Ethnic Commodity- Trash Talker Dolls

http://albino-rhino.com/TrashTalkers/TrashTalkDetail.html - Trash Talkers to buy

http://www.redhotcurry.com/views/trash_talker.htm - article on Trash Talker dolls

I have selected Trash talker dolls. These dolls are manufactured by JDK an American toy manufacturer and are aimed at the over 14s. However these dolls are marketed as being politically incorrect and offensive but 'outrageously funny' and a 'great gift' . They play on ethnic stereotypes to offend people and to cause people to buy them for their 'humour '. I personally find these dolls offensive and i agree with the linked article that they are basically playing on racist views and that the people that are buying them would have to be racist/ prejudice to find these dolls amusing.
The fact that these dolls have sold so well suggests that America and Europe still is plagued by rasicm and predujices. By the company adding that they are a big seller in the Gay community suggests to me that they are trying to give the people that find them offensive a particular group to be angry with, as personally i can see no reason to why these dolls would appeal more to this group or how the company would really know that they do. They are attempting to create attention negative or postive to sell their products.

week8- Multi-Cultural America

http://www.salon.com/weekly/fairies960729.html

this story is about "straight fairies", straight men who appear to be gay due to the way they act. i choose this story as i think it is similar to the metrosexual story we looked at for the seminar. i found it interesting to read, as the woman is speaking to a female friend, explaining the concept to her.

the second website i found is a magazine article in which the stroy is based in california, as with the salon story i chose. this story differs, as it describes gay marriage laws, which is similar to the story about same sex family values.

http://www.makezine.org/homos.html

HIllary Clinton

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/about/senator/
Her website begins with an advert encouraging you to sign up and support her to "make history". The entire website is done in the colours of the USA flag cleverly making you think that she represents the true American view. The home page also features positive links to stories about positive things she is doing and also an ad encouraging women to vote for her to get equal pay. Also they are trying to connect with America's youth as you can link up with Myspace , Youtube, Facebook and Flickr. You can also easily convert the website into Spanish therefore encouraging immigrants and those from Spanish descent.
To learn about HIllary we are told postive lights about her background and her mother and father, how her collegemates voted for her. There is mention of Bill Clinton but doesn't go into detail although there is about the rest of her family. In this overview of her history we are told her view points so you believe she has always felt this way.

http://www.cafepress.com/shoptheright/553868
This links to a republican site selling anti Hillary T-shirts which look upon many issues not mentioned in her history many relating to her past including Bill. They also refer to her as a socialist demon.

http://www.stophillarypac.com/ This site is anti HIllary and clevery shows a video from Iowa residents saying they don't want Hillary although many are democrats. The site also entices you with free gifts when you make a anti Hillary donation. Click on the TRUTH LIST for some quotes that disprove what her beliefs are. note that many are from when her husband was president.

After looking at this material gives me mixed feelings on whether to vote for her mainly because i think the anti Hillary material is very effective at deminishing her policies and political beliefs

Salon - Abortion

1 http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/04/19/scotus_ban/index.html Supreme court upholds partial ban

2 http://www.anael.org/english/abortion/ methods and consequences

3 http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/abortion-bans/fab-update.html more on ferderal ban

1- this is the source of the story on salon explaining how a partial abortion ban is coming in. This story does not outrightly say it supports abortion but it presents many points from people that do believe in the right to choose 'centre for reproductive rights' it also talks of fear that many states will see this as an opportunity to outrightly ban abortion. link 3 shows more information on this federal banwhich helps to better understand the issue and concerns people have

2 - This discusses various abortion methods and shows their anti abortion opinion through the use of words such as tears, barbasim and compares one method as ' the effect of napalm on innocent war victims' . They also cleverly use a story of a lady who took an abortion pill, changed her mind and that God helped her keep her baby. This group Gnosis is obviously a religious group and has a strong theme throughout how much damage abortion does to you and how abortion will never be legal to God. it aims to make you feel guilty if you even consider abortion as an option. they also say how you can sign up for courses in Gnosis science. which leads one to wonder if there is any money to be made behind it?

in both sou

Re: Ellis Island posts

Ed and Kerry highlighted the shopping part of the Ellis Island website. Note how this part of the site offers COMMODITIES and CONSUMPTION as means of affirming family ties and ethnic identity.What do you think of this? A negative process of commodifying people's intimate feelings of belonging? Or a legitimate way of expressing such feelings?We will return to issues like this in week 10.

