Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 14:12:24 01/09/2009
Prof. Deborah Piatelli millerdp@bc.edu
McGuinn 412
Office: 617-552-8148
Office hours: Mondays/Wednesdays 4:30-5:30 p.m. and
Tuesdays by appointment 2:00-4:00 p.m.
This course explores the social construction of race through the lens of whiteness. Why talk about whiteness? By examining whiteness and the privilege associated with it, we can enrich our understanding of oppression. By considering whiteness as both a race and historical system of privilege, we can gain a deeper understanding of the persistence of racism. Over the course of the semester, we will examine the distribution of privilege within American society at both the interpersonal and institutional levels, as well as consider how whiteness operates within the social constructs of class and gender. Through writing and in-class group discussion, you will examine your own identities and lived experiences and consider how consciously or unconsciously they are affected by these processes, as well as consider strategies for challenging racism and privilege at the individual and structural levels. Since this course deals with topics that are emotional at a gut level, it is important that we respect and listen to each other’s views. I try to encourage and maintain a classroom dynamic that is conducive to honest, open discussion. Although these topics may be uncomfortable to talk about, it is important to realize that we can learn a great deal from each other through active listening and dialoguing.
*Gain a deeper understanding of the historical relationship between white privilege and inequality.
*Be able to clearly define and differentiate the concepts of prejudice and racism.
*Describe privilege and racism in its individual and institutional forms in contemporary society.
*Identify and articulate your personal feelings, fears, attitudes and behaviors about the issues of privilege and racism by exploring your own experiences and identity development.
*Conduct sociological research on how racial privilege operates in everyday life.
*Develop specific strategies designed to challenge racism on both individual and structural levels.
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*Rothenberg, Paula S. (2008). White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism.
Third edition. New York: Worth Publishers.
*Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2003). Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? New
York: Basic Books.
*Trepagnier, Barbara. (2006). Silent Racism: How Well-Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial
Divide. Boulder, Colo.: Paradigm Publishers.
*Wise, Tim. (2008). White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.
Berkeley, Calif.: Soft
Skull Press.
Class participation (20% of your grade)
Much of the learning will take place in the classroom through participation in class discussions. I am not in the habit of taking attendance; however excessive absences and lateness will be noted as this has an effect on group discussion. It is expected that when you are in class you will participate. Students are expected to come to each class session prepared with at least one discussion question or one quote from the readings for class discussion.
Reflection Papers (25% of your grade)
I am asking that you submit a reflection paper at the end of each week. These papers should be a maximum of three (3), double-spaced pages and emailed to me every Friday by 4:00 p.m.
In these papers, you may discuss how you are interacting with the course material and discussions—the ideas presented by the authors, the ways that you are integrating the readings into your thinking, and the way your personal experiences may/may not related to the issues raised by the readings/discussions. The writing can be informal, but should be thoughtful and reflective. These entries should NOT simply be a summary of a reading or film, but rather enable you to relate the readings/film/class discussion to each other, to readings from other weeks, and/or your own life. You may also explore ideas that may or may not be covered in class or that you may be hesitant to assert verbally. These papers can focus on one class session or both class sessions for that particular week.
Possible questions to think about when writing: How do the readings, films, and/or discussions make me feel? Do I sometimes feel uncomfortable? Why? Do the readings make me think differently about my own life experiences? Does the author raise issues I have not thought about before? Is there something that has been bothering me that I have felt reluctant to bring up in class? Is the class raising issues I want
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to learn more about? Is this class making me think about things in new ways? Each paper will be evaluated based on its thoughtfulness, insight, and engagement with the course material.
Directed thematic papers (20% of your grade)
I am asking you to complete two (2) short papers (approximately 5-7, double-spaced pages) on a particular theme discussed in class. Topic options are posted on Blackboard Vista.
Thematic paper #1
Thematic paper #2
Final paper (35% of grade)
Due Wednesday, February 18
Due Wednesday, March 25
Due Wednesday, May 6
Over the course of the semester, I would like you to conduct sociological research on how racial privilege operates in everyday life. As a guide, your final paper should be between 12-15, double-spaced pages.
Topic options are posted on Blackboard Vista.
Late work. If you have extenuating circumstances, you must come see me BEFORE the due date to discuss a possible extension; otherwise you will lose 5 points each day the assignment is late.
A note on academic integrity
In regards to this course, there will be many times when we will work in groups. Sharing of information and ideas are encouraged. However, when working on individual assignments, it is expected that you do your own work. In cases where you are required to use published work, you must cite the work. If you plagiarize or cheat in some other form, you will fail the assignment; repeated episodes will result in failure of the course. If there are any questions on proper method of citing, please see me. For more information on Boston College’s academic integrity policy, please visit: www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/policy/#integrity.
