Excerpts of Oscar Handlin, John Bodnar, and Donna Gabaccia in Major Problems in American
Immigration History: Documents and Essays, 2nd ed. Mae Ngai and Jon Gjerde, eds. (Boston:
Wadsworth Publishing, 2013): 5-9; 16-19.

Adam Goodman, “Nation of Migrants, Historians of Migration,” Journal of American Ethnic

History 34, no. 4 (Summer 2015): 7-16.

Feb. 1: First Peoples and Competing Colonialisms

Andrés Reséndez, “Powerful Nomads,” The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian
Enslavement in America (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016): 172-195.

Feb. 3: Chattel Slavery and Indentured Servitude (Meet via Zoom)

Ira Berlin, “The Transatlantic Passage,” The Making of African America: The Four Great
Migrations (New York: Viking, 2010): 49-98.

Kathleen Brown, “Gender and Race in Colonial Virginia,” in Major Problems in the History of
the American South, 2nd ed. Paul D. Escott, et al., eds. (Boston: Wadsworth Publishing, 1999):
45-56.

Feb. 8: (Un)Freedom, Race, and Citizenship in the New Republic

William J. Novak, “Citizenship in Nineteenth-Century America,” in Major Problems in

American Immigration History: Documents and Essays, 2nd ed. Mae Ngai and Jon Gjerde, eds.
(Boston: Wadsworth Publishing, 2013): 88-93.

Aristide R. Zolberg, “An Acquisitive Upstart,” A Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the
Fashioning of America (New York: Russel Sage Foundation, 2006): 58-98.

Discussion: How to Successfully Conduct an Oral History Interview

Feb. 10: Negotiating the Borderlands and Settler Colonialism (Meet via Zoom)

Laura E. Gómez, “How a Fragile Claim to Whiteness Shaped Mexican Americans’ Relations
with Indians and African Americans,” Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American
Race (New York: New York University, 2007): 81-116.

Feb. 15: No Class (Holiday)

Feb. 17: Mid-19th Century Migration and Origins of Nativism (Meet via Zoom)

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Hidetaka Hirota, “Problems of Irish Poverty: The Rise of State Control on the Atlantic
Seaboard,” Expelling the Poor: Atlantic Seaboard States and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of
American Immigration Policy (Oxford, UK; New York: Oxford University Press, 2017): 41-69.

David Roediger, “Irish American Workers and White Racial Formation in the Antebellum
United States,” The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class,
(New York: Verso Books, 2007): 133-163.

Feb 22: Global California, Chinese Migration, Shifts in Nativist Movements

Mae Ngai, “Chinese Gold Miners and the ‘Chinese’ Question in Nineteenth-Century California
and Victoria,” Journal of American History, Vol. 101, No. 4 (2015): 1082-1105.

Feb. 24: Origins of Immigration Policing and Exclusion (Meet via Zoom)

Erika Lee, “‘The Chinese Are Coming. How Can We Stop Them?’: Chinese Exclusion and the
Origins of American Gatekeeping,” At America’s Gates: Chinese Immigration during the
Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003): 23-46.

March 1: Labor, Race, and Migration after Chinese Exclusion

Eiichiro Azuma, “Re-Forming the Immigrant Masses: The Transnational Construction of a

Moral Citizenry,” Between Two Empires: Race, History, and Transnationalism in Japanese
America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005): 35-60.

Sucheng Chan, “Resistance to Oppression,” Asian Americans: An Interpretive History (Boston:

Twayne Publishers, 1991): 81-102.

March 3: Race, Labor, and Migration in the Progressive Era (Meet via Zoom)

Neil Foley, “‘The Little Brown Man in Gringo Land’: The ‘Second Color Menace’ in the
Western South,” The White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton
Culture (Berkeley: UC Press, 1997): 40-63.

March 8: Race, Labor, and Migration in the Progressive Era (cont’d)

Jennifer Guglielmo, “The Racialization of Southern Italian Women,” and “The 1909-1919 Strike
Wave and the Birth of Industrial Unionism,” Living the Revolution: Italian Women’s Resistance
and Radicalism in New York City, 1880-1945 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
2010): 79-109, 176-198.