Re: Immigration Videos

Interesting posts that will repay attention as a group.
In particular, I thought that the videos highlighted how immigration can be viewed differently with respect to CULTURE, RACE, and ECONOMICS. Note that the man in Lucy's post explicitly welcomes the CULTURAL and RACIAL aspects of immigration (ie diversity) while rejecting what he sees as its ECONOMIC effects (specifically, depressing the level of wages for the lowest-paid workers). How far do you think this view is a product of his own class position? Compare also the immigration policy of California Governor Schwarzenegger, which acknowledges the importance of undocumented (or 'illegal') immigrants in providing low-cost labor for business. The situation in California (many of whose industries, including tourism and fruit production, rely on large numbers of low-paid workers) means that Schwarzenegger is more positive about immigrants than many other Republicans.
Similar issues are suggested - or conspicuously ignored - in other videos. Think of Kerry's posting of Rush Limbaugh. You might want to try to ascertain how accurate his claims are -but ask also what difference it makes that the Mexican laws are attempting to protect themselves against the greater economic power of US businesses and individuals.

Ellis Island & Youtube Immigration video (Lucy)

Ellis Island Website

When I looked at this website, I found it quite easy to navigate. All sections are clearly labelled, and I found the information interesting. I though the timelines were particularly interesting, especially with the graph, which showed the amount of immigration at certain periods. I also found the six personal stories interesting to read. The section on the history is insightful, and was interesting to read as I had no previous knowledge of Ellis Island, it portrays America as a place where many people want to immigrate to, and this can be seen through the graph on the timeline section of the website. I also found the pictures interesting to look at, as I find it easier to identify with places when I have seen images of it. I liked the additional websites they cited, as I feel the help to better an understanding of the issues.

Week 7 Blog

Immigration issues-youtube video



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh6acgDWK2A

this video is about tolerance of immigration to America. I choose this video because I thought it portrayed a very American view on immigration, and in particular a very closed minded view. On the site there is a lot of controversial comments on the video, there actual name of the video is “Angry American talks about illegal immigration”, and is tagged as Mexican illegal aliens.the man is from California, where there is a high amount of Mexican immigrants. He says “I don’t understand why we have to fight so hard to be American” I found this interesting, as it deals with American identity in some way.

ellis island

http://www.ellisisland.org/shop/product.asp?NODE_ID=48
what really interested me about the ellis island site was the fact that you can purchase a gift certificate for people! It seems there is no end to what you can sell America! You can also purchase images of the wall of honour and even a necklace of the liberty flame! wow! the reason why in particular these interests me is because i feel that Americans are being tempted into buying their ancestry to prove their origins. to me this relates back to tho issues of hyphenated Americans we have been going over and the fact that the number of ethnic groups are expanding constantly as people are trying to make themselves class themselves to great precision. i feel that these items are there to encourage Americans to have pyhsical proof of their heritage and just how long they have been in their country so they can show it to others and therefore expressing superiority.
The entire theme of this site is pushing people to find out their heritage and romantising the entire process which entices people to purchase 'artifacts' to prove their story. compare this to this other site which does not attempt to romantcise the process of immigration and heritage without envoking images and eight corner document holders!

http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/ellis.html

immigration you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Z7g8xOtf4

This video is really interesting as at first you view he is giving a strong view of immigrants into America when however they are laws that exist in Mexico on immigrants coming into their country. I still found the tone of the piece really aggressive as i feel he is using these Mexican laws as a reason to tighten and reduce immigration legal and illegal into the USA.
The man in the video is Rush Limbaugh who is a popular talk show host in America from a Conservative view point . Some quotes below from 2005 Wall Street journal help to give a better undertanding of his character. Do read some comments on the video as they give the view point from people experiencing immigration in their lives in America. Its really interesting as immigration is still such a controversial subject and provokes very strong responses.

• I love being a conservative. We conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals.
• We are confident in our principles and energetic about openly advancing them. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security.
• We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political speech, homeowner rights and the war on terrorism.
  And at our core we embrace and celebrate the most magnificent governing document ever ratified by any nation — the U.S. Constitution. Along with the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes our God-given natural right to be free, it is the foundation on which our government is built and has enabled us to flourish as a people.
• We conservatives are never stronger than when we are advancing our principles.

