California State University, Chico
Fall 2015
Bruce Smith-Peters
Office: Tehama 229
Introduction to Multicultural and Gender Studies
MCGS 155I
Class Time: 12:30-1:45 TR
Email: bsmith-peters@csuchico.edu Classroom: Butte 307
Office Hours: TR 2:00-3:15, and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to multicultural and gender studies. It is designed to provide a greater understanding of the United States as a multicultural nation and to allow students to become more informed and effective participant in current multicultural and gender politics. Along with issues of cultural and racial identity, the course will examine gender as a social construct and look at how gender roles and sexuality are shaped by these sociallyconstructed norms.
1. MCGS majors can identify diversity of human experience as affected by race, class, gender, and/or sexuality identities.
2. MCGS majors can identify, describe, and analyze major figures, events, and issues in the experiences of women, at least one American ethnic group, and/or sexual identity groups through various theoretical lenses.
3. MCGS majors can correctly and effectively apply vocabulary, concepts, theories, and analytical frameworks essential to multicultural and gender analysis in essays, exams, and research papers.
4. MCGS majors are able to compose comprehensible, well organized, and substantive verbal and written presentations in the disciplines in multicultural, gender, and sexual identity studies.
5. MCGS majors can understand scholarly research and writing and employ effective data collection and/or analysis methods.
6. MCGS majors can apply their knowledge of multiculturalism, women’s studies, and/or sexual diversity to an organization or community effort.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Rothenberg, Paula. Race, Class and Gender in the United States 9 th edition 2014. Please bring it to class
ATTENDANCE
Since students benefit from a course in proportion to the effort they put into it, regular attendance is necessary to attain the most from this course. Plus, there will be in-class work that cannot be made up. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of most class periods. Students are expected to attend each class and to have read the textbook so they are prepared for that day’s material. . Late arrivals and early departures are disruptive to the class. Please come to class on time and stay for the entire class period. Attendance also implies attention. Side conversations during class are disruptive to those around you and to me. If you simply must talk, please leave the classroom. Satisfactory performance in this course will require the average student to commit at least 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour she or he is in the classroom.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Students are expected to be honest and to demonstrate integrity. Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses.
Plagiarism is copying all or portions of another person’s written material (including the textbook) and submitting it for a grade as one’s own. Cheating includes plagiarism, but is broader. It includes, but is not limited to, obtaining written or verbal information or copying from another during an exam or quiz or allowing someone else to copy your work for a grade. Please refer to the CSU, Chico Student Handbook for further information.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Telephones, ipods, MP3 players, and other similar items are an unnecessary distraction in the classroom. Please turn them off, take the ear buds out, or better yet, leave them at home or in your car. Your attention should be focused on the work in the classroom. Please have the common courtesy to not interrupt our class with your personal business.
Please do not text message during class. Laptop computers may be used in the classroom, however, users must sit in the front row. You may not sit in the back and conduct personal business or play games.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Academic Freedom is an essential part of the free exchange of ideas in the university environment. For faculty, academic freedom in the classroom constitutes the right of instructors to interpret their fields and to communicate conclusions without interference or penalty because these conclusions may be at variance with those of constituted authorities, organized groups, or individuals. For students, academic freedom is the freedom to express and to defend their views, the freedom to question, and to differ without penalty from the faculty or the college.
LATE WORK
Assignments are expected on their due dates. Work turned in after that class is late. Twenty percent will be deducted from the score for each class the assignment is late. Late work or any assignment left in my mailbox MUST be date stamped by the office.
COURSE WORK
Reading Questions
Students will satisfactorily answer questions based on the reading in our textbook. These questions will form part of our classroom work and will be turned in each day. Students start with 100 points and lose 3 points for each assignment not turned in. Total Value of Reading Questions: 100 points
Analytical Paper on a Current Issue
Each student will choose a multicultural or gender issue that exists in the United States today, explore its origins and the scope of the issue today, as well as present possibilities for change or resolution. This paper will be turned in for comments, revised, and re-submitted for a grade. Specifications for this paper will be available in a separate handout . Total Value of the analytical paper: 100 points
Examinations
There will be two exams in the semester: one during the term and a final. The exams will NOT be cumulative; each exam will contain only new material. The exams will consist of objective questions (multiple choice, etc.) and written responses. Each exam is worth 100 points. Make-up exams will be given ONLY in the case of “serious and compelling” circumstances. Make up exams are all essay. Total Value of Exams: 200 points
Quizzes
Periodically, there will be brief quizzes covering the reading assignment and the classroom material for the units covered. Quizzes will be announced one class period in advance and will take place at the beginning of the next class. There will be more than 10 quizzes during the semester and your ten highest quiz grades will constitute your quiz total. A missed quiz may not be made up under any circumstances. Furthermore, students may not simply take a quiz and then leave. You must stay through the duration of the class for the quiz to count. Each quiz will be worth
10 points. Total value of quizzes: 100 points.
Journal
One of the major requirements of this course is that you construct a course journal. It will be worth 100 points. You will receive full credit for maintaining the journal, although individual journal entries themselves will not be graded.