March 10: Analyzing Oral Histories (Meet via Zoom)

Activity and Reading TBA.

March 15: Empire and Migration: the Philippines

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Kornel Chang, “Circulating Race and Empire: Transnational Labor Activism and the Politics of
Anti-Asian Agitation in the Anglo-American Pacific World,” The Journal of American History,
Vol 96, No. 3 (678-701).

Linda España-Maram, “Making a Living: The Meanings of Work and the Struggles for
Solidarity,” Creating Masculinity in Los Angeles’s Little Manila: Working-Class Filipinos and
Popular Culture, 1920s-1950s (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006): 15-50.

March 17: Empire and Migration: Puerto Rico (Meet via Zoom)

Robert C. McGreevey, “Empire and Migration: Coastwise Shipping, National Status, and the
Colonial Legal Origins of Puerto Rican Migration to the United States,” The Journal of the
Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Vol. 11, No. 4 (2012): 553-573.

March 22: Policing Sexuality and Morality through Immigration, and Morality (Meet via Zoom)

Margot Canaday, “‘A New Species of Undesirable Immigrant’: Perverse Aliens and the Limits
of the Law, 1900-1924” in The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century
America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009): 19-54.

March 24: Take Home Midterm Due

Submit midterm via Blackboard.

March 29 and 31: No Class (Spring Break)

April 5: World War I and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Seema Sohi, “Race, Surveillance, and Indian Anticolonialism in the Transnational Western U.S.-
Canadian Borderlands,” Journal of American History 98, no. 2 (2011): 420-436.

April 7: Creating the 1924 Immigration Act (Meet via Zoom)

Mae M. Ngai, “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law: A Reexamination of

the Immigration Act of 1924,” Journal of American History, Vol. 86, No. 1 (1999): 67-92.

David Roediger, “‘A Vast Amount of Coercion’: The Ironies of Immigration Restriction,”
Working Toward Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants Became White (New York: Basic
Books, 2005): 133-156.

April 12: Great Depression and Migration

David Gutiérrez, “The Shifting Politics of Ethnicity in the Interwar Period,” Walls and Mirrors:
Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1995): 69-117.

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April 14: WWII (Meet via Zoom)

Erika Lee, “‘Military Necessity’: The Uprooting of Japanese Americans,” and “‘Grave
Injustices’: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II,” The Making of
Asian America: A History (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2015): 211-251.

April 19: The Cold War and Racial Liberalism

Ellen D. Wu, “Success Story, Japanese American Style,” The Color of Success: Asian Americans
and the Origins of the Model Minority (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013): 151-181.

April 21: “Reforming” Immigration Law and Border Policing (Meet via Zoom)

Mae M. Ngai, “The Liberal Critique and Reform of Immigration Policy,” Impossible Subjects:
Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004):
227-264.

Ellen Schrecker, “Immigration and Internal Security: Political Deportations during the McCarthy
Era,” Science & Society 60, no. 4 (1996/1997): 393-426.

April 26: Central America, US Empire, and Neoliberalism

David Bacon, “Displacement and Migration,” Illegal People: How Globalization Creates
Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Boston: Beacon Press, 2008): 51-83.

María Cristina García, “Refugees or Economic Migrants? The Debate over Accountability in the
United States,” Seeking Refuge: Central American Migration to Mexico, the United States, and
Canada (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006):13-43.

April 28: Fighting for Rights (Meet via Zoom)

Lori A. Flores, “The Farmworker Movement in the Post-Bracero Era,” Grounds for Dreaming:
Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the California Farmworker Movement (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2016): 163-184.

A. Naomi Paik, “Abolitionist Futures and the U.S. Sanctuary Movement,” Race & Class 59, no.
2 (2017): 3-25.

May 3: Writing Day

May 5: The “War on Terror” and Immigrants (Meet via Zoom)

Junaid Rana, “Policing Kashmiri Brooklyn,” in The FBI and Religion: Faith and National
Security Before and After 9/11, Sylvester A. Johnson and Steven Weitzman, eds. (Oakland:
University of California Press, 2017): 256-268.

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May 10: Writing Day

I will be available for individual consultations beyond my regularly scheduled office hours.

May 12: Peer Review/Questions (Meet via Zoom)

This syllabus is subject to change.

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