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Wednesday, January 14
How do we talk constructively about race?
Readings:
* Tatum, Chapter 2 (The Complexity of Identity)
* Tatum, Chapter 10 (Embracing a Cross-Racial Dialogue)
Monday, January 19
No class, Martin Luther King Day
I: THEORIZING RACE AND WHITENESS
Wednesday, January 21
Why study race and whiteness?
Readings:
* DuBois, W.E.B. (1920). “The Souls of White Folk.” Pp. 17-29 in Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil . New York: Dover Publications, 1999. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Rothenberg, Introduction; Chapter 1 in Part one (Richard Dyer, The Matter of Whiteness)
* Wellman, David. (1993). “Introduction to the Second Edition.” Pp. 1-26 in Portraits of White
Racism. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Wilson, William Julius. (1980). “From Racial Oppression to Economic Class Subordination.”
Pp. 1-23 in The Declining Significance of Race.
Second Edition. Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
Monday, January 26
Researching race
Reading:
* Gallagher, Charles A. (2008). “The End of Racism as the New Doxa: New Strategies for
Researching Race.” Pp. 163-178 in White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology, edited by Tukufu Zuberi and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. New York: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers. LIBRARY RESERVE
Wednesday, January 28
What does it mean to say that race is socially constructed?
Film in class: Race: The Power of an Illusion Episode 1: The Difference Between Us (56m)
Readings:
* Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. (2007). “Racialized Social Systems Approach to Racism.” Pp. 46-55 in Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity, edited by Charles A.
Gallagher. Second Edition. New York: McGraw Hill. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. (2007). “Racial Formations.” Pp. 21-28 in Rethinking the
Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity, edited by Charles A. Gallagher. Second Edition.
New York: McGraw Hill. LIBRARY RESERVE
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Monday, February 2
Historical constructions of whiteness
Film in class: Race as an Illusion, Episode 2: The Story We Tell (56m)
Readings:
* Horsman, Reginald. (1997). “Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial
Anglo-Saxonism.” Pp. 139-144 in Critical White Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror, edited by Richard Delgago and Jean Stefancic. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. LIBRARY
RESERVE
* Rothenberg, Chapter 7 in Part two (Charles Mills, Global White Supremacy)
Wednesday, February 4
Fluidity of whiteness
Readings:
* Rothenberg, Chapter 3 in Part two (Karen Brokin, How Jews Became White Folks);
Chapter 4 in Part two (Neil Foley, Becoming Hispanic: Mexican Americans and Whiteness)
* Twine, France Winddance. (1999). “Brown Skinned White Girls: Class, Culture, and the
Construction of White Identity in Suburban Communities.” Pp. 214-243 in Displacing
Whiteness: Essays in Social and Cultural Criticism, edited by Ruth Frankenberg. Durham:
Duke University Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Yancey, George. (2003). “How to Become White.” Pp. 27-62 in Who Is White? Latinos,
Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide . Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
LIBRARY RESERVE
Monday, February 9
Film in class: Tim Wise on White Privilege: Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality
(57m)
Wednesday, February 11
Prejudice, racism, and privilege
Readings:
* Rothenberg, Chapter 3 in Part three (Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege)
* Tatum, Chapter 1 (Defining Racism)
* Trepagnier, Chapter 1 (Rethinking Racism)
Monday, February 16
Prejudice, racism, and privilege (continued)
Readings:
* Feagin, Joe R. and Hernan Vera. (1995). “White Racism: A Sociology of Human Waste.” Pp.
1-18 in White Racism: The Basics.
New York: Routledge. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Rothenberg, Chapter 2 in Part three (Allan G. Johnson, Privilege as Paradox); Chapter 3 in Part one (bell hooks, Representations of Whiteness in the Black Imagination); Chapter
6 in Part three (Leonard Pitts, Jr., Crazy Sometimes)
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Wednesday, February 18
The heterogeneity of whiteness and privilege
Thematic Paper #1 Due
Readings:
* Gallagher, Charles A. (2000). “White Like Me? Methods, Meaning, and Manipulation in the
Field of White Studies.” Pp. 67-92 in Racing Research, Researching Race: Methodological
Dilemmas in Critical Race Studies, edited by France Winddance Twine and Jonathan W.
Warren. New York: NYU Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Rothenberg, Chapter 1 in Part three (Stephanie M. Wildman and Adrienne D. Davis, Making
Systems of Privilege Visible)
II.
