2019 Common Reading Experience I’m An American

1. 2019 Common Reading Experience I’m An American

2. I’m the Chair of the Lubar Executive Committee – a name for the chair of the Business School, which is non-departmentalized. Email: marcus@uwm.edu 2019 Common Read Dick Marcus How many know who The Packers are? How many have seen The Wizard of Oz? How many have seen the show Stranger Things?

3. Milwaukee Land Acknowledgement We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present. Land and water acknowledgement from the website of UWM's Electa Quinney Institute (https://uwm.edu/eqi/).

4. We can read & listen to the discussions • 2019 Common Read: “I’m an American” • A continuing WUWM Radio Show • What do you think we should learn or feel after today’s discussion?

5. About the Common Read The Common Read is part of Panther Academic Welcome (PAW), which is incoming students’ first official day as members of the UWM community. • Goals of the Common Read: • To spark conversation about important issues of intellectual, social, and moral significance. • To connect first-year students with faculty & staff members. • To build community through intellectually-stimulating discussion.

6. Students received in their Welcome Packet the 2019 Common Read text with eight discussion questions. Evaluations will occur online; facilitators will receive a few back-up paper copies & pencils at check-in. Do You Have?

7. My Experience dealing with wheelchairs My wife, Kandy, had a progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis. She used a large electric wheelchair. She died in 2016. Do you think people looked at her wondering, “Why is she here?

8. When have you felt out-of-place? • Felt too young? • Felt too thin, too fat, too short, too tall? • Felt you didn’t know anyone? • Felt like you didn’t get the memo of what to wear, what to bring, what to say? I Don’t Care – Ed Sheeran (acoustic version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0DoTL54DXo

9. “I’m an American” The 2019 Common Read Selection WUWM interview series by Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell: “If you ask a group of people what it means to be an American, you might get a different answer from each person. For instance, responses based on someone's political beliefs, family history, military record, or other life experience. But what does it mean to be an American for people from underrepresented groups in an era when civility and tolerance are sometimes in short supply?”

10. Ahmee Vang Let’s listen to Ahmee’s Hmong journey. https://www.wuwm.com/post/we-all-have-different-experiences-were-also-human-beings-ahmee-vang

11. What does it mean to be American? Why is it challenging for AhmeeVang? Who would you interview for “I am an American?” Give a short description of yourself that gives aspects of your identity. Ahmee Vang confronts negative stereotypes about immigrants. What are they? Some Questions to Consider

12. Did you know that Vietnam War and that people were relocated here? What is the idea of “homogenizing” people. What does that mean? All of those interviewed see themselves as “community activists.” Why? Which do you prefer – the radio mode or reading a transcript and why? Some More Questions to Consider

13. Moshe Katz Let’s listen to Moshe Katz’ experience. https://www.wuwm.com/post/there-arent-others-others-are-what-we-are-moshe-katz

14. Ramiro Castillo Let’s listen to eleven minutes to Castillo’s journey. https://www.wuwm.com/post/we-all-have-rights-and-we-should-fight-them-ramiro-castillo

15. Janan Najeeb Let’s listen to Janan Najeeb’s experience. https://www.wuwm.com/post/i-wear-it-very-proudly-im-american-janan-najeeb

16. Anuwar Kasim Let’s listen to Anuwar Kasim’s experience. https://www.wuwm.com/post/i-feel-i-belong-place-anuwar-kasim

17. What does activism look like to you? Did any of the interviewees stand out to you as being an activist? Why? You are all new to campus. Are you “starting over” or an “immigrant?” What is your own family story, and how might this connect to one or more of these interviews? Connecting these interviews to the idea of belonging. What helps you to feel like you belong in a place/context? What might help you to feel like you belong at UWM? Some More Questions to Consider

18. What do we all in this room have in common? When are you most conscious of your own national identity? What new ideas (about being "American" or something else) did you learn from reading the CRE text? Ahmee Vang says, “it is people's individual stories that can unite Americans." What is the impact of listening to individuals tell their own stories, and how might listening to stories be unifying? Additional Questions to Consider Ed Sheeran (acoustic version) I Don’t Care https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0DoTL54DXo

19. Tuesday, October 1 What’s Next?

20. Mission Possible Evaluation Either go to: http://tinyurl.com/UWMMP19 Or access the Common Read evaluation by scanning the QR code or using the link in your Mission Possible packets. Your Feedback is Important! Common Read Evaluations