Sociology
350: Race and Ethnicity
Fall 2009, Section H001
M 6:30-9:15, LAB 208
Course website: http://sites.google.com/site/juliereidusmsite/
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Instructor: |
Dr. Julie Reid |
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E-mail: |
Julie.Reid@usm.edu |
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Office: |
LAB 439 |
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Office Hours: |
Tuesdays 2:15-4:15,
Thursdays 11:00-12:00 or by appointment |
The United States is a very
large and diverse country composed of people of varied races, ethnicities,
religions, social classes, genders, sexualities, ages, regions, and
nationalities. Sometimes this diversity
has been viewed as an asset and a source of national pride and sometimes it has
been seen as a liability and a source of division and inequality. This course will focus on race and ethnicity
from a sociological perspective while also paying attention to its intersection
with other group memberships such as class and gender. From the early beginnings of the U.S. and
continuing to the present, inequality based on race and ethnicity has been a
part of our society. This course is
designed to give students an understanding of race and ethnicity not only as
groups but importantly as social processes that differently structure the lived
experiences of people from various groups.
Students will learn how race is a social construction but nonetheless
serves as the basis for significant social consequences. An important aspect of the course will be to
gain an understanding how racial and ethnic inequality exists at the institutional
as well as the individual level. The
final part of the course will examine changing concepts of racial and ethnic
identity and explore some recent perspectives on multiculturalism.
·
Gallagher, Charles A. Rethinking the Color Line (4th
Edition). McGraw Hill. 2009.
·
Schaefer, Richard T. Race and Ethnicity in the United States
(5th Edition). Prentice Hall.
2008.
·
Supplemental readings available through the course website.
Grading Policies
Final
grades will be calculated as follows:
|
|
% of grade |
|
Essays
(2 @ 20% each) Exams
(2 @ 20% each) Quizzes
(5-10) Personal
narrative (1) Attendance
& participation (13) |
40% 40% 10% 5% 5% |
|
|
100% |
Essays: Two
essays (6-8 pages each) will be due in class during the semester. Specific instructions will be announced in n
class.
Exams: Two exams will be given during the semester. These exams will focus the material presented
in the first and second sections of the class respectively. Although the exams cover different sections
of the course are not technically cumulative, information presented in this
course builds through the semester, therefore the second exam may be considered
comprehensive in some sense. Possible
format for the exam questions include multiple choice, short answers and
definitions, and essay.
Quizzes: There will be 5-10 pop
quizzes during the semester. These
quizzes will focus on the reading assignments and are intended to encourage
students to stay caught up on the readings.
Personal narrative:
For
this paper (2-3 pages), students should give an account of their own personal
experiences with issues of race and ethnicity, particularly in terms of how
their understandings and awareness of race and ethnicity developed. Specific instructions will be announced in class.
Attendance and participation: Attendance
will be taken every class meeting and will be based on being present for the
full lecture period. Attendance will
constitute at least 90% of the attendance and participation score. Positive (respectful and sociologically
informed) participation in class discussions will make up the remainder of the
possible score.
Grading scale: Final grades will be based on a standard percentage
grading scale: A=90.0%-100.0%, B=80.0%-89.9%, C=70.0%-79.9%, D=60.0%-69.9%, F=59.9%
and below. You should not expect grades
to be rounded up, so please do not make this request. If you are seeking a particular grade, please
work hard consistently throughout the entire semester in order to earn it.
Therefore, if you are concerned about your grade at any time, it is important
to see me as soon as you have concerns -- do not wait until the last weeks of
the semester when it will be too late.
Late or missed work: Attendance and timely arrival is expected at every
lecture. It is your responsibility to
acquire the notes for any missed classes from another student; please do not
ask the professor for notes. If you are
involved in any USM sponsored activities that will require you to miss a class,
you must notify me at the beginning of the semester. Exams and quizzes: There are no makeup exams or quizzes. If you miss an exam or quiz, you will receive
a zero on it. Exceptions may occur only
in the most extraordinary circumstances that are accompanied by documentation
from the university’s Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Essays: Students are welcome to turn papers in
early. Otherwise, all papers are due in
class on the date specified. Any paper
not received in class on the due date will be penalized 10% (i.e., one full
letter grade) for each school day the work is late. (For example, if you turn a paper in Tuesday
morning after class, 10% will be deducted from your paper grade; by Wednesday
morning, it will lose 20%, etc.) The
only exceptions to these standard late penalties will be extraordinary
circumstances accompanied by official university documentation as cited
above. Late papers may be submitted to
the Department of Anthropology and Sociology main office (LAB 428) but must be dated and initialed by the front
desk staff. Otherwise, it will count
as submitted whenever I finally see it.
Papers may not be submitted
electronically; you must turn in a hard copy to receive credit.
Office Hours
My
office hours this semester are listed at the beginning of this syllabus along
with my contact information. During
office hours, professors are scheduled to be in their offices in order to meet
with students who wish to discuss any matter related to the course. During these hours, students are free to drop
by professors’ offices without prior notification or appointment. If you are unable to make it to normal office
hours due to scheduling conflicts, please let me know, and I will be happy to
make an alternative appointment time with you.
