Hello everybody,
Hope you all aren't too stressed out about the mid-term. But listening to Professor Potter's lecture today about the Japanese internment camps reminded me of a great book I have read that deals heavily with the subject. David Guterson's wrote Snow Falling on Cedars, which some of you may have already read cause it's sort of a modern classic. But if you are at all interested in the post-WWII America, especially race relations, it is a remarkable novel. It really illustrates much of what Professor Potter was talking about in terms of the Japanese loss of property, income, jobs, and really whole lives, and discusses how racism and fear tore communities apart. It's mos def one of the best books I've read in the last 5 years. It won the Pen/Faulkner Award. I've also heard they made it into a movie, but I hear it sucks. But if your interested and looking for a good read over winter break or something, I would highly suggest it.
Ryan
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This is sort of random, but I just read this Op-Ed piece and I thought I'd share it with the class:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/opinion/29terkel.html
It discusses the Palmer raids, Jim Crow and poll taxes, and the current status of wiretapping in America. I know in class we like to make connections between events inside the 20th century, so this article gives a nice (or perhaps unsettling) overview of the ways that congress justifies keeping a watch over citizens' communications.
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