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Hum 105 IP

Galarosa

Journal 9

  1. What did you learn from the movie, “Sexual and Racial Stereotypes in the Media?
  1. Obama’s autobiography is almost like a long journal. Use as many of the questions below to organize your thoughts; (it is advisable to make an outline and draw from at least 6 from the questions) and write about your impressions about his life in the context of some of the theories and ideas that you have learned from the textbook. As always the paper should be typed, double spaced and a minimum of two page.

Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father

Questions & Notes for Class discussion:

  1. What is Obama’s ethnic/racial heritage?
  2. Where was he raised?
  3. Who was Obama’s father?
  4. Who were some of the important people who raised him?
  5. What circumstances contributed to when his most salient feature of his identity became more prominent?
  6. Where were his grandparents from his mother’s side from?
  7. Who was his stepfather?
  8. Where did Obama go to college for his undergraduate work? How about afterthat?
  9. What were some examples of when the issue of his multiracial/multiethnic identity was raised?
  10. What was his job in Chicago?
  11. Who are his African siblings? Does he have other siblings?
  12. What were some of the revelations that he discovered about his father when he was in Kenya?
  13. What happened to his stepbrothers?
  14. How old was Obama when he met his father again (after Barack Sr. left him and his mother when he was just a baby).
  15. What was Obama’s father’s “burden” that he discovered from his visit to the father’s homeland of Kenya.
  16. If you had to guess about what stage of identity that Barack’s half-brother, Mark was in, what would that be and why? (ref. p 344)
  17. Obama had a fantasy about “The Old Man” (his father) What was that?
  18. Obama observed stereotyping among his kinfolk? What were some of those stereotypes and their thoughts about Obama when he questioned them about it?
  19. How was Obama influenced by his father?
  20. How does Obama change stereotypes about Black people?
  21. How did moving from place to place affect Obama’s life?
  22. Why do you think Obama chose the title for his book?
  23. How did the stranger who died affect Obama’s thinking?
  24. Who was Obama’s father? What was he known for among the different relatives; among Ann’s relatives; even Obama’s perceptions?
  25. When did Obama recognize that he was different from the other kids in school?
  26. While working as a community activist in Chicago, Obama began to witness corruption, poverty and racism and was compelled to make a change. What did he do to facilitate those changes? What did he do afterwards?