Sylvia Wu's blog

Sylvia Wu

Sylvia Wu — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:23:44 +0000

Hi, my name is Sylvia. I was born and raised in New York City (Woodside, Queens to be exact). My parents immigrated here from Taiwan many years ago but still retain much of its culture. As an ABC (American Born Chinese), my Chinese skills were...barely in existence. Taking Mandarin classes in high school helped remedy that, as well as summer visits back to Taiwan. I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood but still had a strong sense of my own cultural identity -- probably due to my parents.

African Americans versus Jewish Americans

Sylvia Wu — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:52:51 +0000

The readings this week, James Baldwin's “The Harlem Ghetto” and Wendell E. Pritchett's “Race and Community in Postwar Brooklyn: The Brownsville Neighborhood Council and the Politics of Urban Renewal,” both explored the relationship between African Americans and Jewish Americans. While Prichett focused on the past, present, and (seeming) future of Brownsville, Baldwin focused on Harlem and in turn, African Americans in New York. What is interesting is what brings these two groups together.

United We Stand

Sylvia Wu — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:35:16 +0000

Both readings this week touched on those races that were not considered white nor black -- an inbetween. Although practically fully integrated with "whites" today, Jewish, Irish, and Italian Americans were all considered an 'other' in terms of race. The first reading about "Communities" focused on the seemingly diverse yet separateness of the various ethnicities. The second reading focused on the strife within people of the same ethnicities (e.g. Northern Italians vs Southern Italians).

Perceptions

Sylvia Wu — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:54:46 +0000

I've only been to Brighton Beach once and did not get much of an impression of it. After reading Maria's proposal and listening to our class discussions about Brighton Beach, my view of it is of a Russian dominated neighborhood. I would picture a place would many Russian stores and people. I do think I will feel very much like an outsider during our tour, and learn a lot about Brighton Beach since I don't have much knowledge about it to begin with.

Violence is Not the Answer

Sylvia Wu — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:08:43 +0000

Harvard for the Poor

Sylvia Wu — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:58:31 +0000

In both the readings, we learned about the New York Intelluctuals. These individuals were prominent during the 1800s, specifically during the Great Depression. The individuals we read about were radicals and often discussed (argued) their political views. Many intelligent Jews, some of which made up the New York Intelluctuals, attended City College because it was one of the few that accepted the impoverished, and the Jewish. It's interesting the effect the state of the country had on the college students.