Sociology 265
Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Fall 2013
Monday 7-9:50PM
Rossey Hall Rm. 509
Professor Max Herman
Rossey Hall 541
Office Hours: MW 11-12, W2-4,Th 4-6pm
Or by appointment
Ph: 201-200-2280
E-mail: mherman2@njcu.edu
Course Themes
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a sociological framework for understanding
racial and ethnic relations in America: past, present, and future. In the first part of the course we
will seek to integrate micro and macro sociological perspectives on race, ranging from individual
and group theories of prejudice to systemic explanations based upon large-scale
political/economic arrangements. The second part of the course focuses substantively on
immigration and its consequences for " American" society. Here we will discuss concepts of
assimilation and ethnic identity, and will engage in current debates regarding immigration and
language policy. Finally, we will turn our attention to the plight of racial minorities in present-day
urban America, examining structural and cultural explanations for the persistence of poverty in
minority communities--the "underclass debate". Utilizing these explanations we will then ask what
can be done to alleviate racial/ethnic inequality. We will critically evaluate current social policies,
e.g. welfare and affirmative action, with the ultimate goal of generating informed citizenship on
political issues involving race in present day America.
On-line Course Information (Blackboard)
Follow the steps below to log into Blackboard:
l.
2.
3.
Use your Web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc) ) to
locate the following URL: blackboard.njcu.edu
Type in your GothicNet ID in the User name field, and your GothicNet
password in the Password field, and click the OK button.
Note: This is the ID and password you use to access the NJCU GothicNet
portal to register for classes, check your grades, or access other campus
information.
All online courses in which you are enrolled appear on your My Courses.
To enter the Soc 254 course, click on the link for the course Racial and
Cultural Minorities
After entering the course site in Blackboard, scroll to the left menu
bar and click on Syllabus. Click on the file to get a copy of the
course syllabus. On the Blackboard Site you will also find
Announcements on class meeting times, Learning Modules
containing lecture notes and readings for each week, Discussion
Boards and Assignments.
Grading Policy
Attendance 10%
Weekly Discussion Board Postings 30%
3 Writing Assignments 60%
Attendance (10% of the total grade)
You are expected to attend class on a regular basis. At the beginning of class I will pass around a
sign in sheet and will gather these sheets approximately fifteen minutes into the class period. If you
are more than fifteen minutes late to class on a given day, you will not be able to sign the
attendance sheet, so please be on time. I expect you be prepared for class and to participate in class
discussions.
Discussion Board Postings (30% of the total grade)
To help spark class discussion and to gauge your progress in keeping up with the readings, I will
set up Discussion Forums for each week of class in Blackboard WebCT. For each discussion
forum, add a “new thread” or respond to a posting by one of your classmates detailing your
response to something in the readings that sparked your interest or which you would like to discuss
further. Feel free to comment on recent events in the news as they pertain to the topics in the
reading or share relevant example which illustrate the main themes in the reading. Remember to
post your comments by Monday of each week for the material that is currently being discussed. At
the end of the semester I will add up the grades of the best five postings
Writing Assignments (60% of the total grade)
The remaining 60% of the grade will be based on three written assignments, approximately 4-6
pgs., double spaced, corresponding to each unit of material (e.g. lectures, readings, films). Each of
these assignments will count for twenty five percent of your final grade, for a combined total of
75%. The purpose of the writing assignments is to allow you to reflect on the materials presented
in lectures and readings, and to explore the art of writing from a sociological perspective. In these
papers you will be asked to develop an argument, deal with counter-arguments and support your
argument with evidence (statistics, quotes and relevant personal experiences). I strongly
encourage you to bring in outlines and rough drafts of your papers prior to the due date so that we
can work together on analytical and writing skills.
Assignment #1, handed out 9/30, Due 10/14
Assignment #2, handed out 11/11. Due 11/25
Assignment #3 handed out 12/2. Due 12/16
Required Books:
Gallagher, Charles. Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Mayfield Publishing
Company, 5h Edition, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-0078026638 (This is the main text for the course)
Steinberg, Stephen. The Ethnic Myth: Race, Ethnicity and Class in America. Beacon Press, 1989. ISBN:
0807041513
Mills, Nicolaus ed. Arguing Immigration: The Debate Over the Changing Face of America.Touchstone
Books, 1994. ISBN: 0671895583
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut. Immigrant America: A Portrait. University of California Press,
1996. ISBN: 0520207653
Recommended (not required for purchase)
Cose, Ellis. Color-Blind: Seeing Beyond Race in a Color Obsessed World. Harper Collins Perennial, 1998.
ISBN: 0060928875
Graves, Joseph Jr. The Race Myth: Why We Pretend Race Exists in America. Plume/Penguin Books ISBN#
0-452-28658-1
Massey, Douglas and Nancy Denton. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass.
Harvard University Press, 1994 ISBN: 0674018214
Wilson, William J. The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions.
University of Chicago Press, 1980 ISBN: 0226901297
Wilson, William J. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass, and Public Policy.
