Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Eric T. Meyer
Kauke 107
Ext. 2450
Sociology 214—Racial and Ethnic Groups in America
Spring 1994
Office Hours: Mon 11–12
Wed 2–3
Fri 11–12
or by appointment
Overview
American society is marked by the diversity of its people. Both cooperation and conflict between racial and ethnic groups
have transformed the social history of America and helped to shape its present form. Many authors (some of whom we will
be reading) have gone so far as to argue that the multicultural diversity of the United States is its defining characteristic.
Whether or not this is true, understanding the dynamics of racial and ethnic contact in an American context is crucial for
those aspiring to understand the broader sociological picture of the United States.
When examining issues as potentially explosive as race/ethnic relations, we need to retain as far as possible a spirit of
objectivity toward injustices perpetuated against minority groups. But as Gunnar Myrdal and others have eloquently
demonstrated, objectivity in the social sciences does not mean indifference to bigotry and injustice. Commitment to the
democratic goals of opportunity and equal rights requires an objective understanding of the forms and the scope of
oppression, however abhorrent such oppression may be to us in personal terms.
We will be reading and evaluating many of the seminal works written by sociologists interesting in racial and ethnic groups.
By the end of the course, you should be prepared to discuss the key ideas in this field and be able to apply these general
concepts to ethnic groups both in the United States and around the world. By synthesizing disparate points of view, you as
students will hopefully be able to draw on this knowledge when faced with seemingly incomprehensible ethnic divisions in
society.
PLEASE READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENTS. If there is
anything you don't understand, please ask.
Required Readings
Majority and Minority: The Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in American Life by Norman R. Yetman
Other required readings may be placed on reserve in the library from time to time in this course.
Course Requirements
Distribution of Grades and Due Dates
Date Due
Assignment
Book review: popular
Jan 24
Book review: scholarly
Jan 31
Midterm exam
Mar 4
Social history paper
Apr 25
Group project
As listed
Pop quizzes
As given
Participation
—
Final exam
May 4
Percentage of grade
10%
10%
15%
15%
10%
10%
15%
15%
100%
Assignment Instructions
General instructions for all written assignments are that they should be typed and double–spaced with standard 1" margins
and a normal sized type (e.g., Times 12 point). This equals approximately 250 words per page, and the pages
should be numbered. Spelling, grammar and writing style are all considered in awarding of grades. I do not accept
late papers for any reason, and all assignments are due at the BEGINNING of class on the assigned day.
Attendance and Participation
You are expected to attend class regularly and be an active participant in class discussions. Since such a large portion of
your grade (15%) requires class participation, it is in your best interests to work on this aspect of your course
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performance just as hard as you would on a term paper. Additionally, you are responsible for any information or
announcements made in class. I also encourage students to take advantage of my office hours to ask questions and
receive guidance on assignments.
Course Outline and Due Dates
In order to contribute to class discussions, you must have the assigned readings completed by the date that they are listed
below. From time to time, there will be pop quizzes based on the day's assigned readings. The amount of reading assigned
for the course varies from week to week. You should plan ahead using the course syllabus as a guide to avoid potential
“crunch” periods.
Week 1
Jan
10
12
14
Introductions, syllabus, assignments
Terminology
Read: Introduction to Part 1—Definitions and Perspectives
Due: Choices for book reviews and group presentations
Terminology
Week 2
17
19
21
NO CLASS–Martin Luther King, Jr.