Week 7 - Immigration issues

For this weeks blog, I found a video on the YouTube website that I thought was particularly interesting regarding immigration issues in the US. This video is a promo for a radio talk show, but I found the imagery and words used in the video particularly interesting. The messages sent across by the video take a very political stance, and depict images of violence and aggression towards the United States. I found this relevant as we were talking about the wall being placed up on the Texas border to stop the influx of Mexicans and Hispanics into the southern states. This video shows that the Hispanics want to voice their opinion, and don't seem to be concerned with the backlash that could result from this. The video also shows the unrest felt by Hispanics towards language barriers, given in the title "Welcome to America -- Now Speak English!". I felt this was a great example of the racial and political divide separating America at this present moment.

Week 6 - Ellis Island

The first thing that strikes you about this website is the way in which it is set out in an advertisment form. The use of imagery is a clear sales point, with the adverts placed down the right hand side, and the encouragement to become a member as one of the main features of the home page. This helps to show how commercialised America has become nowadays, whereas before Ellis Island was the port for immigration, it is now seen as a national landmark and a centre for advertisement and publicity. When exploring the sub-sections, 'The Immigrant Experience' section is very useful to the historians and anybody interested in actual stories. The time line gives great detail on the history of immigration, and the family history's help to relate the feature to actual people. Interaction is a big part of this website, as most links involve on you clicking on a link to find out further information. The use of the 'photo album' shows how commercialised and patriotic America has become today, with the image of the American flag swaying in the wind used as an iconic figure for the modern day Ellis Island. The older album depicts people as you would have expected them to be seen at that time, and the same way in which it is described on the rest of the website, whereas the modern album uses the idea of commercialism as a front for the images, using much more iconic images, and particularly pictures that present a sense of hope and encouragement. This seems to be a strong part of the website, presenting the pros rather than the cons of immigration.

Week 5 - Ghost Riders

For this weeks blog, I decided to find a website that related to the presentation I made on Ghost Riders. I found this useful as it gives a good description of the book and the events that unfold, and this helped to refresh my memory on the book and the events that related to my topic. This website raises a lot of the issues in the book in a manner of discussion, which is good when trying to prepare a presentation. I hope you find this as useful as I did.

Ed.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/travel/0,6121,886587,00.html

Ellis Island

Hello Everyone,

The first thing that struck me when looking at this website is just how much information it offers. For example, we can read stories from Americans who all come from different backgrounds as they research their ancestry. There are also generous amounts of information about the history of Ellis Island itself and a timeline of significant events and dates.

We get a fascinating view of what the process must have been like for the immigrants as they arrived in America. The way in which the photo blogs are set up (side by side) it is easier to draw up a comparsion of Ellis Island now and as it was in the past. Seeing the pictures which were taken as the people arrived it really makes you think of what the situation was like and we can see the struggle coming through on their faces. It definitely encouraged me to find out more. Here is the link; http://www.ellisisland.org/photoalbums/ellis_island_photo_album.asp

When looking for other websites to reinforce the ideas of Ellis Island I came across this one;

http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/index.htm

It is great for random facts and has a useful links to the American Census 2000.

Hope you find it useful!

Helen

Ghost riders

In my presentation i will use various documents we have seen from the west and relate these to my chosen passage in Ghost riders. The site i am posting given further information one of the images i will use.

This first site gives some background information on Thomas Kinkade as a buisness. This is very usefull to read and it helps to determine the usefulness of his images and how reliable they are as sources as the purpose of images is to be sold to the mass "Thomas Kinkade is America's most-collected living artist, a painter-communicator whose tranquil, light-infused paintings bring hope and joy to millions each year. A devoted husband and father of four daughters" this fact shows how he attempts to project his ideas and values through his work. Also to consider ins the fact that Kinkade is christian and therefore this will dictate his style of painting.
The second site is a short overview of Kinkade and helps to understand why Kinkades images aim to keep the myths and romatism of the west alive again due to his values.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-106726178.html
http://www.cruiseshipartauctions.com/bio.htm

Task for this week

Please visit the website of the Ellis Island Museum, located in New York Harbour. Explore the site and for your task post comments on how you think this website represents the history of American immigration (for instance, how does it present the past, how does it use images of the past, how does it relate to the past commercially, how does it encourage personal participation, etc.) Your comments should include links to specific sub-sections of the site. You might find it instructive to compare the attitude of the website to these materials from the museum's own collection.

