Week 7, Session 1

(Reminder:   Please bring your book and course reader to lecture for Week 8, Session 1.)

I.   Introduction to American Workers, Colonial Power

II.   Narratives—

A.   Stories that someone or something tells

B.   Typically structured by relations of power

C.   Examining narratives and counternarratives together gives us a fuller sense of history

III.   “Savage Acts:   Wars, Fairs, and Empire, 1898-1904”

([United States]:   American Social History Productions, Inc., 1995)

As you view the film, keep in mind:  

1. agency

2. causal sequence of events

3. relations of power

Study & Discussion Questions for “Savage Acts”   (These questions are repeated here for your convenience in case you want to print them out again as we are viewing the film in class.)

1. Why do you think that the American Social History Project called its film, "Savage Acts"?

2. "Savage Acts" features commentaries from such diverse historical figures as Susan B. Anthony, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, and Emilio Aguinaldo, among others.   Why do you think the American Social History Project decided to tell the story of the U.S. intervention in the Philippines through the words of so many different kinds of historical figures?   How does our sense of history change when we learn about events from multiple perspectives?

3. What were some common ways that Filipina/os were represented in U.S. culture, and what purpose did these representations serve?   What kinds of power relations are imbedded in the images that were produced?

4. Why is it important to examine the display and participation of Filipina/os in World’s Fairs in tandem with United States’ military and economic conquest of the Philippines?