Understanding Ethnicity
Read:Article 1—Berreman: Race, Caste and Other Invidious Distinctions in Social Stratification
Article 2—Horowitz: The Nature of Ethnic Affiliations
Article 5—Noel: A Theory on the Origin of Ethnic Stratification
Race versus Class
Read: Article 3—Bonacich: Class Approaches to Ethnicity and Race
Article 4—Nagel: The Political Construction of Ethnicity
Week 3
24
26
28
Race versus Class
Read: Article 6—Wilson: The Declining Significance of Race
Film: William Julius Wilson
Due: Review of popular book
Integration
Read: Introduction to Part 3—Patterns of Ethnic Integration in America
Article 11—Gordon: Assimilation in America
Integration
Read: Article 12—Hune: Pacific Migration to the United States
Article 13—Greeley: The Ethnic Miracle
Week 4
31
Feb
2
4
Assimilation and American Jews
Due: Review of scholarly book
Economic Aspects
Read:Article 14—Model: The Economic Progress of European and East Asian Americans
Article 16—Light: Immigrant and Ethnic Enterprise in North America
Article 18—Waldinger: Changing Ladders and Musical Chairs
Economic Aspects
Week 5
7
9
11
Religious Minorities
Film: Amish Portrait
Religious Minorities
To be announced
14
16
GROUP 1: Inequalities in Higher Education
Minorities on Campus
Week 6
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18
Film: Racism 101
Primary and Secondary Education
Read: pp. 107–112—Historical Perspectives of Asian–Americans
Article 9—Hirschman: The Extraordinary Educational Attainment of Asian–Americans
Article 15—Steinberg: Education and Ethnic Mobility
Week 7
21
23
25
GROUP 2: American Legal System & Minorities
American Public Policy and Ethnic Groups
NO CLASS
28
Native Americans
Read: pp. 87–92—Historical Perspectives of American Indians
Article 7—Lurie: The American Indian
Article 24—Snipp: American Indians and Natural Resource Development
Film: Of Land and Life—People of the Klamath
Native Americans
MIDTERM EXAM
Week 8
Mar
2
4
SPRING BREAK March 4–21
Week 9
21
23
25
Week 10
28
30
Apr
1
Week 11
4
6
8
African–Americans: Historical Background
Read: pp. 97-102—Historical Perspectives of African–Americans
Introduction to Part 4—Race and Ethnicity in 1980s America
African–Americans: The Urban Setting
Read: Article 27—Wacquant: The Cost of Racial and Class Exclusion in the Inner City
Article 28—Zinn: Family, Race, and Poverty in the Eighties
Blacks and Whites
Read: Article 23—Lieberson: A New Ethnic Group in the United States
Article 26—Jaynes: A Common Destiny
Black Coal Miners in Appalachia
GROUP 3: U.S. Immigration Policy
European Immigration
Read: pp. 92–97—Historical Perspectives of European–Americans
Article 10—Hershberg: A Tale of Three Cities
Article 21—Alba: The Twilight of Ethnicity among American Catholics of European Ancestry
Enclaves
Read: Article 17—Portes: The Immigrant Enclave
Article 19—Massey: Trends in the Residential Segregation of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians
SIMULATION: Wausau, Wisconsin City Council: The Hmong Immigrant Question
GROUP 4: Image of Minorities in the Media
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Week 12
11
13
15
Week 13
18
20
22
Week 14
25
Hispanic–Americans
Read: pp. 102–107—Historical Perspectives of Hispanic–Americans
Article 8—Estrada: Chicanos in the United States
Article 20—Portes: Making Sense of Diversity
Due: Social history paper abstract and working bibliography
Hispanic–Americans
Read: Article 25—Massey: The Social Organization of Mexican Migration to the United States
Film: Wrath of Grapes
SIMULATION: California Agriculture and Mexican Labor
GROUP 5: Affirmative Action
Symbolic Ethnicity
Read: Article 22—Gans: Symbolic Ethnicity
Global Inequality
Read: Article 29—Zolberg: The New Waves
International Ethnic Conflicts—Rwanda/Burundi and Mauritania
Due: Social history paper
International Ethnic Conflicts—Bosnia and Israel/Palestine
Conclusions
27
29
FINAL EXAM
May 4
7:30 PM (Wednesday)
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Sociology 214—Racial and Ethnic Groups, Spring 1994
Book Reviews (5 pages maximum + 1 page summary)
Due Monday, January 24 (Popular) and Monday, January 31 (Scholarly)
An important skill that you need to develop while in college, regardless of your future plans, is the ability to write a well–
reasoned critique and response to the written work of another author. When reading the books you will critique, you need
to keep several questions in mind that are essential to answer before beginning to write.
1. What seems to be the author's main purpose or point?
2. Is this purpose aimed at a particular group of readers?
3. What information or knowledge does the book convey?
4. What personal or practical meaning does the book have for you?
5. What are the most appropriate terms by which to evaluate the book?
6. Based on the criteria you have just selected, how successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall
purposes of the book?
Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to make an outline and then write the first draft of your review.
Most reviews follow a general pattern, although not all need to stick to a precise formula. At the top of the review should
be bibliographic information regarding the book. The format of this entry is:
Title. Author. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Number of pages.
Reviewed by Name of reviewer
After this, you may wish to follow this general outline.
1. A direct statement about the kind of book being reviewed and its main topic. This can be followed by a few sentences
about the reviewer's (your) evaluations. If the book raises any special problems, they should be mentioned
here, and discussed later in the review. This paragraph tells the reader where both the book and the review
are headed.
2. The general problem that the book addresses should be addressed here. Also, if possible, it is helpful to place the book in
context. In other words, what other books has this author written to get to this point? To what works by
other authors does this book respond?
