The best in town
American values
This study investigates whether or not American values apply to all Americans
US History
Please watch this VERY short Youtube clip on US history. Be aware that loads and loads of important events have been left out. It's still pretty decent work, though.
Btw, can you recognise the accent? :)
Basic American Values
On July 4th 1776 the US decided to break away from the UK. Tap the image to your left and have a look at the task that pops up.
Having considered the values, try to compare it with the video on US history. Do you see any paradoxes?
Watch the Youtube clip. Pause the clip when you hear a word that you think is an American Value.
A dream?
During the great depression (1929-39) many Americans faced tough times and found solace in the thought of the American dream: two children, a marriage, and a three-bedroom house with an infamous white picket fence.
This dream also lured millions of immigrants into the US.
But criticism was harsh! Many intellectuals and authors were sceptical about whether the American dream and the values were actually accessible. We'll watch the Gery Senise 1992 movie version of John Steinbeck's 1937 classic "Of Mice and Men."
Watch the movie in groups, but look at the questions below before you start. You need to pause the movie from time to time to answer the questions, take notes and make screen shots or take pictures using your phone.
Hard data on inequality
Equality of Opportunity is an important value. Have a look at this equality race and discuss what you see.
Now it's time to find some hard data. Do google searches for the following words/phrases:
- US population by race
- Income statistics based on race
- Incarceration rates by race
- Social mobility in the us
Find a couple of additional topics that you want to have data on. Present your work in class.
Go to the Aspen institute
Choose one of the videos on either
- Class divides
- Educational inequalities
- Health inequalities
- Relationship between race and class
Choose approx. 30 seconds from the video based on which you explain your inequality topi. You may find that you have to research the topic beyond the scope of the videos or use some of the stats that we found last time.
Protests
Now you are ready to understand what's going on in the 2024 presidential election, which will be our next topic.
UVB - ENGA
Keywords: the six basic American values freedom: self-reliance, materialism, hard work, equality of opportunity and competition and equality issues: Class divides, Educational inequalities, Health inequalities, Relationship between race and class
Maryanne Kearny Datesman: American Ways: An Introduction to American Culture, 3rd Ed., 2005
Ana Maria Corona: “Coming to America, to Clean”, I Hansen: Change and Continuity, Gyldendalm,
1999
10
The Declaration of independence, 1776: First 15 lines
1
Horatio Alger: Chapter 7 and 8 from ‘The Cash Boy’ (http://www.onlineliterature.com/horatio‐alger/cash-
boy/9/)
15
Excerpt of Lincoln's Speech on Free Labor vs. Slave Labor, (http://dig.lib.niu.edu/teachers/econ1
lincoln.html)
1
Matthew Warshauer: “How does one achieve the American Dream?, Liverpool John Moores University, 2003, http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm
2
Gery Senise (John Steinbeck): "Of mice and Men", 1992
10
Martin Luther King: “I have a dream”, https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s
Kari Paul: “The American dream is alive and well — outside the US”, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/03/14/the-american-dream-is-alive-and-well-outside-the-us/
2
NICOLE COREA: “Who Can Access the American Dream?”, 2017,
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/can-access-american-dream/
Aspen institute: “The United States of inequality”,
Students chose one of the videos on either Class divides, Educational inequalities, Health inequalities, Relationship between race and class
and did additional research on the chosen topic, which was then presented in class.
Channel 4: “Black Lives Matter - A history”, https://youtu.be/YG8GjlLbbvs
Faglige mål:
forstå mundtlige engelske tekster og samtaler af en vis længde om almene og faglige emner
̶ udtrykke sig sammenhængende og forholdsvis flydende, herunder formulere egne synspunkter, i præsentation, samtale og
diskussion på engelsk om almene og faglige emner med en relativ høj grad af grammatisk korrekthed
̶ læse og forstå skrevne tekster på engelsk i forskellige genrer af en vis længde om almene og faglige emner
skrive klare, detaljerede og sammenhængende tekster på engelsk med forskellige formål om almene og faglige emner med
en relativ høj grad af grammatisk korrekthed
̶ analysere og beskrive engelsk sprog med anvendelse af relevant faglig terminologi
̶ analysere og fortolke tekster med anvendelse af faglig terminologi og metode
̶ demonstrere viden om fagets identitet og metoder.
analysere og perspektivere aktuelle forhold i Storbritannien og USA med anvendelse af grundlæggende engelskfaglig viden
om historiske, kulturelle og samfundsmæssige forhold
Arbejdsformer:
Klasseundervisning af forskellig art.