University of Chicago Press, 1987, 1990.
Robinson, Randall. The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks. Plume Publishers, 2001. ISBN#
0452282101
Course Outline
Unit 1- The Reality of Race
Week 1-9/9. Introduction, Is Race Real?
Harris, Marvin. “How Our Skins Got Their Color” pgs. 7-8 in Gallagher.
Snipp, C Mathhew. “Defining Race and Ethnicity” pgs 22-32 in Gallagher
Cose, Ellis. “If Destiny is not all in the genes, why do we keep looking there?”, Chapter 2 pgs 27-49 in
Color-Blind. (Blackboard)
Graves, Joseph L. “How Biology Refutes Our Racial Myths” Chapter 1 in The Race Myth (Blackboard)
Graves, Joseph F. “Europeans, Not West Africans Dominate the NBA: The Social Construction of Race
and Sports”. Chapter 6 in The Race Myth (Blackboard)
*Film-Race the Power of an Illusion, Part 1 (shown in class)
Week 2 The Historical Construction of Race in the U.S.-9/16
Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. "Racial Formations" pgs.17-22 in Gallagher
Zinn, Howard. "Drawing the Color Line" pgs 9-17 in Gallagher
Davis, F. James. “Defining Race: Comparative Perspectives” pgs 53-62 in Gallagher
Espiritu, Yen Le. “Asian American Pan-ethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities” pgs79-86 in
Gallagher.
Lee, Jennifer and Frank D. Bean. “Beyond Black and White: Remaking Race in America” pgs 86-91 in
Gallagher
Gans, Herbert. “The Possibility of a New Racial Hierchy in the 21st Century United States pgs 106-144 in
Gallagher
*Film-Race: The Power of an Illusion, Part 2
Weeks 3 and 4 Prejudice and Discrimination. 9/23
Blumer, Herbert. "Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position" pgs 117-122 in Gallagher
Merton, Robert. " Discrimination and the American Creed" pgs 127-134 in Gallagher
Lipsitz, George. “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness” p139-147 in Gallagher
Film-Race: The Power of an Illusion, Part 3
*Arendt, Hannah. Eichmann in Jerusalem
* Film-Do the Right Thing (available at local video stores and Guarini Library)
Week 4. Institutional Racism. 9/30
Braverman, Amy. “Kristen vs Aisha; Brad vs. Rasheed: What’s in a Name and How it Affects Getting a
Job” pg 250 in Gallagher
Massey, Doug. “Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Conditions in US Metropolitan Areas”
p1158-175 in Gallagher
Zenk, Shannon. “Why Are There No Healthy Supermarkets in My Neighborhood” p204-208 in Gallagher
Bullard, Robert. " Environmental Justice in the 21st Century: Race Still Matters p192-203 in Gallagher
Movement" pgs 184-195 in Gallagher
Cole, David. “No Equal Justice: The Color of Punishment” pg 211-217 in Gallagher.
Bobo, Lawrence and Victor Thompson. “Racialized Mass Incarceration: Rounding Up the Usual Suspects”
pgs 225-229 in Gallagher
Cose, Ellis. Colorblind. Chapters 3 and 4
*Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities
*Anderson, Elijah. “The Police and the Black Male” Chapter 7 in Streetwise
*Film-Unequal Education-BillMoyers (personal copy)
****First Writing Assignment Handed Out 9/30, Due 10/14******
Week 5- Race in the Media, 10/7
Dirks, Daniel and Jennifer Mueller “Racism and Popular Culture” pgs 285-295 in Gallagher
The Media as a System of Racialization: Exploring Images of African-American Women and the New
Racism pgs 295-301 in Gallagher
Kennedy, Randall. “Captain Kirk Kisses Lieutenant Uhuru: Interracial Intimacies-The View from
Hollywood” pgs 368-373 in Gallagher
Edison, Alicia and George Yancy. “Black and White in Movies”: Portrayals of Black-White Biracial
Characters in Movies” pgs 301-303 in Gallagher
Merskin, Deborah. “Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches and Dakotas: The Persistence of Stereotyping of
American Indians in American Advertising and Brands” p304-310 in Gallagher
*Lichter, S Robert and Daniel Amundsen "Distorted Reality: Hispanic Characters in TV
Entertainment" pgs 310-320 in Gallagher 4th edition (available on Blackboard)
*Hagedorn, Jessica. "Asian women in film: no joy, no luck." Ms. Magazine v4, n4 (Jan-Feb,
1994):74-79 (available on Blackboard)
*Cho, Cindy et al. “Yellow Myths on the Silver Screen”. (available at
http://web.mit.edu/21h.153j/www/aacinema/)
Film-Ethnic Notions (shown in class)
* Film-Hispanic Hollywood.