I
have found that students often do not take sufficient advantage of office
hours, allowing a valuable opportunity to pass by. Office hours are for you and me to further
discuss information presented in the class or readings and to answer any
questions that you might have. However,
I encourage non-class related visits as well, for this will give me a better
understanding of who is in our class.
Email
Please make sure I have your
current email. I will need this to give
you access to the course website. Also,
I will use this email if I need to communicate with students before our weekly
meeting time. If you have something to
discuss, I encourage you to come to office hours or make an appointment to see
me in person. Please note that I am
unable to hold substantive discussions or address questions about sociological
topics over email. Email should
primarily be used to schedule an appointment if necessary or notify me of a
problem that you need to discuss.
Remember, course work must be printed and submitted on paper; do not email
any papers or assignments.
Professors often receive many
emails everyday, which sometimes makes it difficult to keep them organized if
they are not appropriately labeled. If
you email me, please make sure to write something identifying that you are
student and in which class in the subject line, for example, “SOC 350” rather
than something generic such as “A question for you” or “Important.” This will greatly increase your chance that I
will see your email and read it promptly.
Also, many students’ have email addresses that include only an ID number
or a name different than used at USM; therefore, make sure every email you send
includes your full name, so I can identify who you are.
Professionalism
The purpose of college is not
only to teach students academic knowledge but to assist them to develop the
skills associated with being a professional.
As such, you are expected to conduct yourself accordingly in all matters
pertaining to this course. One aspect of
professionalism is conveyed by your behavior in class and the respect you show
to others. Being professional also
includes demonstrating a certain standard of work ethic and initiative in
addition to responsibility and reliability, such as being aware of class
policies and assignment deadlines and following through with all the
requirements of the course.
Scholastic dishonesty
(including unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, cheating, and using uncited
information sources in your papers) is a violation of the Code on Student
Conduct and will not be tolerated. It is
each student’s responsibility to understand what constitutes scholastic
dishonesty; ignorance or forgetfulness is not an acceptable excuse for failure
to comply with these policies. The
penalty for cheating/plagiarism in this course is a zero on the assignment or
an F in the course at the discretion of the professor. Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty
will be reported to the department chairperson and may also be reported to the
Dean of Students and subject to probation, suspension, and/or expulsion from
the University. Since such dishonesty
harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University,
policies on scholastic dishonesty will be enforced. Please consult http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/plagiarismtutorial.php
for further information on plagiarism, including learning what it is and how to
avoid it.
If a student has a disability that
qualifies under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires
accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations
(ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include
learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not
certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies.
The Office of Disability Accommodation’s
address is USM, ODA, 118 College Drive # 8586, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001.
The voice telephone is (601) 266-5024 or (228) 214-3232; it’s fax number
is (601) 266-6035. Individuals with
hearing impairments can contact ODA using the Mississippi Relay Service at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or email Suzy
Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.
Course
Schedule
|
Week |
Date |
Topics |
Required Readings |
|
1 |
Aug 24 |
Introduction |
Syllabus |
|
2 |
Aug 31 |
Ethnicity and race in
theory and practice Due:
Take-home syllabus quiz |
Schaefer: Ch. 1 Gallagher: #1, 4, 9, 11, 36 |
|
3 |
Sept
7 |
No Class – Labor Day
Holiday |
Schaefer: Ch. 5 (pp.
164-177) Gallagher: #29, 30 |
|
4 |
Sept 14 |
Racial formation past and
present |
Gallagher: #2, 3, 10, 12, 40 |
|
5 |
Sept 21 |
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and
Discrimination Due: PERSONAL
NARRATIVE |
Schaefer: Ch. 2 Gallagher: #16, 17, 22, 32 Website: #1 |
|
6 |
Sept 28 |
Institutional racism |
Schaefer: Ch. 3 Gallagher: #5, 6, 8, 14, 21 |
|
7 |
Oct 5 |
EXAM 1 Inequality and privilege |
Gallagher: #13, 15, 19, 20 Website: #2 |
|
8 |
Oct 12 |
Intersectionality |
Website: #3, 4, 5, 6 |
|
9 |
Oct 19 |
Social institutions and
structured opportunities |
Gallagher: #26, 27, 28, 33,
34 |
|
10 |
Oct 26 |
Due: ESSAY 1 Media and representations |
Gallagher: #35, 38, 39, |
|
11 |
Nov 2 |
Immigration, Ethnicity, and
Religion |
Schaefer: Ch. 4, Ch. 5 (pp.
155-163, 178-203) Gallagher: #41, 43, Website: #7 |
|
12 |
Nov 9 |
Changing demography and
perspectives |
Schaefer: Ch. 6 Gallagher: #44, 45, 46, 47 |
|
13 |
Nov 16 |
Multiculturalism and
strategies against racism |
Gallagher: #48, 49 Website: #8 |
|
14 |
Nov 23 |
EXAM 2 Conclusions |
|
|
15 |
Nov 30 |
Due: ESSAY 2 Regular due date: Monday,
Nov 30, 6:30 p.m Extended due date: TBA |
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Note: The list of weekly topics in the course
schedule is only a guide and may change without notice. The professor reserves the right to make
changes to this syllabus during the course of the semester. Any major changes will be announced in class,
and students are responsible for attending every class in order to be aware of
any announcements.