Ethnic Literature 205 - Courtenay Avant   Tags: ancestors, ethnic, ethnic_literature, ethnic_studies, ethnicity, family_history, genealogy, i_search, multicultural, primary_resources, race, research, secondary_resources, writing, writing_center  

A Video from the Jewish Genealogy Society of Colorado

"I Am Not A Mascot" 

Part 1 - What You Know, Assume, or Imagine

Your I-Search paper is designed to teach you something valuable about your family traditions and the nature of searching and discovery. The I-Search paper allows you to take an active role in your research, to hunt for facts and truths firsthand, and to provide a step-by-step record of your discovery process

                               
No outside resources are needed for Part 1. Is there a story that you want to tell about your family?

Make    notes    for    yourself about your story. Don't start your research in Part 2, until you have a good list [about 1 page] in outline form about where you will be looking for information for your story. Make a list of who you know, what you know or who might be good sources.
 Photo Credit:: Woven Textiles
  at De Ploeg.    Bob MacInnes 
  at Flickr Creative Commons

Think about the country that you, your parents, or your grandparents came from?

Compose a "portrait" in pictures and words of a person in your family who came from your native country.

What words, phrases or customs are used to identify your ethnic background? Make a short list.

What traditions does your current family still practice that came from your native country? 

How do you see your ethnicity compared to:

• Your Cousins?
• Your Parents?
• Your Aunts or Uncles? 
• Your Grandparents?