MAP-UA 551 - Cultures and Contexts: Immigrant America in the 19th Century

Institution:

New York University

Subject:

Description:

The "long nineteenth century," from the 1820s through the 1920s, saw the arrival of no fewer than 50 million immigrants to the United States. Coming primarily, although not exclusively, from Europe, their migrations not only transformed the places they left, but profoundly altered American society. These migrations, all of which involved a high degree of choice on the part of their participants, took place within the context of family and communal decision making, which in turn impacted significantly on the women and men who made these journeys, allowing- or forcing-them to create new kinds of identities, institutions, and cultures. Indeed, as a result of their migrations, they became new people. They became "ethnic," as they had to redefine themselves both in terms of what they left, what they "brought" with them, and what they encountered in America. We explore how their journeys led to the creation of a set of ethnic communities in America, which we can see as specific and unique and yet resembling each other in notable ways, focusing on three seemingly very different 19th-century groups: Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants, and the ethnic cultures they created.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nyu.edu

Phone Number:

(212) 998-1212

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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