Week 5, ghost Riders

for this weeks blog, i decided to use a website which helped me with my presentation. it has information on various people who were important in the American wes. there are also links to significant events and issues, as well as trails and native American tribes. i found this website good as it is written in easy to understand text, and the information is quite helpful and interesting.

i hope you find this as useful as i did

Lucy

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAamericanwest.htm

Ansel Adams

Hello again,

As we were looking and analysing some of the images of America in the west I wanted to find a website which would help reinforce these thoughts. I came across this useful site about Ansel Adams. It is called the Ansel Adam Gallery and shows us a lot of his work. The quality of the images is great and we get the opportunity to see how beautiful his artwork is. We also see an informative biography about him as it tracks his professional career.

The website address is www.anseladams.com

Enjoy!

Helen

Monroe Doctrine

Hello Everyone,

I came across a great website about the Monroe Doctrine for this week’s blog. It had a detailed description about what exactly the Doctrine was and how it changed America. We also get an interesting summary of events which were affected by the Doctrine, for example, the situation with Central and Latin American and the Soviet Union.
It has an image of the written document and you can zoom in to see what James Monroe actually wrote.

The address is www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=23

Hopefully it will be of some use, See you all soon,

Helen

Westward Expansion

Hello Everyone,

For this week’s blog I decided to look at Westward Expansion. I wanted to find a website which summarised all the work and discussions that we have participated in in the previous lectures and seminars. I came across this website, www.sparknotes.com/history/american/westwardexpansion/timeline.html and I found that it thoroughly yet concisely dissected this particular topic. Even though it is targeted at younger students it is still highly useful. It starts with a general overview and then goes on to offer many other categories full of relevant and interesting information. The website also boasts a detailed timeline.

I hope you find it helpful,

Helen

Week 4 - Territorial expansion into the continental interior

For this week's blog, I chose first look at the idea of 'Manifest Destiny'. I found a website detailing notions of 'Manifest Destiny' and the ideas behind it. I think this website explains the concept very well and is very detailed. It includes John L. Sullivan's coining of the phrase and how it developed over time. I hope you find this interesting and helpful.

The second aspect I looked at was the Monroe Doctrine. I found a website, set up by the US government. It details the background behind the Monroe Doctrine and the ideas behind it. This helps to give an easy understanding of the topic and the website covers it well. I hope you find this interesting.

Ed.

Manifest Destiny

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/manifest/manifxx.htm

Monroe Doctrine

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/50.htm

Week 3 - The Settlement of the West

For this week's blog, I found a website that related to the settlement of the American West. This website focuses on the industrialisation of the West due to the settlement, providing a timeline of how these ideas manifested to set about a creation of aspects of America we all know today. It looks at the use of the railroads to create the development. I found this article interesting and hope you do as well.

Ed

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/riseind/west/west.html

Week 2 - The Great American West

For this week's blog I found a website that gives a lot of information on the Great American West, studying all aspects, showing the development from the Frontier to the Modern West. The website gives a good account of subsections involving Native Americans, Outlaws, Expansion and Cowboys, amongst other topics. This website offers a lot of interesting information regarding the West. I hope you find it useful.

Ed

http://www.americanwest.com/pages/wexpansi.htm

Expansion and more

This link will take you to a title page where you can click through to various topics that you want to look at. It contains information of trails ( louis and clark), history of the fur trade, civil war and much more.
To get to the sites of american expansion click on locations, then american west ward expansion, you then reach a list of various sites. this site should be useful in helping with finding more information on some of the topics covered so far in the module but giving a pointer to some onformative websites



http://www.vlib.us/americanwest/

Monroe Doctrine

This web page is useful in understanding the historical background of the Monroe Doctrine and is from a source against America. I found this useful and putting the Doctrine into context and helped to make it more understandable to the response people had to it. this site does however contain much information leading away from the Monroe Doctrine but shows how it still has provoked anger towards America

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/monroe_doctrine_venezuela_3.htm

week4, territorial expansion into the continental interior

for this weeks blog, i choose to look at the territorial expansion into the continental interior. i found this website which has information on the history of territoral exspansion and problems with boundaries, along with a map of americawhich shows different territorals and a chronological timeline of the exspansion of america. some fo the information on this website is very useful.

i hope you also find it helpful

Lucy

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/icuhtml/fawsp/sp1.html

Week 4 - Documents of the West into 'Ghost Riders'

