EDU318: Literacy & Language Diversity: Multicultural Media

The arrest of nearly 400 undocumented workers in Postville, Iowa, pushed the town to the brink of collapse and severed an economic lifeline to one of the poorest areas in the Western Hemisphere.

"In the U.S., race --more than any other demographic factor-- determines levels of individual educational achievement, health and life expectancy, possibility of incarceration, and wealth. This film reveals a self-perpetuating system of inequity in which internal factors play out in external structures: institutions, policy and law. Designed for dialogue and learning, Cracking the codes : the system of racial inequity works to disentangle internal beliefs within, as it builds skills to recognize and address the external drivers of inequity"

This DVD describes how Dubuque's population is becoming increasingly diverse. It includes interviews with Dubuque residents originally from Russia, Romania, India, Mexico, and other parts of the world.

Presents the plight of young, male Sudanese refugees, known as "lost boys," being displaced to foreign countries due to civil war in their homeland. The film tells the story of three of the lost boys who struggled to come to the United States for a better life, while still attempting to assist the family and friends they have left behind. Based on book by same title.

Tells the story of the attempt to assimilate American Indians into white culture by educating them at special schools such as the Carlisle School for Indians. Founded by Richard Henry Pratt, this school and others like it attempted to wipe out all remnants of Indian culture, and, as a result, created a generation of Indians confused about their identities.

The Cleveland Indians. Washington Redskins. Atlanta Braves. What's wrong with American Indian sports mascots? This moving, award-winning film is the first of its kind to address that subject. In Whose Honor? takes a critical look at the long-running practice of "honoring" American Indians as mascots and nicknames in sports. It follows the story of Native American mother Charlene Teters, and her transformation into the leader some are calling the "Rosa Parks of American Indians" as she struggles to protect her cultural symbols and identity. In Whose Honor? looks at the issues of racism, stereotypes, minority representation and the powerful effects of mass-media imagery, and the extent to which one university will go to defend and justify its mascot.

Presents a personal look at the meaning of cultural identity. Describes the complex world of the Lumbee Indian culture and questions the viewer's perceptions of Native Americans.

If you could make your deaf child hear, would you? Sound and fury is the intimate, heart-rending tale of the Artinians, an extended family with deaf and hearing members across three generations. Together they confront a technological device that can help the deaf to hear but may also threaten deaf culture, and their bonds with each other.

In this follow up film, Heather Artinian and her two brothers have received cochlear implants. Her speech is now understandable. She attends a mainstream school. She can function in the hearing world. Her father, who initially opposed the implant, now says that he sees how useful implants can be for deaf children, and how glad he is that his children have them.

When Europeans arrived in North America, they encountered the Native people. Contrary to stereotype, American Indians were not simply ferocious warriors or peaceable lovers of the land. They were, like all people, an amalgam: charismatic and forward thinking, imaginative and courageous, compassionate and resolute, and, at times, arrogant, vengeful, and reckless. Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture using all avenues available, including military, legal, and political action, diplomacy, and supplication of the spiritual realm. From the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s who used their alliance with the English to weaken rival tribes, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the civil rights movement to forge a pan-Indian identity. Spanning almost four hundred years, these documentaries tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective, presenting Native history as an integral part of the American story.

Filmmaker Arturo Perez Torres follows in the footsteps of two friends traveling on an extraordinary and extremely dangerous journey from Central America to North America. On their journey they encounter gangs and vigilantes as well as border patrol. But these immigrants navigate real-life nightmares with uncanny calm, grace and even humor in their perilous pursuit of the a better life.