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Texas State University-San Marcos
Sociology 3327 Multicultural Relations FALL 2013
Course#17228 Section 2 11:00 am to 12:50am meets at UAC 410
Dr. Gloria P. Martínez-Ramos
Sociology Dept. Phone: 245-2113
E-mail: gm21@txstate.edu
Office Hours: MW 10-11am Tues.
Office: UAC #457
Thursday 1-2 pm & Appointment
Office Phone: 245-2470
TA: Jonafa Banbury UAC #429 Phone: 512-245-2769
Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:30-2:00 and by appointment
E-mail: js13016@txstate.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the social nature and problems inherent in race and ethnic groups. Historical and
contemporary social inter-ethnic group contacts and relations will be presented and discussed using a
sociological perspective highlighting the uniqueness of multiculturalism in the field of sociology. The
course will critically examine how social and cultural forces such as colonialism, imperialism,
immigration, and globalization affect race and ethnic contacts in the United States. This class will
employ a comparative analysis that examines different ethnic groups’ history, social status, and
experiences in the United States. There are NO Prerequisites for this class. This class fulfills the General
Concepts requirement for those minoring in Diversity Studies.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Understand and apply basic concepts sociological theories related to social inequality, race and ethnic
relations, and immigration/migration.
2. Students will learn about how U.S. is made up of people from many different ethnic backgrounds and the
relationship between globalization and immigration.
3. Demonstrate increased self-awareness and social responsibility about how attitudes and beliefs influence
perceptions and interactions among individuals and groups who are ethnically different.
4. Through writing and class discussions students will develop a critical awareness about social inequality,
apply data analysis, and problem solving using quantitative and qualitative data.
5. Students will learn how to triangulate information as it related to understanding multiculturalism.
6. Students will engage in inter-group interaction and learning.
7. Students will develop various academic competencies of writing, oral communication in a group setting,
in addition to work-world related behaviors, punctuality, effort, class involvement, willingness to work
with others in groups, and individual learning assignments,
REQUIRED READINGS:
Title: Rethinking the Color Line: Readings In Race and Ethnicity by Charles A. Gallagher
Title: A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki
Note: Supplementary readings will be uploaded on TRACS and
Documentary films will be used to supplement class lectures.
**************All books can be purchased at the University Bookstore, Colloquium Bookstore or
Textbook Solutions or Amazon.com.*****************
GRADING:
Your final grade is based on your total accumulated weighted percentage points:
1. Class Attendance and Participation (10%)
2. Quizzes (TRACS) (30%) (TRACS Assessments)
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3. Mid-Term Exam (30%) (In Class)
4. Final Exam (30%) (In Class)
Quizzes are based on readings and some films the questions on the quizzes will be Multiple Choice, True/False,
and Short Answer/Essay. All exams will be a combination of True and False questions, Multiple Choice
Questions, and Essay questions. The information that you will be tested on is based on the readings and in-class
lectures. Grading is based on the average percent grade in each criterion multiplied by the weighted percent.
For example if you get a 90% on your quizzes then you calculate 90 X .30=27 percentage points. At the end of
the semester all of your weighted percentage points are added to make up your final percent grade. I do not
give incompletes in this class and there will be NO EXTRA CREDIT.
Final Grade
A
=
B
=
C
=
(90-100)
(80-89)
(70-79)
D
F
=
=
(60-69)
(below 60)
CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (10%) You must submit a discussion question based
on the readings to class and be present the entire class time to be counted. You can miss 2 days (equal to a
week of lecture) and it will not affect your attendance grade. But, thereafter your attendance grade will be
docked for each day you miss. This attendance policy applies to Texas State athlete who may miss class
because of a scheduled game day. If you leave class early or attend half of the class time you will get half
credit in attendance. When you are in class I expect that students will have their cell phones turned off
and not be text messaging. Computers are not allowed in class. See Department Media Policy attached to
syllabus. If you are disruptive in class you the instructor reserves the right to ask you to leave the class.
Group Discussion: All students will be treated with respect, dignity and civility. When you are in class I expect
that students to not disrupt others students learning. A careful and complete reading of the assignments is
required. Be prepared for class. I will not tolerate inattention, incivility, or vulgarity either to me or to other
students. When another student is speaking, I expect you to give him or her your undivided attention. If you
disagree with something that is said in class, you will be given the chance to express your disagreement politely.
