Sociology 623: Race and Ethnic Relations
Graduate Seminar, Winter 2012
TTh 1:30-2:45 pm, 2002 JFSB
Carol Ward
Office: 2038 JFSB
Phone: 422-3047 Office hours: TTh 3:00-4:00 pm
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. Cornell, Stephen, and Hartmann, Douglas, 2007. Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a
Changing World. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
2. Brown, Michael, Martin Carnoy, Elliott Currie, Troy Duster, David Oppenheimer, Marjorie
Shultz and David Wellman, 2003. Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
OTHER SOURCES FOR READINGS:
Other readings for this course will be selected from the following list and made available for the
class. Some other selections may be added during the term.
 Ellison, Christopher, and Martin, W. Allen, 1998. Race and Ethnic Relations in the
United States: Readings for the 21st Century. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Co.
 Ferrante, Joan and Prince Brown, Jr., 1998. The Social Construction of Race and
Ethnicity in the United States.
 Forret, Jeff, 2006. Race Relations at the Margins: Slaves And Poor Whites in the
Antebellum Southern Countryside. Louisiana State University Press.
 Gallagher, Charles A. 1999. Rethinking the Color Line.
 Garcia, Ignacio M., 2008. White But Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury
Discrimination, and the Supreme Court. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
 Garroutte, Eva, 2003. Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native America.
Berkeley, CA: University of California.
 Hutchinson, John, and Anthony D. Smith, 1996. Ethnicity.
 Lareau, Annette, 2011. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second
Edition with an Update a Decade Later. University of California Press.
 Kivisto, Peter and Georganne Rundblad, 2000. Multiculturalism in the United States:
Current Issues, Contemporary Voices.
 Morning, Ann, 2011. The Nature of Race: How Scientists Think and Teach about Human
Difference. University of California Press.
 Portes, Alejandro and Ruben G. Rumbaut. 2006. Immigrant America: A Portrait. Third
edition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
 Rugh, Susan Sessions, 2008. Are We There Yet?: The Golden Age of American Family
Vacations. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
 Stanfield II, John H. and Rutledge M. Dennis, 1993. Race and Ethnicity in Research
Methods.
 Yetman, Norman, R. 1999. Majority and Minority.
COURSE GRADING CRITERIA:
1. Essays/exams - There will be 3 short take-home essays (3-5 pages each), covering specific
sections of the readings and related class discussions. (25% of grade)
1
2. Book review - One short paper (5 pages) is required which will critically evaluate a recent
publication on a specific issue or topic in the area of race and ethnic relations. Book reviews will
be presented to the class during the last week of the semester. (15% of grade)
3. Presentations on reading assignments and class participation - During each class meeting,
we will discuss about 3 readings (there are about 6 readings listed for each week; on the first class
period, we will discuss the first 3 and the remaining readings during the second class period).
Members of the class will be selected each week to lead the discussion of the assigned readings.
(The leader for each reading will be assigned at least one week prior to the discussion in class.)
Leading the discussion involves presenting a short (1-2 page) summary and critical assessment of
the assigned readings for that class period. (Copies of each summary should be placed on
Blackboard no later than the Saturday before we review it in class so that everyone can read it
and make copies before class.) Everyone is expected to participate in discussions of the readings.
(35% of grade)
4. Research proposal - For the final exam, you will prepare a proposal (7-8 pages) for a
research project on a topic related to race and ethnicity that draws on the materials of this course.
(25% of grade)
COURSE OBJECTIVES, LEARNING OUTCOMES AND SCHEDULE:
This course supports the graduate program instructional goals identified on the Sociology
website: “The coursework is designed to teach students to understand and utilize the primary
methods of sociological research, employ statistical models to test hypotheses, engage
sociological theory to inform their understanding of key social issues, and specialize in particular
areas of sociology.”
Week 1: January 3 and 5
Part 1 - Expected Learning outcomes:
Students will understand the theories and concepts associated with race and ethnicity and how
these relate to evidence of actual experiences with race and ethnicity, identity formation,
assimilation and stratification.
Review of syllabus and introduction to course. (A copy of the syllabus, assignments and exams
and readings not in the required texts are available on Blackboard.)
Readings:
 Ferrante and Brown, Part 1 essays: Hongo, Dawkins, Forbes, Tovares, and Brown.
Week 2: January 10 and 12
Readings:
 Yetman, Introduction to Part 1, Definitions and Perspectives: pages 1-12.
 Hutchinson and Smith chapters:
o Schermerhorn, Chapter 1; Tonkin et al, Chapter 2.
 Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 1 and 2.
*** Personal essay (3-4 pages) on personal and family experiences with race/ethnic identity,
due in class on January 27th.
Week 3: January 17 and 19
Readings:
 Yetman, Introduction to Part 1, Definitions and Perspectives: pages 13-22.
 Hutchinson and Smith chapters:
o Weber, Chapter 5; Geertz, Chapter 6; Barth, Chapter 12.
2

Cornell and Hartmann, Chapter 3 and 4.
Week 4: January 24 and 26
Readings:
 Cornell and Hartmann, Chapters 5-8.
Week 5: January 31 and February 2
Readings:
 Morning, Selected chapters.
 Gallagher, chapters:
o Harris, Chapter 1; Omi and Winant, Chapter 2; Feagin and Feagin, Chapter 3.
Week 6: February 7 and 9
Readings:
 Forrett, Selected chapters.
 Yetman chapters:
o Introduction to Part 2, Historical Perspectives: pages 87-121.
*** Short take home essay exam #1: due February 17th.
Week 7: February 14 and 16
Readings:
 Garroutte, Chapters 1-6, Conclusion.
