Pete's "Difference" unit, revised

After working with Cheryl on the learning objectives for each unit, I revised my own unit to fit more easily into that structure. Here's what I came up with.

Since this unit will come after most of the others, it can refer easily back to "America," "culture," and "power," and even "freedom," (if that is what we use with Foner's lecture). I see the overall aim of this unit as complicating norms about America's unity in difficult times.

Engage
Watch/listen to Toby Keith's song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," an example of the normative idea that "all Americans were united after 9/11." The song's line, "We'll put a boot up your ass / that's the American way" is often read as favoring the invasion of Iraq after the 9/11 attacks.



I'd contrast that with the Black Eyed Peas' "Where is the Love?" which expresses more uncertainty about the U.S.'s invasion and critiques the government for not adequately explaining the reasons behind those military actions.



Follow this with a discussion/lecture about the vocabulary term/topic for this unit, "difference." Download my notes for that here. A discussion of "multiculturalism" as a way that difference is "managed" may also help.

Primary
Listen to/watch the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice," out the same year as Keith's and BEP's songs, about their refusal to back down from their anti-war stance, despite pressure from their fans, the banning of their song from corporate-owned country radio stations, the public burning of their cd's (at events organized by those same radio stations), death threats, and a publicity battle with Toby Keith. Some news clips or interviews would be helpful here. There is also a documentary about these incidents that might be worth watching.



Read and/or listen to Amiri Baraka's poem, "Somebody Blew Up America," which deals with 9/11 and race.

Might also listen to/watch Brad Paisley's "American Saturday Night," another, more recent (2010) example of country music celebrating a unified notion of "America" through consumerism.



It might be useful to discuss and/or read about country music and patriotism, using an entry from the Encyclopedia of American Studies or a scholarly article. This would help identify "genre" a bit.

Secondary
Read George Lipsitz's epilogue to Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music, entitled "Long Waves After 9/11," which deals with Keith, the Dixie Chicks, and BEP, normative expressions of America, and resistance to those norms via notions of difference. I will post a scan of this later.

Reflection
I'm not sure yet what the specific objectives are yet for this class meeting. At this point in the semester, they will be working on drafts of their projects, which they've been formulating and researching since the first unit. Maybe this will become clearer when we discuss the other units.