Prof. Kari Winter
Class time: 5:00-6:20
Classroom: 322 Clemens
Office: Clemens 1010B
Office Hours: T & Th 3:30-4:30
Contact: 645-0827; kwinter2@buffalo.edu
UGC 211: American Pluralism
Fall 2009
Reasonable people can disagree. This may seem like an obvious statement, but both history and daily life
provide ample evidence that most people have enormous difficulty tolerating difference. This course
focuses on the sorts of differences (racial, religious, gendered, sexual, political, and economic) to which
human beings often respond with hatred and violence. It is a course that requires you to exercise your
capacity to be a reasonable, tolerant scholar who will consider difficult issues with a mind that is open to
multiple, conflicting perspectives. We will examine several major issues in American culture by reading,
discussing, and writing about texts produced by intellectuals and artists from many disciplines, including
literature, visual arts, film, political science, history, economics, sociology and mainstream media.
Required text (available at U B bookstore):
Gary Colombo et al., Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.
Course Requirements and M ethod of E valuation:
A ttendance and Participation: You are required to attend class and to participate in discussions in an
informed manner. By informed, I mean that you need to complete each day’s reading or viewing
assignment before class and come to class prepared to discuss it. You sometimes will be required to
make group or individual reports to the class and to complete short in-class writing assignments or
quizzes. Missing class, arriving late, and/or leaving early will negatively affect your grade. (25% of
final grade)
T hree written exams, including the final exam: A combination of objective short answers & analytical
essays. (25% each)
Schedule
T
9/1
Introductions.
1. H armony at Home: T he M yth of the Model F amily
Th 9/3 Read:
Norman Rockwell, A F amily Tree, F reedom from Want, and F reedom from Fear
G ary Soto, Looking for Work
Stephanie Coontz, What We Really Miss About the 1950s
T 9/8
Th 9/10
Read:
M elvin Dixon, Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt
Roger Jack, An Indian Story
Judy Root A ulette, from Changing American F amilies
Read:
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of American Families
Rick Santorum, It Takes a F amily: Conservatism and the Common Good
E van Wolfson, What Is Marriage?
2. L earning Power: T he M yth of E ducation and Empowerment
T 9/15
Horace M ann, from Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, 1848
M ichael Moore, Idiot Nation
John T aylor G atto, Against School
M ike Rose, " I Just Wanna Be Average"
Th 9/17 Jean A nyon, from Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of Education and Empowerment
Inés H ernández-Á vila, Para Teresa
T 9/22
M alcolm X, Learning to Read
Deborah T annen, The Roots of Debate in Education and the Hope of Dialogue
Jonathan K ozol, Still Separate, Still Unequal
Th 9/24 Exam #1
3. Money and Success: T he M yth of Individual O pportunity
T 9/29 Horatio Alger, from Ragged Dick
Toni C ade Bambara, The Lesson
H arlon L. Dalton, Horatio Alger
Th 10/1 Barbara E hrenreich, Serving in Florida
G regory M antsios, Class in America –– 2003
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of Individual Opportunity
T 10/6 Dana G ioia, Money (poem)
Sharon O lds, From Seven F loors Up (poem)
Diana K endall, F raming Class: Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption
Studs T er kel , Stephen Cruz
A nne W itte G arland, Good Noise: Cora Tucker
4. T rue Women and Real M en: M yths of Gender
Th 10/8 Alexis de Tocqueville, How the Americans Understand the Equality of the Sexes
Jamaica K incaid, Girl
A aron H . Devor, Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender
T 10/13 Judith O rtiz Cofer, The Story of My Body
M aysan H aydar, Veiled Intentions: Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of Gender
Th 10/15 Jean K ilbourne, " Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt " : Advertising and Violence
Joan Morgan, F rom Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos
T 10/20
H arvey M ansfield, The Manliness of Men
Deborah Rudacille, The Hands of God
C armen V áázquez, Appearances
Th 10/22 Exam #2
5. C reated E qual: T he M yth of the M elting Pot
T 10/27 T homas Jefferson, From Notes on the State of Virginia
E llis Cose, Discharging a Debt
V incent N. Par rillo, Causes of Prejudice
Th 10/29 Studs T er kel , C.P. Ellis
Paul L . W achtel, Talking About Racism : How Our Dialogue Gets Short-Circuited
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of the Melting Pot
T 11/3
George M . F redrickson, Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective
Ruben M artinez , The Crossing
Th 11/5
Sherman Alexie, Assi milation
K enji Yoshino, The Pressure to Cover
A urora L evins Morales, Child of the Americas
6. O ne Nation Under God: A merican M yths of C hurch and State
T 11/10 A nne L amott, Overture: Lilly Pads
David K upelian, Killer Culture
Bill Mc K ibben, The Christian Paradox: How a F aithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong
Th 11/12 E ric M arcus, The Bridge Builder: Kathleen Boatwright
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of American Myths of Church and State
Diana L. E ck, Afraid of Ourselves
T 11/17
M aria Poggi Johnson, Us and Them
James M adison, Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments
Th 11/19 Noah F eldman, Schools and Morals
Sam H ar ris, Reason in Exile
7. L and of Liberty: T he M yth of F reedom in a " New World O rder "
T 11/24 A lbert J. Beveridge, The March of the Flag
M ar k Hertsgaard, The Oblivious E mpire
Joel A ndreas, The War on Terrorism
T 12/1
Th 12/3
T 12/8
Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of America’s Meaning in a "New World Order"
E yal Press, In Torture We Trust?
Todd G itlin, Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.
Henry David Thoreau, Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience)
L angston H ughes, Let America Be America Again
Review for final exam
Final exam: time and place tba