3. A summary of the main points of the book should follow. Your discussion should be highlighted by using paraphrased
sections from the book and short quotations from the text to give an overview of the book's content. You
must be absolutely sure to distinguish between your ideas as the reviewer and the author's ideas in the
book. Among the aspects of the book's content to include are the subject matter, thesis, evidence presented,
methodology employed, effort by the author to place the book within a disciplinary context, and
conclusions reached.
4. The final part is a discussion evaluating how well the book has achieved its goals, musing over the possibilities suggested
by the book, arguing with specific points, and discussing matters that the book has left out. No matter how
far afield this discussion leads you, however, the final few sentences should return to a more direct
comment on the book and tie together the issues raised in the review. The final statement should leave the
reader with a sense of completion.
After completing this 5 page written assignment that will be given to me for evaluation, you then need to create an
abbreviated (“Reader's Digest”) version of your paper. This must fit on one page, but you should use single spacing to fit
the information on to one page. I will xerox a packet of all 25 of these one page book summaries to hand out to all
members of the class.
These xeroxed packets will serve several purposes. First, you will have a summary of 50 books at hand, but you will only
have to have read two. Second, when discussion of these books will help understand the day's topic, the person who read
and reviewed that particular book will be able to lead the discussion, and the other members of the class will be able to
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contribute based on their understanding of the summary. (Note: If you are absent from class on a day when you are called
on to discuss your summary, points will be subtracted from your participation grade. Conversely, being prepared and
doing well when called on, or volunteering information from your books, will improve your participation grade.) Finally, if
you choose to attend graduate school in the future, and one of these books is assigned at the last minute and you don't have
time to read it, you can pull out your summary and bull your way through class that day.
Popular Books
Allende, Isabel. 1993. The Infinite Plan: A Novel.
Angelou, Maya. 1970. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Angelou, Maya. 1981. The Heart of a Woman.
Brown, Dee. 1971. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Brown, Claude. 1965. Manchild in the Promised Land.
Castillo, Ana. 1993. So Far From God: A Novel.
Davis, Angela Y. 1975. Angela Davis: An Autobiography.
Deloria, Vine, Jr. 1969. Custer Died for Your Sins.
Gaines, Ernest J. 1993. A Lesson Before Dying.
Griffin, John Howard. 1960. Black Like Me.
Hansberry, Lorraine. 1988. A Raisin in the Sun.
Holway, John. 1989. Black Diamonds: Life in the Negro Leagues from the Men Who Lived It.
Hurston, Zora Neale. 1971. Jonah's Gourd Vine.
Kingston, Maxine Hong. 1980. China Men.
Malcolm X and Alex Haley. 1973. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Martin, Tony. 1983. Marcus Garvey, Hero: A First Biography.
Mathabane, Mark. 1992. Love in Black and White: The Triumph of Love over Prejudice and Taboo.
Naylor, Gloria. 1988. Mama Day.
Neihardt, John. 1972. Black Elk Speaks.
Nguyen-Hong-Nhiem, Lucy and Joel Martin Halpern. 1989. The Far East Comes Near: Autobiographical Accounts of
Southeast Asian Students in America.
Pogrebin, Letty Cottin. 1991. Deborah, Golda, and Me: Being Female and Jewish in America.
Porter, Conie Rose. 1991. All–Bright Court.
Roiphe, Anne Richardson. 1981. Generation without Memory: A Jewish Journey in Christian America.
Shakur, Assata. 1987. Assata: An Autobiography.
Sone, Monica. 1953. Nisei Daughter.
Walker, Alice. 1982. The Color Purple.
Scholarly Books
Asante, Molefi Kete. 1987. The Afrocentric Idea.
Blalock, Hubert M. 1967. Toward a Theory of Minority Group Relations.
Bullard, Robert D. 1990. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality.
Camarillo, Albert. 1979. Chicanos in A Changing Society.
Caplan, Nathan, John K. Whitmore and Marcella H. Choy. 1989. The Boat People and Achievement in America: A Study
of Family Life, Hard Work and Cultural Values.
Carmichael, Stokely and Charles Hamilton. 1967. Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America.
Daniels, Roger. 1977. The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti–Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for
Japanese Exclusion.
Glazer, Nathan and Daniel P. Moynihan. 1970. Beyond the Melting Pot.
Gordon, Milton. 1964. Assimilation in American Life.
Greeley, Andrew M. 1977. The American Catholic: A Social Portrait.
Hacker, Andrew. 1992. Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal.
Harrington, Michael. 1963. The Other America: Poverty in the United States.
Hosokawa, Bill. 1969. Nisei: The Quiet Americans.
Hostetler, John A. 1980. Amish Society.
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Josephy, Alvin M. 1982. Now that the Buffalo's Gone: A Study of Today's American Indians.
Knoll, Tricia. 1982. Becoming Americans: Asian Sojourners, Immigrants and Refugees in the Western United States.
