Homework 1

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University of California, Berkeley *

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26AC

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Arts Humanities

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by DoctorRockLobster39

1. How would you define “American”? Is it about place of birth? Heritage? Citizenship? (3 to 5 sentences) To begin with, defining what “American” means is somewhat a more complex task because I believe its definition can vary depending on the context and perspective. Personally, I would define being “American” to not only be someone who has American citizenship; but also someone who respects American political institutions and laws, and accepts diverse racial and religious backgrounds. Although I do believe citizenship would make someone an “official American” in terms of documentation, I think it is important for them to at least respect American values and culture, even if they do not agree with all of it. Again, I believe this question can be answered in multiple ways, however I think a universal definition should include the fact that being “American” includes embracing what comes with that title. 2. What musical style(s) do you associate with this notion of American? (1-2 sentences) In my opinion, I think most, if not all types of musical styles associate with this notion of American because American culture welcomes all types of music that come from different origins. Whether it is pop, country, jazz, salsa, classical, etc; diversity plays a big role in American culture, meaning it is also just as inclusive when it comes to music. 3. After reading Ronald Takaki's chapter, think about the following: Do you feel reflected in American history or media? If yes, how so? If not, why not? How does being reflected or not make you feel? (4-6 sentences). After reading Ronald Takaki’s chapter, I feel partially reflected in American history and media because I think the discrimination and segregation Asian Americans experienced is somewhat downplayed and that the whole story is not usually displayed in contrast to the discrimination and segregation of others, such as African Americans. I believe Asian Americans’ experiences are not covered enough in history and its textbooks because I rarely see their experiences, such as segregation in Chinatown, explained thoroughly. As a result, urban scholarship frequently ignores prior Asian American challenges with discrimination and segregation, instead textbooks support a “model minority” idea of Asian American success. Also, in the media today, I feel like Asian hate and discrimination was not really talked about until COVID-19 began and news channels began airing more news stories about Asian hate crimes; so I feel like without COVID, there would continue to be low coverage on such discriminatory actions against Asians. Although discrimination against Asians is mentioned from time to time, the fact that people mainly associate the “model minority” with Asians does not sit right with me and makes me upset because many people just automatically assume all Asians should fit right under that, expecting us to fit these stereotypes. I think this myth definitely ignores the many struggles Asians have experienced and it upsets me that some people use it to justify the mistreatment of underprivileged groups and discriminatory practices. 4. Describe the texture of the following excerpt. Think about what instruments (yes, that includes voice) you hear. How are they functioning? Which plays the melody? Is there

accompaniment? Is there more than one melody at any moment? If so, indicate by noting the time and instrumentation. I think one of the textures of the following excerpt is homophony. The vocals lead as the melody, while supported by the accompaniment of the chords on the guitar. This texture keeps a harmonic base while allowing the melody and lyrics’ expressive elements to take center stage. Another texture I think is present in the excerpt is polyphony. Beginning from the time 1:18, a violin joins the vocals and guitar accompaniment, playing its own melody.

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