Who Do You Think You Are

I designed the "Who Do You Think You Are?" research assignment for first-year undergraduates almost out of desperation. I needed a way to develop research skills and historical empathy in students who did not necessarily want to be in a history class. I determined after teaching this course the first time that the students might benefit most by "doing" history while they read about it. So, I developed this project to have students practice historical methods on a topic that would drive their curiosity. With the WDYTYA project, students develop a research paper that places a family immigration story in the larger context of American history. The steps are carefully laid out so that students begin to appreciate primary sources, the importance of research questions, and the necessity of secondary sources. And while this project develops skills, it also develops empathy and community. Asking students to discover American history through the eyes of newcomers becomes deeply meaningful when the newcomers are their forebears. They confront the very real historical processes driven by hope, suffering, discrimination, kindness, and determination. By the end of the semester, each student has acquired family sources, but most have eagerly searched for non-family owned primary sources in digital archives (Ancestry.com has been of particular use) as well as local archives. Students also employ challenging theoretical frameworks from the likes of Edward Said's Orientalism ("othering") or Paul Spickard's Almost All Aliens ("normative whiteness"). And finally, they have put these pieces together with an array of secondary sources in order to see their families' stories as American stories. Students share their work at the end of the semester, and the rewards are palpable.