Linsanity: Identity for Second Generation Model Minorities
In Discussion Forum 6, post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two classmates' responses by the date indicated in the course Calendar.
Linsanity was a short-term moment in American sports history, but one that was highly important to Asian-American young men. Traditionally, Asian-American men have played in the shadows of all the stereotypes that they are education focused and athletics is way down the priority list. Linsanity, some have said, was the arrival into popular American sports culture of an Asian-American who could hold his own amidst his black counterparts. This was met with disdain by some in the black establishment basketball community who did not appreciate this intrusion into their social subculture of professional basketball. Whether this was true or imagined one will never know. The movie Linsanity profiles this short but quite historic moment in American sports. It also shows a commonality with religious belief that is not uncommon among Asian Americans, with some critiquing it as a means to become "more Western".
Respond to the following:
1. What is your view of the Linsanity Phenomenon? Did it present a case for eliminating educational stereotypes about young Asian-American males and in what ways? What stereotypes are sustained?
2. Describe your understanding of the cultural conflict between first generation and second generation Asian-Americans and how does this apply to other immigrant groups?
3. How is the model minority stereotype a help and a hindrance to Asian-American progress in contemporary society?
4. Is there a new yellow peril in the rapid advancement of Asian Americans into other American social strongholds such as basketball, education, professions, and wealth?
Fear mongering post 9-11 and the Muslim conflict
In Discussion Forum 7, post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two classmates' responses by the date indicated in the course Calendar.
- The United States prides itself in the freedom of religion. This allows for the uninterrupted worship in places of sanctuary without the free of police or surveillance. Knowing that Muslim radicals do mix within the larger more peaceful Muslim worship community, how do you propose the police, FBI, Homeland Security, NSA, and other "protection groups" should interact with mosques and temples?
- Describe the historical patterns of Arab relationships with the West from the colonial age to the global age of today.
- What is your impression of the Muslim community in America? What about the Muslim community abroad? Are there stereotypes that are valid? Are there inaccurate and unfair ones?
- How do you see American movies depict the relationship between military, war, and the Muslim community? To what degree are they the new enemy to replace the traditional concept that America always has an adversary (such as the Cold War and Soviet Union, Nazis)?
Show how Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism all are applicable in understanding the relationship between the nation state of the United States and the interrelations that take place between Arabs in daily life such as the dollar store, taxi driver, or doctors?