When we study immigration narratives in classes on the literature of the United States, I ask my students to visit the Tenement Museum in lower Manhattan. By going on tenement tours, students can experience the living conditions of early 19th century immigrants to the U.S. and hear stories of immigrant families that connect to the novels we are reading and discussing in class. Because so many immigrant narratives at least partially take place in this part of Manhattan, students can physically experience the setting of the novels. Students always return to the classroom with a stronger sense of what living conditions were like for some immigrants and a deeper appreciation for how writers put that experience into words.