Kraybill, Donald. 1989. The Riddle of Amish Culture.
Landry, Bart. 1987. The New Black Middle Class.
Lewis, Oscar. 1966. La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty, San Juan and New York.
Liebow, Elliot. 1967. Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Street Corner Men.
Loewen J. 1988. The Mississippi Chinese.
Madsen, William. 1973. The Mexican–Americans of South Texas.
McWilliams, Carey. 1951. Brothers Under the Skin.
Steinberg, Stephen. 1981. The Ethnic Myth: Race, Ethnicity and Class in America.
Sway, Marlene. 1988. Familiar Strangers: Gypsy Life in America.
Terry, Janice J. 1985. Mistaken Identity: Arab Stereotypes in Popular Writing.
Weglyn, Michi. 1976. Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps.
Whyte, William F. 1943. Street Corner Society.
Wilson, William J. 1980. The Declining Significance of Race.
Wilson, William J. 1987. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy.
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Sociology 214—Racial and Ethnic Groups, Spring 1994
Social History Paper (10–12 pages)
Due Monday, April 25
The purpose of this paper is to produce a medium length (10–12 page) paper that provides an in–depth understanding using
research of the social history of a particular ethnic group, conflict or subgroup. Since this is a research paper, you will
obviously need to use the library. I would imagine that for a paper of this length, no less than 8 sources would be adequate.
Citation style
We don't use footnotes in sociology, but use the following citation style. Basically, you need to provide the name of the
author and the year of the publication each time you reference it. If you a referring to specific information from the text,
rather than just a summary of the general ideas of the author, or if you a specifically quoting the author, you also need to
provide page numbers. You do not need to cite generally known information (e.g., the Industrial Revolution took place in
the 19th century.)
Examples:
1. In Grobnick's (1978) discussion of . . .
2. Several authors have pointed out the similarities between Nixon and Lincoln (Bailey, 1974; Nixon et. al., 1979).
3. The singers argued that “there is no new frontier, we have to make it here” (Eagles, 1984: 2).
4. Unfortunately, many words ring true many decades later.
Flaming youth has become a flaming question. And youth comes to us wanting to know what we may propose to
do about a society that hurts so many of them (Roosevelt, 1936: 5).
References Cited
The last page of your paper should be a “References Cited” page. This is not a bibliography. Bibliographies are extensive,
exhaustive lists of texts on a subject. You will list only those works you have specifically cited in your paper. Use the
following format for each type of source (note that you will not use the subheadings “Books,” etc...):
Books:
Liebow, Elliot. 1967. Tally's Corner. Boston: Little, Brown.
Article in edited volume:
Lyle J. and H.R. Hoffman. 1972. “Children's Use of Television and Other Media” in E.A. Rubenstein, G.A. Comstock,
and J.P. Murray, eds., Television and Social Behavior: Volume 4, Television in Everyday Life.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Journal articles:
Noel, David L. 1968. “A Theory of the Origin of Ethnic Stratification.” Social Problems 16:157–172.
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Sociology 214—Racial and Ethnic Groups, Spring 1994
Group Research Project
For this project, the class will be divided into 5 groups of 4–5 people each. On the day assigned, your group will first
present information on the topic and then lead the class discussion. Although it will be necessary for the group as a whole
to coordinate efforts, each student must individually be responsible for presenting some aspect of the topic to the class.
You are encouraged to utilize a variety of methods to present the information. You can give a short lecture, make handouts,
use visual aids, do a performance, or whatever else will help present the topic more effectively.
The content of the presentation should include information not already included in the readings for the course. While you
can draw on people's book reviews, your group should plan to assign each member of the group an aspect of the topic to
research. This research should include journal articles, popular magazine articles, newspaper reports, and possibly relevant
books. You will need to distill this information down into clear, concise discussion of the topic to help the other members
of the class understand the issues involved.
In planning your time, you should plan on about 25 minutes to deliver information to the class, and then allow 25 minutes
for questions, follow–up and discussion. Your group will be responsible for initiating the discussion, so be sure to plan
some possible discussion topics for this portion of your presentation as well. In this project, you will sink or swim as a
group, with all members of the group receiving the same grade based on the overall quality of the class period. If a group is
unable to give its presentation on the day they were scheduled, they will all receive a failing grade. If any member of the
group does not show up on the day their group is scheduled, just that individual will receive a failing grade. There will be
no exceptions to this policy.
Additionally, approximately one week before the day when your presentation is scheduled, your group should schedule a
time to meet with me and briefly outline what you are planning to do. This does not need to be a formal proposal—the 4 or
5 of you can just meet with me for 10–15 minutes after class one day to let me know what's up.
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