California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Academic Senate Report
AS-2243-067/GE
AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT – EWS 450, MULTIRACIAL
AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION INTERDISCIPLINARY
SYNTHESIS COURSE
Academic Senate Action:
Adopted: 5/16/07
Final Disposition:
Transmitted to President: 5/23/07
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT – EWS 450,
MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION INTERDISCIPLINARY
SYNTHESIS COURSE
Recommendation:
The Academic Senate recommends approval of this course.
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT – EWS 450,
MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION INTERDISCIPLINARY
SYNTHESIS COURSE
From: Dr. Patricia A. de Freitas
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 1:52 PM
To: Dr. Francis X. Flores; Dr. John T. Self
Cc: Dr. Karen S. Langlois; Dr. Claudia L. Pinter-Lucke; Dr. Gilbert R. Cadena; Dr. Parvin M.
Abyaneh; Dr. S. Terri Gomez; Dr. S. Terri Gomez; Dr. Haiming Liu; Dr. Toni C. Humber; Jocelyn
Pacleb
Subject:
Dear Francis and John,
Karen Langlois, our College’s representative on the Senate’s Executive Committee, informed me
of your committee’s concerns about the number of courses we submitted for inclusion on the
American Perspectives list of approved courses. This memo is intended to address some of your
committee’s questions and concerns.
I’ll begin by putting our submissions in context.
Many years ago, the Academic Senate decided that students needed an American Perspectives
course to graduate. The Senate developed specific criteria and asked departments to submit
courses that would meet these criteria. At that time, our department felt that five of its courses met
the criteria and submitted them for approval. They have been on the list since the list’s inception.
Since that time, our department has developed a major (which includes three options leading to a
multiple subject teaching credential) and expanded both its minor programs and upper division
synthesis course offerings. As a result, we have developed a number of courses, which were
submitted and subjected over time to the University’s rigorous curriculum process (including
consultations with other departments). All the courses submitted for your consideration are
APPROVED courses, already in the system and taken by students over a number of years to fulfill
different kinds of requirements.
Our request is simply to have them approved for the American Cultural Perspectives list. Why
now? Because the University is now enforcing the Senate’s mandate that students fulfill the
American Cultural Perspective requirement before graduating. It seems that this was not tracked
over the years, so it is possible that students did graduate without having this requirement met.
This new consciousness has resulted in students (and their advisors) requesting that some of the
EWS courses (taken to meet other requirements) be used to fulfill the American Cultural
Perspectives requirement. We have been handling this through petitions. We have reviewed all
our courses and decided that the courses recently submitted for your consideration did meet the
American Cultural Perspectives criteria. Our department submitted these courses to help students
fulfill the American Cultural Perspectives requirement and graduate without having to add another
course (on the current list). Our reasoning was as follows: students take these courses to meet
their core, option, support and GE program requirements, these courses meet the American
Cultural Perspectives criteria, students should be allowed to use them to meet the American
Cultural Perspectives requirement as well in order to graduate on time.
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT – EWS 450,
MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION INTERDISCIPLINARY
SYNTHESIS COURSE
I want to reiterate – these are NOT new courses (they have already been through the curriculum
process (including consultation) and have been approved, they will NOT take FTEs from other
departments, and they will NOT add to the number of units a student takes. They are courses that
students already take to meet different requirements and we are simply asking that they also be
approved to meet the American Cultural Perspectives requirement.
I guess the critical question for the University is – do these courses meet the American
Perspectives criteria or not? According to our review, they do. We are very open and willing to
discuss this further with you if your committee determines that they do not meet the criteria.
About your C-classification concerns, we will be happy to drop those from the submission. These
courses were originally approved when those classifications existed, so we happy to get rid of
these designations if they are no longer used. These courses are in the system anyway, so it really
wouldn’t affect how they are taught.
Hope this addresses your concerns. I will be more than happy to discuss this further if you need
me to.