Thanks to Lucy for an interesting site which can be of much use now and later in the module. Otherwise, we need to step up the intensity of this blog.
For week 4, I'd like you ALL to post material which follows up the theme of the opening weeks - territorial expansion into the continental interior, America's sense of its special destiny to occupy the entire continent, and the first displacements of the native peoples West. In particular, it would be useful to focus on two interrelated things - the idea of 'Manifest Destiny', and one of the most explicit political manifestations of that idea, the 'Monroe Doctrine'. So please post blogs and links that give historical detail on 'Manifest Destiny' and the 'Monroe Doctrine'. In particular, I would like you to follow up the following questions:
1. What was the 'Monroe Doctrine'?
2. To what was it a response?
3. How far did it determine the political policies of the USA in the century after it was first issued?
(It is beneficial for you to research these now, as for week 5's presentations, I will be asking you to choose a section of 'Ghost Riders' and relate it to a specific element of the documents of the West.)
For week 4's small group, please finish reading 'Ghost Riders'. In the group, after reviewing the documents of the West, we will look especially at Chapter 1 and Chapter 5. When reading, please keep these questions in mind:
In what ways does Richard Grant appear an "outsider" in his experiences of America, and how does that let him perceive issues and make criticisms of America that an insider could not?
In Chapter 1, what vision of the scale of the West and travel across it is given and how has it shaped character and personality?
In Chapter 5 how does Grant see the Western landscape as affecting himself, white Americans and Apaches?

Week 3, The Settlement of the West

For this weeks blog, i found this website about the settlement of the West. the start of the material begins with the part pf the topic which we have already covered, but is good to look at as a review of the topic. at the bottom of the page there is a link to another page containing information on the encountering of the first american west, which also has some useful information.
i hopwe you find this helpful

Lucy

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/icuhtml/fawsp/sp1.html

Week 2, The Great American Desert

for this weeks blog, i found this website which has a short description about the Great American West, as well as more indepth writings about it. there is a timeline which i found useful as it helped to clarify the exact dates of movement. there is also information on some of the topics which the reading for this week covered, which you may find useful. there is also the manifest destiny, which we will be looking at next week, which you may also find useful to look at.

i hope this website is useful for you all

Lucy

http://www.historyonthenet.com/American_West/great_american_desert.htm

Manifest Destiny

Click here for John L Sullivan's 1839 description of America's destiny."For this blessed mission to the nations of the world, which are shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been chosen; and her high example shall smite unto death the tyranny of kings, hierarchs, and oligarchs, and carry the glad tidings of peace and good will where myriads now endure an existence scarcely more enviable than that of beasts of the field. Who, then, can doubt that our country is destined to b the great nation of futurity?

Welcome to semester 2

How to manage your contributions to the Blogs!

1. Number of postings

You should make at least one post of your own and one comment on someone else’s post each week. The posting should be of a critically valuable item and should consist of the link and your views on it. The item might be a link to a web site, an image, museum, library, an article, a video. Your comment should also make a helpful and critically evaluative statement about someone else’s posting.

2. Kinds of postings

When you post something, you should make it clear to your reader why you have chosen the material. State how it links to the topic of the week. State what your reader should look for in the posting. Evaluate it - do you agree with the opinion or point of view given in the material you have posted? When you comment on another person’s post, you should offer a substantiated opinion – back up your comments with evidence.

3. Kinds of writing

Part of the task in the Blog is to sharpen your writing/debating skills. You must get used to reviewing and editing what you have written. Please check your spelling and punctuation. Don’t write in txt spk.

4. Length of postings

The Blog is not a message board. It’s for sharing your developing and researched ideas on the topics and issues on your module. Please don’t gossip, update us on your TV watching (unless its relevant and is critically evaluated) or the latest on Brangelina. Your messages should be between 25 – 50 words long.

5. Creating a narrative

Think of the Blog as developing over the semester. Go back and review the previous week before a new post. Add comments as to how and why your opinion has changed. The major aim of the Blog is to encourage you to become self-critically aware. You should be able to look back at the end of the semester and see how your views on ideas and debates developed. Go back and review semester one’s Blog - can you see such a development? If not, why not?

6. Marking the BLOG

We will use all of the above when we mark your contribution. You therefore need to check when you make each post, comment on other posting and review your narrative over the semester that you have followed these directions.