Week 8: February 21 and 23 (Monday holiday; Monday class on Tuesday)
Readings:
 Ellison and Martin chapters; 1-2 chapters selected from the following:
o Waters, Chapter 19; Zenner, Chapter 20; Reed Chapter 21.
Week 9: February 28 and March 1
Part 2 - Expected Learning Outcomes:
Students will understand a range of explanations of racial and ethnic stratification and
assimilation, how explanations have changed and the implications of these changes for policy.
Readings:
 Yetman: Introduction, Part 3, Patterns of Ethnic Integration in America: pages 227-271.
 Brown et al., Chapter 1-2.
Week 10: March 6 and 8
Readings:
 Rugh, Selected chapters.
 Lareau, Selected chapters.
*** Short take home essay exam #2: due March 16th.
Week 11: March 13 and 15
Readings:
 Brown et al., Chapter 3.
 Yetman chapter: Massey and Denton, article 9.
3


Kivisto and Rundblad chapter: Wilson, Chapter 17.
Ellison and Martin chapters:
o Sniderman and Piazza; Chapter 22; Dovidio, et al., Chapter 23.
Week 12: March 20 and 22
Readings:
 Brown et al., Chapter 4-6 and Conclusion.
 Garcia, Selected chapters.
*** Finalize selection of book for book review due April 10th.
Week 13: March 27 and 29
Readings:
 Portes and Rumbaut (Select 2-3 chapters).
 Ellison and Martin chapters (Select 1-2):
o Perez-Stable and Uriarte, Chapter 6; Lemann, Chapter 7; Segura, Chapter 8.
Week 14: April 3 and 5
Part 3 - Expected Learning Outcomes:
Students will understand methodological issues related to studying race and ethnicity and will be
able to appropriately assess the quality of research on these topics as well as develop appropriate
research designs.
Readings:
 Ellison and Martin chapters (Select 2):
o Hurh and Kim, Chapter 11; Yoon, Chapter 12; Zhou, Chapter 13.
 Stanfield and Dennis chapters:
o Stanfield, Articles 1 and 2, Part I.
o Andersen, Article 3, Part II.
Week 15: April 10
Readings:
 Stanfield and Dennis chapters:
o Dennis, Article 4, in Part II.
o Facio, Article 5, in Part II.
 Discussion of book reviews in class (bring 1 page handouts for discussion).
*** Final exam (research prospectus) due: Tuesday, April 17th by 10:00 pm.
Recommended Readings:
 Bauman, Zygmunt, 1991. Modernity and the Holocaust; 1992. Intimations of Postmodernity.
 Blackmon, Douglas A., 2008. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black
Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York, NY: Doubleday.
 Brinton, Mary, 1993. Women and the Economic Miracle.
 Brooks, Roy L., 1996. Integration or Separation? A Strategy for Racial Inequality.
 Cashin, S. 2004. The failures of integration: How race and class are undermining the
American Dream. New York: Public Affairs.
 Comaroff, John, 1992. Ethnography and the Historical Imagination.
 Feagin, Joe R. and Karyn D. McKinney, 2003. The Many Costs of Racism.
4
 Forret, Jeff, 2006. Race Relations at the Margins: Slaves And Poor Whites in the Antebellum
Southern Countryside. Louisiana State University Press.
 Garcia, Ignacio M., 1997. Chicanismo: The Forging of a Militant Ethos among Mexican
Americans.
 Garcia, Ignacio M., 2008. White But Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury Discrimination, and
the Supreme Court. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
 Hall, John R. 1992. The Capital(s) of Cultures: A Nonholistic Approach to Status Situations,
Class, Gender, and Ethnicity, in Cultivating Differences, M. Lamont and M. Fournier, eds.
 Hochschild, Jennifer, 1995. Facing Up to the American Dream.
 Lareau, Annette, 2011. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second Edition
with an Update a Decade Later. University of California Press.
 Morning, Ann, 2011. The Nature of Race: How Scientists Think and Teach about Human
Difference. University of California Press.
 Portes, Alejandro and Ruben G. Rumbaut. 2006. Immigrant America: A Portrait. Third
edition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
 Rugh, Susan Sessions, 2008. Are We There Yet?: The Golden Age of American Family
Vacations. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
 Steinberg, Stephen, 1981, 1989, 2001, The Ethnic Myth; 1995, 2001, Turning Back; 2007,
Race Relations: A Critique.
 Waters, Mary, 1990. Ethnic Options.
 West, Cornell, 1992. Race Matters.
NOTE TO STUDENTS:
While all students sign the honor code, there are still specific skills most students need to master
over time in order to correctly cite sources, especially in this new age of the internet; as well as
deal with the stress and strain of college life without resorting to cheating. Please know that as
your professor I will notice instances of cheating on exams or plagiarizing on papers.
BYU students should seek to be totally honest in their dealings with others. They should complete
their own work and be evaluated based upon that work. They should avoid academic dishonesty
and misconduct in all its forms, including plagiarism, fabrication or falsification, cheating, and
other academic misconduct. Students are responsible not only to adhere to the Honor Code
requirement to be honest but also to assist other students in fulfilling their commitment to be
honest. (Academic Honesty Policy available at http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/academichonesty-details)
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any
participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended
to eliminate sex discrimination in education. Title IX covers programs, admissions, activities,
and student-to-student sexual harassment. BYU’s policy against sexual harassment extends not
only to employees of the university but to students as well. If you encounter unlawful sexual
harassment or gender based discrimination, please talk to your professor; contact the Equal
Employment Office at 378-5895 or 367-5689 (24-hours); or contact the Honor Code Office at
378-2847.
Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere which
reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability which
may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Services for
5
Students with Disabilities Office (378-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are
reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated
with the student and instructor by the SSD office. If you need assistance or if you feel you have
been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through
established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Equal Employment Office
at 378-5895, D-282 ASB.
6