Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales I am a child of the Americas,  a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean,  a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroads.  I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew,  a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known.  An immigrant and the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants.  I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,  a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft. I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is my flesh,  Ripples from my tongue, lodges in my hips:  the language of garlic and mangoes,  the singing of poetry, the flying gestures of my hands.  I am of Latinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent:  I speak from that body. I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.  I am not taína. Taíno is in me, but there is no way back.  I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there. I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish.  I was born at the crossroads and I am whole. *Aurora Levins Morales writes for those struggling to find their identities and their voices - and speaks on issues pertaining to history and the multicultural experience. DREXEL UNIVERSITY -  Sociology 101 INSTRUCTOR:  Jenna Musket Assignment #2:  due  date:  FRI April  20 nd (Bring a “hard copy” to class!) COMPOSING AN AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHICAL POEM:  Compose a 1-2 page auto-ethnographic poem (student samples from previous semesters posted to BB). Please note that no other information should appear at the top of your page(s) other than the “title” on one line followed by your name on the next…. followed by the poem. Give your poem a creative, unique title that comes out of your particular memories, life experiences, and imaginings.  Example: Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales Guidelines : Please read Aurora Levins Morales poem “Child of the Americas” which can be found posted on our course Blackboard site.  The poem addresses many themes that we will address this semester such as social and cultural identities. Morales, for example, discusses her Latina, Puerto Rican, Jewish, North American identities. In sharing her story (in poetic form), Morales shares memories about her early childhood experiences which offer insights into social patterns that transcend her as an individual, and so offer glimpses of larger social processes eg; globalization, transnationalism, immigration, cultural traditions, and social relationships..  After reading the Morales poem, compose a one to two page poem of your own where you p rovide autobiographical information about yourself offering insights about your social world, social relationships and ancestry.  This assignment allows you to focus on and draw from personal accounts and backgrounds as a way to illustrate historical perspective. While your paper will be your personal exploration and expression, it will be scanned into a “collection” that 1) we will discuss in class when we cove.

1. Child of the Americas
by Aurora Levins Morales
I am a child of the Americas,
a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean,
a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroa
ds.
I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew,
a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known.
An immigrant and the daughter and granddaughter of immigran
ts.
I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousne
ss,
a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.
I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is my flesh,
Ripples from my tongue, lodges in my hips:
the language of garlic and mangoes,
the singing of poetry, the flying gestures of my hands.
I am of Latinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent:
I speak from that body.
I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.
I am not taína. Taíno is in me, but there is no way back.
I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home ther
e.
I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish.
I was born at the crossroads and I am whole.
*Aurora Levins Morales writes for those struggling to find their
identities and their voices -
and speaks on issues pertaining to history and the multicultural
experience.
DREXEL UNIVERSITY -

2. Sociology 101
INSTRUCTOR:
Jenna Musket
Assignment #2:
due
date:
FRI April 20
nd
(Bring a “hard copy” to class!)
COMPOSING AN AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHICAL POEM:
Compose a 1-2 page auto-
ethnographic poem (student samples from previous semesters po
sted to BB). Please note that no other information should appear
at the top of your page(s) other than the “title” on one line foll
owed by your name on the next…. followed by the poem. Give y
our poem a creative, unique title that comes out of your particul
ar memories, life experiences, and imaginings. Example:
Child of the Americas
by Aurora Levins Morales
Guidelines
: Please read Aurora Levins Morales poem “Child of the Americ
as” which can be found posted on our course Blackboard site. T
he poem addresses many themes that we will address this semest
er such as social and cultural identities. Morales, for example, d
iscusses her Latina, Puerto Rican, Jewish, North American ident
ities. In sharing her story (in poetic form), Morales shares mem
ories about her early childhood experiences which offer insights
into social patterns that transcend her as an individual, and so o
ffer glimpses of larger social processes eg; globalization, transn
ationalism, immigration, cultural traditions, and social relations
hips..

3. After reading the Morales poem, compose a one to two page poe
m of your own where you p
rovide autobiographical information about yourself offering insi
ghts about your social world, social relationships and ancestry.
This assignment allows you to focus on and draw from personal
accounts and backgrounds as a way to illustrate historical persp
ective. While your paper will be your personal exploration and e
xpression, it will be scanned into a “collection” that 1) we will
discuss in class when we cover matters of race and ethnicity, an
d 2) you can take with you when you leave this course. So, writ
e for your peers as one means for them to get to know you in cla
ss as you will get a sense of them through their work as well.
In opening your poem, you can be as creative and fee-
style as you like or you may begin your poem using Morales’ as
a springboard to your own experiences and begin simply with t
he line "I am….” GET AS PARTICULAR AND DESCRIPTIVE
as you can in your choice of words, adjectives, place names, sc
enery, foods, imagery, etc. Provide your reader with a glimpse o
f the uniqueness of your upbringing: socioeconomic back-
ground, languages spoken in the home, at school, or on special
days of the week, or special holidays or particular foods served
at family dinners or secular/ sacred rituals.. Maybe you can offe
r “snippets” of actual language(s) heard and/or spoken as a chil
d. You may also try to recall special memories such as words o
f advice, or “messages” passed on by parents or grandparents.
It is also permissible to “footnote” in poems as much as in other
types of writing when you want to make your reader aware of p
articular items, jargon used or private references, and when you
don’t want to distract the reader from the immediacy of the poe
m.
On our course Blackboard site, I have downloaded a “student sa
mples
” of poems from another class so as to give you a sense of how

4. other students’ have responded. Students usually enjoy being ab
le to take these away at the end of the semester both from the pe
rspective of taking the time to explore their own social identity
as well as having a way to “see culture” through the lives and e
xperiences of others in the class, and to gain some perspective o
f what C. Wright Mills referred to as the intersection of history
and biography.