Monday, February 23
Exploring our racial identities
RACISM AND PRIVILEGE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Readings:
* Tatum, Part II (Understanding Blackness in a White Context, all chapters); Part III
(Understanding Whiteness in a White Context, Chapter 6); Part IV (Beyond Black and
White, all chapters)
* Trepagnier, Chapter 5 (Race Awareness Matters)
Wednesday, February 25
Exploring our racial identities (continued)
SPRING BREAK MARCH 2-6
Monday, March 9
White talk
Readings:
* Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. (2006). “The Central Frames of Color-Blind Racism.” Pp. 25-52 in
Racism without Racists: Colorblind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the
United States.
Second Edition. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. LIBRARY
RESERVE
* Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. (2006). “The Style of Color Blindness: How to Talk Nasty about
Minorities without Sounding Racist.” Pp. 53-74 in Racism without Racists: Colorblind
Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States.
Second Edition. New
York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Simpson, Jennifer S. (1996). “Easy Talk, White Talk, Back Talk: Some Reflections on the
Meanings of Our Words.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 25, no. 3:372-389.
LIBRARY RESERVE
* Trepagnier, Chapter 2 (Silent Racism)
Wednesday, March 11
White talk (continued)
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Monday, March 16
Whiteness on the college campus
Film in class: Some Place I Call Home: Racism on the Trinity College Campus (65m)
Readings:
* Feagin, Joe. R. (1992). “The Continuing Significance of Racism: Discrimination Against
Black Students in White Colleges.” Journal of Black Studies, 22: no. 4:546-578. LIBRARY
RESERVE
Wednesday, March 18
Whiteness on the college campus (continued)
Monday, March 23
Whiteness and interracial relationships
Readings:
* Feagin, Joe, and Eileen O’Brien. (2003). “Issues of Interracial Dating and Marriage.” Pp.
131-154 in White Men on Race: Power Privilege and the Shaping of Cultural Consciousness .
Boston: Beacon Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2007). “What Kind of Friendship is That? The Search for
Authenticity, Mutuality, and Social Transformation in Cross-Racial Relationships.” Pp. 83-
104 in Can We Talk About Race?
Boston: Beacon Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
Wednesday, March 25
Whiteness and interracial relationships (continued)
Monday, March 30
Thematic Paper #2 Due
Whiteness and institutional racism
Readings:
* Feagin, Joe, and Eileen O’Brien. (2003). “Views on Public Policy: Affirmative Action.” Pp.
189-225 in White Men on Race: Power Privilege and the Shaping of Cultural Consciousness .
Boston: Beacon Press. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Kivel, Paul. (2002). “Part V: Fighting Institutional Racism.” Pp. 172-218 in Uprooting
Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. Revised Edition. Canada: New
Society Publisher. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Tatum, Part III (Understanding Whiteness in a White Context, Chapter 7)
* Trepagnier, Chapter 4 (The Production of Institutional Racism)
Wednesday, April 1
Whiteness and institutional racism (continued)
Readings:
* To be determined based on student interest
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Monday, April 6
Whiteness and institutional racism (continued)
Readings:
* Martinez, Elizabeth (Betina). (2003). “Looking for Color in the Anti-War Movement.”
ZMagazine, 16, no. 11. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Piatelli, Deborah. (2009). “A Culture of Privilege.” Pp. 89-116 in Stories of Inclusion?
Power, Privilege and Difference in a Peace and Justice Network. Lanham, MD: Lexington
Books. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Winant, Howard. (2006). “Race and Racism: Towards a Global Future.” Ethnic and Racial
Studies , 29, no. 5, 986-1003. LIBRARY RESERVE
Wednesday, April 8
Whiteness and institutional racism (continued)
Monday, April 13
No Class, Easter Break
III. CHANGE AND RESISTANCE
Wednesday, April 15
What do we do with whiteness?
Readings:
* hooks, bell. (1995). “Overcoming White Supremacy: A Comment.” Pp. 184-195 in
Killing Rage, Ending Racism.
New York: Owl Books. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Piatelli, Deborah. (2009). “Practical Solutions for Working Across Differences.” Pp. 117-136 in Stories of Inclusion? Power, Privilege and Difference in a Peace and Justice Network.
Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. LIBRARY RESERVE
* Rothenberg, Chapter 2 in Part four (Joe Feagin and Hernan Vera, Confronting One’s Own
Racism); Chapter 3 in Part four (Paul Kivel, How White People Can Serve as Allies to
People of Color in the Struggle to End Racism)
* Trepagnier, Chapter 6 (Antiracist Practice); Chapter 7 (Epilogue)
Monday, April 20
No Class, Marathon Monday
Wednesday, April 22
What to do with whiteness (continued)
Possible guest speaker
Monday, April 27
What to do with whiteness (continued)
Possible guest speaker
Wednesday, April 29
Last class
Final Paper Due: Wednesday, May 6 th @5:00 p.m.
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