MWF 9am – 11am: LSA 3254
Lynn Verduzco-Baker
Race & Ethnicity ~ Sociology 303
Spring 2007
Email: lynnvb@umich.edu
Office: LSA 3247
Office Hours: MWF 11:30-1:30 & By Appointment
OVERVIEW
Sociology provides a theoretical base to understand social processes and phenomenon; it gives us
tools to analyze how our own experiences as well as other phenomenon in the world are
interconnected. This course will introduce you to sociological theories, approaches and
scholarship that address race and ethnicity in the United States. Additionally, this class will help
you to understand how social forces shape inter-group relations and how race and ethnic relations
in turn influence both social institutions and the day-to-day experiences of individual members of
society. You will also be given the opportunity to understand race and ethnic relations in the
United States from a historical perspective because, although society is constantly changing,
relations between racial/ethnic groups are intimately connected to the past (the not-so-long-ago
past). In addition, many current issues (e.g. 9/11, immigration, War in Iraq, etc.) can be better
understood when compared with events in the past. Finally, this course is designed to give you
analytic tools that will enable you to examine the assumptions behind current and future social
debates and issues and to consider the implications of both those debates and the laws/policies that
may arise from them.
In order to meet these goals, the course is organized into four sections: 1) Sociological
Foundations (various theoretical approaches to defining and analyzing race and ethnicity); 2)
Examples of Racial / Ethnic Group Experiences in the U.S. (historical and current social contexts
of various races and ethnicities in the US and how these social contexts create unequal access to
resources and affect identity); 3) Intersections of Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Class (the
ways in which race and ethnicity intersect with other social markers, such as gender, sexuality and
social class); and 4) Bringing it all together: Current Debates About Race (apply what you have
learned to issues currently being discussed in politics and the media).
CLASS STRUCTURE & STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Although there will be short lectures at the beginning of each class, the majority of class time will
be spent in discussion of the topic and readings and in activities designed to help you understand,
synthesize and apply what you have learned. You will participate in small and large group
conversations and activities which will provide you with opportunities to ask questions, explain
your ideas and challenge yourself to understand the concepts in more depth. This class is intended
to stimulate a personal interest in the material and challenge you to think critically about race and
ethnic issues once the course is over, therefore, it is very interactive.
A portion of your grade in this class will be based on your verbal participation (i.e., your
contributions to the discussions and activities). This means that if you are absent from class, arrive
late or leave early, you cannot earn participation points (and cannot make them up later). I realize
that some students are uncomfortable speaking in front of a large group, therefore, activities will
often include both small group and large group components to ease those students’ discomfort. If
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you feel you are not able to participate in class discussions, see me by the second week of class so
that we can create alternative ways for you to participate in class discussions.
By taking careful lecture notes, reading the course material and actively engaging in class
discussion and activities, you will be more successful in this course. Coming to class ready to
discuss the week’s topics (and remember: questions are just as valuable as answers!) will help
everyone understand these difficult subjects better and, therefore, do better on exams and
assignments.
Also, I strongly encourage you to attend office hours at least once during the term to ask questions
or discuss class material, exams and/or your progress in the course. I am here to help!
Attendance is mandatory. An excused absence is one that is occasioned by illness or another
unavoidable circumstance. Please notify me as soon as possible (preferably before missing class)
via email about excused absences. If your absence is caused by an illness or athletic event, please
provide me with a note from your doctor or athletic director. If you expect to have an excused
absence (e.g., religious holiday, scheduled athletic event, performance, etc), notify me within the
first 2 weeks of class.
15%
20%
25%
40%
GRADING
Participation in class discussion/activities
Class assignments: reading response journals, pop culture analyses, etc.
Research Paper
Exams (2 Exams-20% each)
Participation:
I expect students who participate well to ask questions (yes, questions count!) and to contribute
comments that show they are keeping up with the material. I will circulate among small discussion
groups not only to offer my assistance but also to understand who is actively engaging with the
material. Simply being present is not enough!
Class Assignments:
You will be assigned short, informal assignments occasionally that are intended to help you
engage with the readings and to apply what we have been learning. These assignments may be
reading response journals (posted onto the course site) in which you respond to what you’ve read,
for example: make connections between the reading(s) and your own life experiences, point out
parts that are confusing to you, discuss something in the reading(s) that surprised or challenged
you and/or make a connection between something you’ve learned and a current issue in the news.
Additionally, you will be asked to bring popular culture “objects” (e.g., magazine spreads,
advertisements, links to online images and/or videos) to class and to provide a short analysis of
these objects in a small discussion group and/or to the whole class if you prefer.
Research Paper:
You will select a topic that involves race/ethnicity in the U.S. for your research paper and then
find sociological scholarship to help you analyze the issue/topic. Requirements: 5-7 pages, single
spaced, 1 inch margins. You will receive a handout in the second week of class to guide you
through this project.
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Exams:
Exams will be short answer (you will be asked to define and explain the significance of key terms
and concepts from lectures and readings) and essay questions. Exams will not be cumulative,
however, keep in mind that the topics throughout the course overlap and remain relevant.
LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY
All assignments are due at the beginning of class time unless otherwise noted.
Late assignments lose 1/3 of a grade for each day late, e.g., if your paper is graded as an A- but it
is one day late, you will receive a B+. Assignments will not be accepted more than three days late.
EXPECTATIONS
The subject matter of this course provokes thought; it can also evoke passion and emotion.
Consequently, we must lay some ground rules*:
 Focus comments on ideas from course texts. This class is an opportunity to discuss
IDEAS, particularly those ideas we will read about in the assigned materials and hear
during lectures. Please focus your comments on those ideas.
 Offer respectful comments and evidence to support arguments or positions. Since everyone
is required to speak and share ideas, it is important that we feel safe doing so. Therefore,
respectful comments and body language are crucial (and expected). Debate (and
disagreement) is productive and welcome; however, it must be conducted professionally
through the use of evidence and well constructed arguments rather than personal attacks.
 Actively engage in the discussion. Actively listen when you are not speaking; the class will
be more interesting as a result! Talking privately during discussions is distracting and
disrespectful.
*NOTE: Anyone unable to follow these policies may be asked to leave the classroom and will not
receive participation points that day.
OTHER POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Special Needs: If you seek accommodations for a documented special need, please see me,
preferably within the first two weeks of the term so accommodations can be made.
Electronics: Turn off cell phones. Laptops will be allowed in class, however, I reserve the right to
ban them if students are unable to refrain from using them to check facebook, read/send email, etc.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using another author’s (or person’s) words or ideas in your work without
crediting him or her. When you fail to supply quotation marks for exact quotations, or fail to cite
the sources of your ideas, or adopt the phrasing of your sources without references or credit, you
are plagiarizing.
At times you will incorporate other texts (written, verbal or virtual) into your writing. When your
work includes ideas or words from someone else, you must provide references and citations for the
sources. We will talk more about how to do this in class. Please remember: if you are in doubt
about how (or whether) to cite a source, ask me! If you haven’t already, please read the section on
“Academic Misconduct” in the manual LSA publishes for undergraduates. It is online:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/student_services/manual/student.html
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REQUIRED READINGS
Textbook: Cornell, Stephen E. & Douglas Hartmann. (2006). Ethnicity and Race: Making
Identities in a Changing World, 2nd ed. New York: Pine Forge Press. Available at Shaman Drum
Bookstore.
Additional Required Readings will be posted electronically on our website: ctools.umich.edu.
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS & ASSIGNMENTS
PART 1:
Sociological Foundations
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Wednesday, May 2
Introduction to Sociology & Approaches to Race & Ethnicity
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2
Friday, May 4
What is Race? What is Ethnicity?
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Cornell & Hartmann: pp. 12-13
Charon, Joel. 2001. “Should We Generalize about People?” In P. Adler and P. Adler (eds),
Sociological Odyssey.
Film: The Power of Illusion: The Story We Tell (55 min)
Cornell & Hartmann: pp. 15-26 (1st part of Ch. 2)
Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. 2004. “Racial Formations.” In C. Gallagher (ed)
Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity.
Monday, May 7
Identities & Color Lines
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Film: Eye of the Storm (25 min)
Cornell & Hartmann: (Chapter 4)
One of the following:
 Ausdale, Debra and Joe Feagin. 1996. “Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts: The Critical Case
of Very Young Children.” ASR 61: 779-93.
 Tyson, Karolyn. 2005. “It’s Not a “Black Thing:” Understanding the Burden of Acting White
and Other Dilemmas of High Achievement.” ASR 70: 582-605.
 Waters, Mary. 1996. “Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?” in Origins and Destinies, pp.
444-54.
 Tuan, Mia. 1998. Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites?: The Asian Ethnic Experience
Today, Ch. 2, “Racialized Ethnics…”.
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Wednesday, May 9
Student Presentations of “Identities & Color Lines” Readings
Theories of Assimilation
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Cornell & Hartmann: (Chapter 6)
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5
Friday, May 11
Construction Sites of Identity & Institutionalized Racism
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Royster, Dierdre. 2003. Race and the Invisible Hand. ch.7, “Networks of Inclusion,
Networks of Exclusion.”
Farley, Reynolds. et al. 1994. “Stereotypes and Segregation: Neighborhoods in the Detroit
Area.” AJS, 100:750-80.
Meehan, Albert J and Michael C Ponder. 2002. “Race and place: The ecology of racial
profiling African American motorists.” In Justice Quarterly, 19 (3): 399-430.
Film: The Power of Illusion: The House We Live In (55 min)
Monday, May 14
Politics / Social Change

McAdam, Doug. 1982. Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 19301970. Chic: Univ. of Chicago Press, pp. 65-116.
PART 2:
Examples of Racial / Ethnic Group Experiences in the U.S.
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Wednesday, May 16
Sociological Perspective: White/European Americans
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8
Friday, May 18
Sociological Perspective: Native Americans/ American Indians
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Dubin, Stephen.1987. “Symbolic Slavery: Black Representations in Popular Culture.” In
Social Problems, 34:122-38.