Week 6-Political Economy of Race-Race vs Class Inequality, 10/14
Wilson. William J. “The Declining Significance of Race” pgs 125-132 in Yetman, Norman R. Majority and
Minority. Allyn and Bacon, 1991 (available on Blackboard)
Cose, Ellis. The Rage of a Privileged Class. Chapter 1. (Available on Black Board)
Shapiro, Thomas. “Transformative Assets, The Racial Wealth Gap and the American Dream” pg57-60 in
Gallagher. 4th edition (Blackboard)
Staples, Robert. "The Illusion of Racial Equality: The Black American Dilemma" pgs 481-490 in Gallagher
(available on Blackboard)
Unit 2-Immigration and Immigration Policv
Week 7. Immigration, Acculturation and Assimilation. 10/21
Gordon, Milton. Assimilation in American Life. Chapters 3-5 (available on Blackboard)
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut. Immigrant America. Chapters 1-2, 5- 6
Steinberg, Stephen. “The Melting Pot and the Color Line” pgs 321-326 in Gallagher
Week 8-The Second Generation and Beyond. 10/28
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut. Immigrant America. Chapters 4 and 7
Suleiman, Michael. “The Arab Immigrant Experience” pgs 337-349 in Gallagher
Waters, Mary ."Ethnic and Racial Identities of Second Generation Black Immigrants in New York City"
pgs 349-360 in Gallagher
Steinberg, Stephen. “The Ethnic Crisis in American Society”. Chapt. 2 in The Ethnic Myth
* Film-Hispanics: The Second Generation
Week 9. Immigration and Ethnic Competition: Jobs, Space, Power. 11/4
Portes and Rumbaut. Immigrant America. Chapter 3
Waldinger, Roger. "When the Melting Pot Boils Over: The Irish, Jews, Blacks, and
Koreans of New York" pgs. 241-249 in Gallagher
Bao, Xiaolin “Sweatshops in Sunset Park: A Variation of Late Twentieth Century Chinese Garment Shops”
p261-275 in Gallagher
Kandel, William and Emilio Parrado “Hispanics in the American South and the Transformation of the
Poultry Industry” pgs 275-284 in Gallagher
Miles, Jack. "Blacks vs Browns" pgs 101-142 in Mills ed. Arguing Immigration
Morrison, Tony. "On the Backs of Blacks" pgs. 97-100 in Mills ed. Arguing Immigration
Steinberg, Stephen. “Racial and Ethnic Conflict in the 20th Century” Chapt 8 in The Ethnic Myth
*Bergesen, Albert and Max Herman “Immigration, Race and Riot: The 1992 Los Angeles
Uprising” American Sociological Review, February 1998. (available on Blackboard)
Week 10 Immigration Policy: A Costs/Benefits Analysis
11/11, 11/18
Portes and Rumbaut. Immigrant America. Chapt. 8 pgs 269-300
Borjas, George. "Tired, Poor, on Welfare" pgs 76-84 in Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing
Immigration
Francese, Peter. "Aging America Needs Foreign Blood" pgs 85-94 in Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing
Immigration
Rothenstein, Richard. " Immigration Dilemmas" pgs. 48-63 Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing Immigration
Fukuyama, Francis "Immigrants and Family Values pgs 151-168 in Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing Immigration
Auster, Lawrence. " The Forbidden T opic" pgs. 169-175 in Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing Immigration
Conover, Ted " The United States of Asylum" pgs. 183-198 in Mills, Nicholaus. Arguing Immigration
*Film-Lone Star
********Second Writing Assignment Handed Out 11/12, Due 11/25
Unit 3. Race and Social Policy
Weeks 11 and 12. The "Culture of Poverty” and the “Urban Underclass”
11/25
Steinberg, Stephen. “The Culture of Poverty Reconsidered” Chapt. 4 in The Ethnic Myth (Blackboard)
Steinberg, Stephen. “The Jewish Horatio Alger Story”. Chapt. 3 in The Ethnic Myth (Blackboard)
Anderson, Elijah. "The Code of the Streets" pgs 176-184 in Gallagher
Gans, Herbert. “Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass” pgs 182-194 in
Gallagher 4th edition (Blackboard)
12/2
Wilson, William J. "When Work Disappears" pgs330-346 in Gallagher
Massey, Douglas. "Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Conditions in U.S. Metropolitan Areas” pgs
158-175 in Gallagher
Week 13.Towards a More Just Society? Affirmative Action and Beyond
12/9
Cose, Ellis. Colorblind pgs 97-214
Wilson, William J .The Truly Disadvantaged. Chapters 5, 7)
Robles, Barbara et al. “Policy Steps Toward Closing the Gap” pgs 393-400 in Gallagher
Gallagher, Charles. “Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Race Relations” pgs 400-403
Robinson, Randall. “Thoughts About Restitution” Chpt 9 in The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks.
Dutton Publishers, 2000 (available on Blackboard)
*Kahlenberg, Richard. The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action. Basic Books, 1997
******Third Writing Assignment Handed Out 12/2, Due 12/16 in the Soc. Dept office or via e-mail as
a Microsoft Word for Windows attachment************