For my final paper, I want to write something about the
international adoption of American children. Right now, the small percentage of
American children that are adopted outside of the country are mostly black or
mixed race. It is believed, therefore, that racism plays a factor here – that Caucasian
American families don’t want to adopt and raise black children, so those
children are “sent” to other countries. Others wonder why American children are
leaving the country at all, given that there are so many families here that
want to adopt. Furthermore, some people believe that Americans adopt internationally
due to things like famine and war, and don’t understand why Americans are “exporting”
(not my term!) children when life is good in America. I’m still looking into
the topic, so I’m not positive on the exact question I’d be researching, but my
guess is it would be something along the lines of, “Should American children be
adopted internationally?” and then I would also look at the ethics regarding
the children who are being adopted (black, mixed race, handicapped; rarely
healthy Caucasian). I’m not sure which rights I’d specifically be talking
about, but I can definitely see some silent racism (or maybe not so silent, we’ll
see!), and possibly some elements of the faces of oppression –marginalization,
powerlessness, and cultural imperialism.
I think that on a scale of 1-10, I am at about a 7. I think
the topic would be really interesting, but I’m afraid I won’t find much on it
since it deals with such a small percentage of adoptions. But if I can find
information, I would definitely like to pursue this question. Pertman mentions this type of adoption almost
in passing, and I don’t think we’ve read anything else on the topic in class,
so I will definitely need to do a lot of outside research. I’m planning to look
for articles in the library databases and I’ll also look and see if there has
been anything on the topic in the media. I would definitely welcome any help in
finding sources for this topic!
I would like to get some feedback on the scope of my topic –
is it too narrow that it will be difficult to write about? Should I begin with
international adoption in general and then focus specifically on the adoption
of American children to other countries instead of jumping into that from the
start? Also, does it seem like a strong enough ethical dilemma to write my
paper on? Any ideas or suggestions would be more than welcome :)
-Rachel
Graded book review #1
ReplyDeleteRachel~
I think that your focus on American children being adopted internationally by other countries would be a fantastic topic. I do not think you will have too much trouble finding information on this. I'm not sure which text I read through, but a lot of reasons why international adoption exists is because of the country’s economic status. If a country is doing poorly, then there becomes a correlation with adoption rates increasing. When the country begins to do well again, adoption "to" foreign countries closes down.
I think that a reason why children in America are being adopted from foreign countries is similar to your theory; Caucasian families do not want to adopt and raise black children. It is a disturbing realization, but, as we learned in class, children of color are on the bottom of the list when it comes to adoption. I would love to learn more about other country’s that adopt American born children, and hear the whys.
Good luck with your paper, and I think your topic on “Should American children be adopted internationally” is fascinating.
Brandon Kasper
Graded Reply #8
ReplyDeleteRachel-
I think this is a great topic. I agree that it might be hard to find information on this topic however maybe you could contrast it with views that other countries have who have their children adopted and taken to other countries. That might be hard also, but might give you a bit more information for your research. I don't know much on this topic, but I think other countries should be able to adopt children from America and there shouldn't be any controversy over it (if there is any). There are other great countries with great families that want to welcome children into their homes.
Also--for more information for your paper you could potentially write about children being raised outside their culture and country of origin in general and how it effects them.
Don't give up! I'm sure you will be able to find something!
-Angie K