Tierney, Sean M. 2006. “Themes of Whiteness in Bulletproof Monk, Kill Bill, and The Last
Samurai”. In Journal of Communication 56: 607–624
Lopez, Ian Haney. 2002. “The Social Construction of Race.” In Grewal, Inderpal and Caren
Kaplan, eds., An Introduction to Women's Studies: Gender in a Transnational World. Boston:
McGraw Hill: 54-58.
* PAPER PROPOSAL DUE (including citations)
Hooks, Gregory and Chad L. Smith. 2004. “The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice
Areas and Native Americans”. In American Sociological Review 69(4): 558-575.
Nagel, Joanne. 1995. “American Indian Ethnic Renewal”. In ASR, 60: 947-65.
Monday, May 21
Sociological Perspective: Black/African-American Experiences
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Cohen, “Negro Involuntary Servitude in the South, 18651940.” J. of Southern History, 42:31-60.
Review previous readings, including: Dubin; Meehan & Ponder; Tyson
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10 Wednesday, May 23
Sociological Perspective: Latina/os
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“‘Mexicans Go Home!’: ...Removal Programs During the Great Depression.”
Salzinger, Leslie. 1991. "A Maid by Any Other Name: The Transformation of 'Dirty Work'
by Central American Immigrants." in Burawoy, M. (ed) Ethnography Unbound. Berkeley:
UC Press.
Linton, April. 2004. “A Critical Mass Model of Bilingualism
among US-Born Hispanics.” Social Forces 83: 279-314.
11 Friday, May 25
* EXAM #1 *
Monday, May 28 – NO CLASS MEETING
12 Wednesday, May 30
Sociological Perspective: Asian American
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O’Brien, D. and S. Fugita. “The Concentration Camp Experience.” in The Japanese
Experience, pp. 60-82.
Ui, Shiori. 1991. “‘Unlikely Heroes’: The Evolution of Female Leadership In a Cambodian
Ethnic Enclave.” In Michael Burawoy’s Ethnography Unbound.
13 Friday, June 1
Sociological Perspective: Arab Americans & Multi-Racial Americans
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Orfalea, G. Review of Race and Arab Americans before and After 9/11: From Invisible
Citizens to Visible Subjects. In Journal of American Ethnic History v. 29 (3): 137-8.
Naber, Nadine. 2003. “The Rules Of Forced Engagement: Race, Gender, and the Culture of
Fear among Arab Immigrants in San Francisco Post-9/11.” In Cultural Dynamics, 18(3): 235–
267.
Piper, Adrian. 1992. “Passing for White, Passing for Black.” Transition, 58: 4-32.
Herman, Melissa R. 2010. “Do You See What I Am? : How Observers' Backgrounds
Affect Their Perceptions of Multiracial Faces.” In Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 73
(1): 58–78.
PART 3:
Intersections of Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality
14 Monday, June 4
Popular Culture & Media
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Milkie. Melissa. 1999. “Social Comparisons, Reflected Appraisals, and Mass Media: The
Impact of Pervasive Beauty Images on Black and White Girls’ Self Concepts.” Social
Psychology Quarterly 62:190-210.
Bettis, Pamela J. and Natalie G. Adams. 2003. “The Power of the Preps and a Cheerleading
Equity Policy”. In Sociology of Education 76 (2): 128-142.
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15 Wednesday, June 6
Intersections: Class
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Twine, Frances Winndance. 1994. “Brown-Skinned White Girls: Class, Culture and the
Construction of White Identity in Suburban Communities.” Gender, Place and Culture 3:205-24.
Lacy, Karyn. 2004. “Black Spaces, Black Places: Strategic Assimilation and Identity
Construction in Middle-Class Suburbia.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27: 910-930.
16 Friday, June 8
Intersections: Gender
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Williams, L. Susan; Sandra D. Alvarez; Kevin S. Andrade Hauck. 2002. “My Name is Not
Maria: Young Latinas Seeking Home in the Heartland.” In Social Problem 49(4): 563-584.
Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. 1992. “African-American Women’s History and the
Metalanguage of Race”. In Signs 17 (2): 251-274.
17 Monday, June 11
Intersections: Sexuality
* PAPER DUE *
Film: Paris is Burning
 Emerson, Rana A. 2002. “Where My Girls At?”: Negotiating Black Womanhood in Music
Videos. In Gender and Society 16 (1): 115-135.
 Wilkins, Amy C. 2004 “Puerto Rican Wannabes: Sexual Spectacle and the Marking of Race,
Class, and Gender Boundaries”. Gender & Society 18(1): 103-120.
PART 4:
Bringing it all together: Current debates about race
18 Wednesday, June 13
Current Issues (Tentative topics: affirmative action; racial profiling)
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TBA
19 Friday, June 15
So, does race still matter? The Debate.
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Feagin, Joe. 1991. "The Continuing Significance of Race." ASR 56:101-16.
Wilson, William. 1978. The Declining Significance of Race, ch. 7
20 Monday, June 18
* EXAM #2*
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