Best,
Dr. Patricia de Freitas
Ethnic & Women's Studies Department
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
(909) 869-2080
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT – EWS 450,
MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION INTERDISCIPLINARY
SYNTHESIS COURSE
EWS 450 – MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES
G.E. INTERDISCIPLINARY SYNTHESIS COURSE (SATISFIES AREAS C4 and D4)
PREPARED BY: Dr. Patricia A. de Freitas
DATE : August 2001
EXPANDED COURSE OUTLINE
I.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
EWS 450 – MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES (4 UNITS)
Interdisciplinary exploration of the development, meaning, and sociopolitical implications of
‘hybridity’ in constructing racial, ethnic and gender identities in the U.S. Status and
experience of ‘hybrid’ people, e.g. ‘biracial/multiracials’ examined through synthesis of
anthropology, arts, history, literature, sociology, ethnic and gender studies. 2 two-hour
lecture/discussion. Prerequisites: Completion of courses in Areas A, C (sub-areas 1, 3) and
D (sub-areas 1,2,3). Open to all majors.
Suggested c-classification: C2
II.
III.
REQUIRED BACKGROUND OR EXPERIENCE
Completion of courses in GE Areas A, C (sub-areas 1, 3) and D (sub-areas 1,2,3). Good
academic standing.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
A. This course enables students to critically assess the historical development and (non)
recognition of so-called “mixed” peoples and its impact on traditional group formations and
relationships in the U.S. and elsewhere. The topic is ideally suited for GE students as it
affords them the opportunity to integrate historical, comparative, and sociological
approaches learned in the humanities and social sciences and apply them to the complex
phenomenon of social identification, group relations, status and power.
B. By completing the requirements of this course satisfactorily, students are expected to
achieve the following:
(1) Demonstrate familiarity with the scholarly literature on theories of racial, ethnic
and gender identity (re)production and (re)formation.
(2) Situate the construction of social and personal identities in their historical,
political, social and cross cultural contexts.
(3) Explain how social identities are tied to status and opportunity in the U.S. and
in other societies.
(4) Define and explain the concepts of hybridity, creole, and mestisaje in the context
of identity discourse and social practice.
(5) Analyze representations of hybrid or "mixed" identities in U.S. literature, arts,
law and social sciences, and compare these with other cultures' understanding of
similarly defined people.
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT –
EWS 450, MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION
INTERDISCIPLINARY SYNTHESIS COURSE
(6) Discuss the current "mixed race" and similar movements in the U.S., and
critically assess their political and economic implications.
(7) Propose a solution /s to the issues raised by both proponents and opponents of
the “mixed race” movement with regard to census classifications, social (non)
representation, cumulative racism, discrimination and affirmative action.
IV.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
There are numerous publications, both books and articles, dealing with the subject
of this course. Readings will be selected from the following list:
Christian, Mark. Multiracial Identity: An International Perspective (New York: St.
Martin’s Press,
2001).
Colker, Ruth. Hybrid: Bisexuals, Multiracials, and Other Misfits under American Law
(New York: New York University Press, 1996).
Nanda, Serena. Gender Diversity: Cross-Cultural Variations (Illinois: Waveland
Press, 2001).
Root, Maria P.P. (Ed.). Racially Mixed People in America (Thousand Oaks, Ca.:
Sage Publications, 1992).
Scott Giles, Freda. “From Melodrama to the Movies: The Tragic Mulatto as a Type
Character”. In American Mixed Race: The Culture of Micro Diversity, Naomi Zack,
ed. 63-78 (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1995).
Williams, Teresa Kay. “The Theatre of Identity”. In American Mixed Race: The
Culture of Micro Diversity, Naomi Zack, ed. 79-96 (Lanham, MD: Rowman and
Littlefield, 1995).
Zack, Naomi. American Mixed Race (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1995)
RECOMMENDED READING
Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (Spinsters/Aunt Lute
Book Co.1987).
Arboleda, Teja. In the Shadow of Race: Growing up As a Multiethnic, Multicultural,
and "Multiracial" American (NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1998).
Dominguez, Virginia. White By Definition: Social Classifications in Creole Louisiana
(New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U Press, 1986).
DuBois, W.E.B. "The Concept of Race" in Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an
Autobiography of a Race Concept. (N.Y.:The Library of America, 1986).
Funderburg, Lise. Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and
Identity (N.Y.:William Morrow and Co., 1994).
Herdt, Gilbert, ed. Third Sex, Third Gender (N.Y.: Zone Books, 1994)
McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
(N.Y.: Riverhead Books, 1997).
