American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures

• Genre: Nonfiction; essay collection
• Originally Published: 2018
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 32 essays; approx. 337 pages; approx. 9 hours, 33 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: Award-winning actress and political activist America Ferrera gathers 31 friends to tell the story of growing up between cultures in America, giving representation to the millions of multicultural Americans who find themselves at odds with defining the American experience.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racism, cultural identity; gender identity

America Ferrera, Author

• Bio: Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents in 1984; award-winning actress, producer, director, and activist; best known for starring in Ugly Betty; received Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, ALMA, and Imagen Awards for her performance in Ugly Betty; currently produces and stars in Superstore; cofounded HARNESS, an organization connecting storytellers and activists; spoke at the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017; lives in New York with her husband, son, and two dogs

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot
• Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration
• Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Identify the historical origins of the term “melting pot”; analyze data from the United Nations Refugee Agency on the international refugee crisis; and unpack how pre-judgment can unfairly impact those around us—all of which are concerns and issues that affect the authors of the essays in American Like Me.
• Discuss paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot; Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration; and Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality.
• Research their own personal connection to the larger history of America, then write a creative piece from a first-person perspective of an ancestor or immigrant hero, imagining the motivations, impulses, fears, wishes, and dreams.
• Analyze and evaluate each essay author's individual purpose and tone to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding what is an “American” identity, how being an immigrant complicates one’s identifying as “American,” and other topics.