Toolkit for 'You’re Not From Around Here'

Most of us hold stereotypes about our country’s different regions—and even individual states. These biases, writer Carrie Kilman points out, originate in, or are shaped in part by, the media. And we are being exposed to many of them during the current presidential race.

1. Writer Paul Jury made a two-minute comedic video to promote his book, States of Confusion. The video illustrates stereotypes about each of our 50 states. As a class, watch it here. (Teachers: You will want to view the video beforehand to make sure it’s appropriate for your students.) Afterward, discuss what you’ve seen. Did Jury reinforce any of your own stereotypes? What stereotype(s) was attributed to your state? Is it a stereotype you’ve heard before?
2. Write down, on a scale of 1-10, how true you think this stereotype is in real life. (Zero would be “completely false.”) Combine and then divide these answers to find a class average. As a class, do you see the stereotype as not at all true? Partially true? Mostly true? What do you think is the basis for it? How do you think it reflects on you as a citizen of the state?
3. As the media covers the current presidential race, you’ll hear lots of shorthand references to states and regions in the United States. For example, discussions about “blue states” and “red states” assume we’ve assigned a certain set of characteristics to those states. As a class, list what you think are the characteristics of each. Consider political ideology, geography, diversity, class, economic activity and education levels. Review your lists and make revisions based on your discussion. How do you think these charateristics assigned to your state came to be? Are they fair? Are they accurate? How might these labels affect our national political discussions?
4. Break up into six groups, with each assigned to one of the following geographic regions: The South, the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Southwest and the West Coast. Over the course of a week, gather examples in the media (including newspapers, TV news, cable TV talk shows, the Internet and social media) of political stereotypes for your region. Within your group, share what you’ve found and list four or five of the most common stereotypes. Share them with the rest of the groups. Discuss how they fit—or don’t fit—with your own knowledge about these regions. Are the characteristics in line with the “blue” or “red” distinctions that the states in those regions might share? Why or why not? What have you learned from the exercise?
5. Within your groups, go back to the stereotypes you’ve uncovered about your own state. Recording quick answers from a variety of interview subjects, make your own two-minute video that replaces those stereotypes with a portrait that is more accurate. Share your videos. 

Resources:

• 50 State Stereotypes (in 2 minutes)
• Quiz: American Regional Stereotypes
• U.S. State Political Traits: Red States vs. Blue States Summary for 2008 Election