Root, Maria P.P., ed. The Multiracial Experience (Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage
Publications, 1996).
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT –
EWS 450, MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION
INTERDISCIPLINARY SYNTHESIS COURSE
Spickard, Paul. Mixed Blood: Intermarriage and Ethnic Identity in Twentieth-Century
America (Tucson, AZ: U of Arizona Press, 1989).
Tizard, Barbara and Ann Phoenix, ed. Black, White or Mixed Race? Race and
Racism in the Lives of Young People of Mixed Parentage (N.Y.: Routledge, 1995).
Vasconcelos, J. La Raza Cosmica (D.T. Jaen, Trans.). (Los Angeles: California State
University, Centro de Publicaciones, 1979). (Original work published 1925).
Vizenor, Gerald. Crossbloods: Bone Courts, Bingo, and Other Reports (Minneapolis,
MN: U of Minnesota, 1990).
Werbner, Pnina & Tariq Modood, ed. Debating Cultural Hybridity: Multi-Cultural
Identities and the Politics of Anti-Racism (New Jersey: Zed Books, 1997).
Young, Robert. Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race (N.Y.:
Routledge, 1995).
Zack,Naomi. Race and Mixed Race (Philadelphia: Temple U Press, 1993).
V.
MINIMUM STUDENT MATERIALS
Assigned texts, note paper, writing implements, access to Internet, word processor.
VI.
MINIMUM COLLEGE FACILITIES
A classroom with movable desks, audio-visual equipment, university library, Internet
Access.
VII.
COURSE OUTLINE
1. Human Classification Systems.
Purpose, function, effects of human classification.
History and formation of human ‘kinds’ in the U.S.: Bases of classification.
The Body as Icon of Identity – Race and the Rule of hypodescent.
2. Ethnographic and psychological approaches to identity formation and development
Growing up ‘bi’, ‘mixed’, ‘trans’ in the U.S.: Experiences, dilemmas, issues,
concerns
Social identification Vs self-identity.
3. Status and place of “mixed”, “bi”, “trans” people in the U.S.
Historical, economic, socio-political forces shaping ‘place’ and ‘status’
Multi-racial/ethnic people in comparative perspective, e.g. Brazil, Hawaii,
South Africa
Concepts and theories on Multi-racial/ethnic Identity.
4. Approaches to ‘mixture’ in U.S. ethnic and racial groups: ‘White’, ‘Black’,
Asian, Latino/Chicano and Native American communities
Specific Issues and Concerns.
AS-2243-067/GE, AMERICAN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE REQUIREMENT –
EWS 450, MULTIRACIAL AND HYBRID IDENTITIES – GENERAL EDUCATION
INTERDISCIPLINARY SYNTHESIS COURSE
5. (Non) representation of “mixed”, “bi”, “trans” people/relationships in law, popular
culture, arts, literature, media and ethnic studies.
6. Anthropological perspectives on interracial/intercultural dating and marriage: Rules of
endogamy and exogamy
Multi-racial/ethnic families
Transracial, transcultural and transnational adoption and foster care issues.
7. Economics, Politics and Social Classifications
The U.S. Census, Public Accounting, Affirmative Action and the Bi-Racial
Movement.
8. Concept of hybridity in gender studies
Transforming, transcending and transgressing gender categories
Anthropological approaches to the cross cultural study of transgender,
transsexual and bisexual identities.
9. Challenging the Categories – End to Racism?
The Uniqueness of the Multiracial Status
Formulating social classifications for the 21st century
Solutions and implications
VIII.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
Integration of lectures, small and large group discussions, group and individual
projects, independent library and on-line research, reading, guest speakers,
films.
IX.
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
A. Grading of Student Performance
The basis for evaluation will include:
Class attendance and participation – 10%; weekly journal-type response
papers to assigned readings – 15%; extended paper – 20%; group presentation
and reports –
25%; internet project -10%; examination 20%.
B. Assessment of Learning Outcomes
A content analysis of written assignments and presentation will be done
to determine if course’s educational objectives are met are met.
At the end of the course, students will be required to complete a survey to rate
coverage of each educational objective. Ratings will be used to review the
importance of the objectives and to determine if the objectives were met. Data
from survey will be used to improve the course.