Professor Ann Hironaka
Office: 3139 Social Sciences A
Office Hours: T 11:00-1:00 and by appointment
Phone: (949) 824-3504
Email: hironaka@uci.edu
TA: Esther Castillo
Office: 4102 Social Sciences A
Office Hours: Th 11-1
Email: e.castillo@uci.edu
Sociology 167AW:
Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States
TTh 9:30-10:50 am
SSTR 100
Class Website: https://eee.uci.edu/09w/69510/
Race relations will be one of the key challenges facing Americans in the twenty-first century.
The U.S. history of immigration and slavery has created a diverse population with origins all
over the globe. Individuals must make sense of their ethnic heritage and find a place in society.
In addition, American society must expand to give all people a sense of belonging in their own
country. One of the major goals of this course is to draw upon sociological literatures to make
sense of ethnic identity and the sources of racial prejudice and discrimination in society.
The class format will combine lecture with class discussions. Students are expected to have
completed the assigned reading before class, and will be expected to attend class and participate
in class discussions.
By the end of the semester, the student will:
1) have a greater appreciation for the complexity of ethnic and racial identity
2) apply the practices of sociological research to questions of ethnic identity and discrimination
This course fulfills the Writing Intensive requirement. The prerequisite for this course is a lower
division writing course.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
Texts:
There is one book required for this course and several journal articles. The book is available at
the UCI bookstore. Electronic copies of the journal articles will be available on the course
website.
Cornell, Stephen and Douglas Hartmann. 1998. Ethnicity and Race: making identities in a
changing world. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
The course will also utilize The Little Penguin Handbook by Lester Faigley as a writing guide.
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Assignments
The course assignments will include 1) midterm and final, 2) paper assignments, and 3) in-class
writing assignments.
1) The midterm and final will have short essay formats.
2) Paper assignments will be 7-9 pages double-spaced pages in length, and will require research
outside of class. The format for these papers will be that of a sociological research paper.
Expectations will be discussed in lecture.
Each paper will be expected to have a first draft and a final draft. Points will be deducted for
failure to turn in two drafts, but only the grade for the final draft will be counted. Students will
be encouraged to meet with the professor or TA to discuss specific ways in which the first draft
can be revised.
3) Informal written assignments may be assigned in class at any time. These will be graded + or
0. Students who are not in class on the day of an informal assignment will receive a 0 for that
assignment.
Breakdown of Final Grade:
Midterm
Final
Paper 1
Paper 2
In-class writing assignments
20 %
20 %
25 %
25%
10 %
Final grades will be assigned A-F in accordance with University policies. Incompletes will be
allowed under exceptional circumstances, but MUST be discussed with the professor before the
final exam takes place. Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for this course
shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F for the entire course. Scholastic dishonesty includes
(but is not limited to) cheating on assignments or examinations, plagiarizing (misrepresenting as
one’s own anything done by another) submitting the same or substantially similar papers for
more than one course without consent of all instructors concerned, and sabotaging another’s
work. Submitted papers are expected to demonstrate both the original ideas and thinking of the
student and original word choice and phrasing.
Support Services
Students are encouraged to talk with the professor or the TA about the papers or the course
material. Students may also seek help from LARC, the Learning and Academic Resource
Center, which offers individual conferences by appointment. Call LARC at 949-824-6451 or
drop by the LARC office at SST 423. Book your appointment early and 2-3 days before the
paper is due. Peer tutoring is also available M-Th 6-9pm at Langson Library, Mesa Court
Computer lab, Middle Earth – Arkenstone, and the Science Library.
Students with disabilities or special circumstances may feel free to discuss their situation with
the professor.
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Course Outline and Reading Assignments
Week 1
Jan. 6
Jan. 8
Readings:
Comparative Perspectives on Ethnic Conflict
introduction to the course
biological aspects of race and ethnicity
Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 1 and 2 -- pp. 1-38
Jonathan Marks. 1995. “Ch. 9: Human Diversity in the Light of Modern
Genetics.” Human Biodiversity: genes, race, and history. New York: Aldine de
Gruyter. pp. 156-180.
Paul R. Spickard. 1992. “The Illogic of American Racial Categories.” Pp. 12-23
in Maria P.P. Root (ed.) Racially Mixed People in America. Newbury Park: Sage.
Week 2
Jan. 13
Jan. 15
Readings:
Social Construction of Identity – thick vs. thin
thick vs. thin identity
symbolic ethnicity and paper assignment
Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 4 -- pp. 75-105
Herbert J. Gans. 1999. “Symbolic ethnicity.” Making Sense of America. Lanham:
Rowman and Littlefield. Pp. 167-199.
Week 3
Jan. 20
Jan. 22
Readings:
Social Construction – assignment vs. assertion
assignment vs. assertion
census and creation of categories
Joane Nagel. “Constructing Ethnicity: creating and recreating ethnic identity and
culture.” Social Problems. Vol .41 (February 1994):152-168.
Nagel, Joane. American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Politics and the Resurgence of
Identity. American Sociological Review, Vol. 60, No. 6. (Dec., 1995), pp. 947965.
Prewitt, Kenneth. 2004. “The Census Counts, the Census Classifies.” Pp. 145-166 in
Not Just Black and White edited by Nancy Foner and George M. Frederickson. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Week 4
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Sites of Identity Construction
Jan. 27
Jan. 29
Readings:
identities and circumstances
race identity in Brazil
Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 5 and 6-- pp. 107-208
First Draft of Paper 1 due Jan. 27
Week 5
Feb. 3
Feb. 5
Readings:
Ethnic Identities in Latin America
racial democracy in the U.S. and Brazil
midterm
France Winddance Twine. 1998. “Chapter 4: Discourses in Defense of the Racial
Democracy.” Pp. 65-86 in Racism in a Racial Democracy: The Maintenance of
White Supremacy in Brazil. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Anthony W. Marx. 1998. “Chapter 7: ‘Order and Progress’” pp. 158-177 in
Making Race and Nation: A Comparison of South Africa, the United States, and
Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Week 6
Feb. 10
Feb. 12
Readings:
Pressures of collective identity
American identity
construction of community
Benedict Anderson. 1991. “Introduction” and “Cultural roots.” Imagined
Communities. New York: Verso. Pp. 1-36.
Allan Hanson. “The Making of the Maori.” American Anthropologist. Vol 91
(December 1989):890-899.
Revision of Paper 1 due Feb. 12
Week 7
Feb. 17
Feb. 19
Prejudice and Discrimination
prejudice and discrimination
color blind discrimination
Readings:
Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 3, pp. 39-71 and Chapter 7, pp. 195-232
Week 8
Ethnic Conflict in America
Feb. 24
Feb. 26
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class and race
equality and cultural diversity
Readings:
Gans, Herbert J. “Race as Class.” Contexts 4(4):17-21.
Conley, Dalton. “Being Black, Living in the Red.”
Williams, Christine L. “Racism in Toyland.” Contexts. 4(4):28-32.
First Draft of Paper 2 due Feb. 26
Week 9
Ethnic conflict in other countries
March 3
March 5
primordial vs. institutional racism
politics in weak states
Readings:
Hironaka, Ann. 2005. “Ethnic Conflict in Weak States,” Neverending Wars.
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press.)
Week 10
Conclusion
March 10
March 12
Readings:
media portrayals of race
final review
no readings
Revision of Paper 2 due at Final Exam
Final Exam: Thursday, March 19 8-10am
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