Failure to keep a complete journal consistent with the standards described below will result in a score of 0 on this assignment. This is an ALL OR NOTHING assignment.
Guidelines
1. Keep your journal in a folder or notebook, separate from your class notes;
2. Number and date each journal entry and begin each on a separate page;
3. Write each entry of at least 200 words;
4. Write journal entries when they are assigned. Do not procrastinate.
5. Journal entries based on the reading should indicate the source and the pages on which you are commenting;
Periodically during the semester and then at its end I will collect the journals from the class. If you turn in satisfactory journal entries you will receive full credit points each time. If not, you will receive 0 points for that journal check. This is an ALL OR NOTHING assignment.
On Friday, Dec 11, all journals, in their entirety, are due in class. At that point, they are required to include:
A title page;

An introduction listing your three best entries, along with a brief (25 words) explanation of each choice;
The required number of entries, each on a separate, dated and numbered page.
Total value of the journal: 100 points.
GRADES
There will be 600 points available to students during the semester. Each student’s grade will be based on the number of points that person acquires on the reading questions, the exams, the quizzes, and the journal.
Points Grade
558-600
540-557
522-539
A
A-
B+
498-521
480-497
462-479
438-461
420-437
402-419
360-401
0-359
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
F
COURSE TOPICS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Unit 1 Differences Introduction, p 1-5, Part I, p7-12
Race: Omi and Winant, p13-22, Buck, p 33-38, McIntosh, p. 175-179, Brodkin, p 39-53
Gender and Sexuality: Lorber, p. 54-65, Hubbard, p. 66-69, Katz, p.70-81, Kimmel, p. 82-93
Class: Gans, p. 104-109
Dominance: Baynton, p. 94-103, Miller, p. 110-116.
Unit 2 Systems of Oppression Part II, p. 119-123, Frye, p. 149-152, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, p. 263-
273
Racism: Tatum, p. 125-132, Bonilla-Silva, 133-140, Sethi, p. 141-148
Patriarchy: Johnson, p.153-162, Anderson, p.318-319
Homophobia: Pharr, p. 163-172, Clinton, p. 173-174,
The Economist, p. 566-567,
Lawrence et al v. Texas , p. 563-565,
Class: Part V, p. 321-323, Mantsios, p. 189-207, Sklar, p. 324-334, Parenti, p. 611-618
Unit 3 History Part VII, p. 493-500
Native Americans: Mary Brave Bird, p. 410-413, Elk v. Wilkins, P. 545-546, U.S. Commission on
Human Rights, p.501-505
African Americans: South Carloina Act, p. 506-510, U.S. Constitution, p. 511, Act Probibiting…, p. 512, Dred Scott v. Sanford, p. 524-527, Emancipation Proclamation, p. 528-
529, U.S. Constitution, P. 530-531, Du Bois, p.532-539,
547-549, Brown v. Bd of Ed
Plessy v. Ferguson
, p. 556-560, Wright, p. 23-32.
, p.
Latinos
Asian Americans: People v. Hall, p. 522-523, California Constitution, p. 544, Kochiyama, p.
414-421 , Korematsu v. U.S., p. 551-555, Shah, p. 245-247
Nativism and Immigration: Ngai, p. 224-234, Jernegan, p. 217-223
Patriarchy: Declaration of Sentiments, p. 513-516, The Antisuffragists, p. 517-521, Bradwell v. IL , p. 540-542, Minor v. Happersett , p. 543, 19 th Amendment, p. 550, Roe v. Wade , p. 561, ERA, p.562.
Unit 4 Image, Identity, and Stereotype Part VIII, p. 575-578, Snyder, p. 579-584, Kashef, p. 435-438

Women: Hesse-Biber, p.595-602, Williams, p. 468-471, Bartlett, p. 481
Sexuality: Mohr, p. 585-591, Avicolli, p. 455-460
Plutocracy: Drum: p. 337-345, Pear, p.346-347, Jhally, 603-610, Mantsios, p. 618-626
Asian Americans: Thrupkaew, p. 248-254
Latin Americans: Navarro, p. 238-241, Teicher, p.286-288, Barry, p. 296-297, Hing, p. 298-301,
Lambert, p.312-314
Unit 5 Present and Future Realities Part IX, p.647-649, Bittman, p. 686-688, Rothschild, p. 689-691
Race: Abercrombie, p. 274-275, Jordan, p.289-291, Lumumba-Kasongo, p. 302-303, Hoover, p.
307, Burd, p. 308-309, Associated Press, P. 315-317
Class: Ehrenreich and Ehrenreich, p. 350-354, Kochhar and others, p. 355-361, Porter, p. 401-403,
Klein, p. 683-685 Greenhouse, p. 276-278,
Latinos: Lui and others, p.371-374, Tavernise, p. 375-376, Portes, p.397-400,
Asian Americans: Lui and other, p. 362-370
Women: Rich, p.377-379, Conniff, p. 380-382, Collins, p. 383-384; Lorde, p. 650-656, hooks, p.
657-664
Men: Thompson, p. 665-671
Sexuality: Kim, p. 465-467, Hirshman, P. 568-572, Juro, p. 283-285