2021 – Spring

The Beat: The 21st Century Immigrant Experience (Print/Online Track)

Course Number: JOUR-UA 201, section 2

Day & Time: Thu | 12:00 PM – 3:40 PM

Location: Online

Prerequisites:  Journalistic Inquiry: The Written Word (JOUR-UA 101)

About 28% of today’s U.S. population consists of immigrant parents and their American-born children. We are more brown and diverse than newcomers from centuries past. We are also witnessing the expanding influence of biracial and multiracial children from these families – an exploding, mixed population wrestling with identity issues of otherness, community and belonging that researchers and the media are only starting to explore.

In this course, you are invited to discover how today’s immigrants and their families are both similar and different from those of earlier generations. Their experiences, so raw and real, are profoundly impacting American society – from politics, business and technology to music, fashion, food and the arts.

During the semester, you will report and write five stories about a specific local community of your choosing. By “local,” we mean a community located where you live while taking this class. The five story submissions will vary in length from 500 words to 1,200 words and include one first-person article based on your own truth – your own story.

Whether you cover your beat virtually or in-person at a social distance, your adventures will bring rich material to both your stories and our lively, online classroom. During our once-a-week meeting, you will receive plenty of feedback as you develop your reporting and writing skills, interview guest speakers and find your authentic, unique voice.

Our two assigned books take us deep into the immigrant experience with beautiful writing and powerful journalism. We will read: “The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America,” by Nikesh Shukla and “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen,” by 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas.

Students often make this course an opportunity to explore their own identities and cultures. Due to the challenges involved in getting to know their beat and themselves, The 21st Century Immigrant Experience is best-suited for dedicated journalists who want to invest the hours and heart needed to create quality work about what America looks like today.

Notes: Required for students pursuing the print/online track in the journalism major. Also required for the minor in print and online journalism. Counts as an elective for the minor in broadcast and multimedia journalism.


Nearly 27% of today’s U.S. population consists of immigrant parents and their American-born children. We are more brown and diverse than newcomers from centuries past. We are also witnessing the expanding influence of biracial and multiracial children from these families — an exploding, mixed population wrestling with identity issues of otherness, community and belonging that researchers are only starting to explore.

In this course, you are invited to discover how today’s immigrants and their families are both similar and different from those of earlier generations. Their experiences, so raw and real, are profoundly impacting American society — from politics, business and technology to music, fashion, food and the arts.

During the semester, you will report and write five stories about a specific community of your choosing. These submissions will vary in length from 500 words to 1,200 words and include one first-person article based on your own story. Your assignments will take you through city neighborhoods to find out what’s really going on.

You might hear Yoruba spoken in the South Bronx on a block filled with residents originally from Nigeria, or order a helping of mangú during a Dominican breakfast in a Washington Heights restaurant. Or maybe you’ll spend part of your weekend in Queens, interviewing people about politics and mental health issues at mosques, churches and temples.

Our two assigned books are about Asians, the fastest-growing population in the U.S. Wildly diverse – from crazy rich to desperately poor – they hail from countries that account for more than 20% of the world’s population. To get beyond stereotypes, we will read:

“Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen” is the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. Originally from the Philippines, he shares what it’s like to grow up, live and love illegally in the U.S.

“Useful Phrases for Immigrants” is a 2018 short story collection about Chinese and Chinese-American families by former Associated Press reporter and memoirist May-Lee Chai, whose writing draws on her biracial heritage.

Because of the time, travel and time-travel demands of our class, The 21st Century Immigrant Experience is best suited for dedicated journalists who want to invest the hours and heart needed to interview, report and write their way to new truths about what America looks like today.

Notes: Required for students pursuing the print/online track in the journalism major. Also required for the minor in print and online journalism. Counts as an elective for the minor in broadcast and multimedia journalism.