Black People and American Dominant Culture

1. What is a sign? What re two parts of a sign? * A sign is anything that could be used to stand for something else. The two parts are a recognizable signifier (form that the sign takes) with a signified (the concept that it represents) 2. According to Howard Zinn, whose voices are the ones often neglected by/ left out of history? * The voices left out are done by those who are not popular, the common man. 3. Zinn discussed the language used in the Declaration of Independence, and that used in the United States Constitution to describe the rights to which everyone is entitled. How do they differ and what greater conflict does this discrepancy represent? * ‘Our people are basically decent and caring, and our highest ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which says all of us have an equal right to “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”’ * The America that we “know is a country that had slavery and still has racism, had a president who was seen as a hero who loved war and 4. Describe Ronald Takaki calls the “Master Narrative” of American history. What two assumptions does this version of American history rely upon, and what problems does this pose for the study of America’s history and contemporary understandings of who/what is American? * Master narrative: the “power and popular but inaccurate story” declaring that “our country was settled by European immigrants, and Americans are white.” * A filter through which we learn history * Leaves out all the other cultures that live in America 5. How does James Hoopes define oral history vs. oral tradition? Does American dominant culture have a strong oral tradition? Why/why not? * Oral history: documents collected by tape recorder. Used by social scientists in “participant observation” studies * Oral tradition: Usual name for verbal stories passed on from one generation to the next 6. What are the strengths/advantages of oral history as