If you are disruptive to others in class I will reserve the right to ask you to leave the class or speak with you
personally.
Promptness/Staying the entire class period: You should arrive to class on time. You should stay in class until it is
over unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Do not get up and leave during a class session, unless
you are ill and have spoken with me prior to the class meeting. Attention to the course material during our class
meetings: Do not read newspapers, magazines, or any other material including electronic devices during this
class meeting unless it pertains to what we’re doing. Everyone will contribute sharing the responsibility in
making are class a positive experience. You’re thorough understanding of the readings is crucial for meaningful
class discussion as well as your own learning. It is your responsibility to find out about any missed course
material, including announcements and handouts given at any time during the class meeting.
Class lectures cannot be audio or video recorded in any way (telephone, camera, tape-recorded) without my (the
Professor’s or Teaching Assistant) permission. It is your responsibility to find out about any missed course
material, including announcements and handouts given at any time during the class meeting. Dropping a class is
the student’s responsibility. Never assume that I will drop you from the class. If you fail to drop the class, you
may end up with a failing “F” grade at the end of the class session. I do not give “I” as a grade in this class. The
Professor reserves the right to ask the student to leave the class if the student is disrupting the class.
All visitors (a visitor is someone who is not formally registered in the class) must request permission from the
instructor to attend or audit the class, this includes guests, family and friends of a student who is enrolled in this
course.
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LATE WORK
Make up exams will only be given in the event of a medical or other serious emergency and you must give me a
written document describing the date and nature of your emergency and must show documentation, for example, a
doctor’s note or police report. Otherwise, you will receive a zero on your exam or quiz. The exam must be made
up within a week of the due date of the exam.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
If you require an accommodation(s) to participate in this course, please contact me as soon as possible. It is your
responsibility as a student to contact the ODS and inform us of your accommodations. You will be asked to
provide documentation from the Office of Disability Services. Failure to contact me in a timely manner may delay
your accommodations. Go to http://www.ods.txstate.edu/Faculty-Resources/Resources.html
COLLEGIALITY/CRITICAL THINKING
As part of this course, we will be discussing issues that are very controversial. All ideas will be held up
to examined intellectually with civility. You will be presented with a variety of thoughts about these
topics and it is up to you to decide where you stand on the various issues. I will make an effort to help
you learn the class material. In other words, I will be prepared for class and when you are speaking, you
will have my undivided attention.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Students who cheat or plagiarize on an exam or paper will receive an automatic zero on the exam. I do
not give out grades over the phone or via e-mail in order to protect student confidentiality. The phrase,
academic dishonesty, includes a variety of violations. It refers to acts such as cheating on a test to
committing plagiarism when writing a paper. The Sociology Department assumes that it is the
responsibility of each student to know what constitutes academic dishonesty. A lack of understanding of
the phrase is no excuse when academic dishonesty is at issue. Similarly, a student may not be excused
from a current violation because he/she committed a similar act in the past and was not charged with a
violation of university policy. Any student who is accused with academic dishonesty has the right to
challenge the accusation, but the challenge must be submitted in writing and in accordance with Texas
State University-San Marcos policy. University statements regarding academic dishonest can be found at
the following website, http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-1001.html)http://www.mrp.txstate.edu:16080/studenthandbook/rules.html#academic
(Texas State Handbook)
http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01.html
(Academic Honesty, UPPS No. 07.10.01
The complete statement on the policy of the Department of Sociology regarding academic dishonesty
(including plagiarism) is available on the departmental website www.soci.txstate.edu. I do not give out
grades over the phone or via e-mail in order to protect student confidentiality. If you do not feel that you
can finish the requirements of this course, then you should drop the course by the Texas State UniversitySan Marcos guidelines. If you need to earn a certain grade in this course (e.g. to maintain a scholarship,
to graduate, or to maintain your academic status for athletics or otherwise), then it is your responsibility to
earn that grade.
OFFICE HOURS
I will be available to you outside of class during office hours should you desire help, clarification, etc. If you
need to contact me, you may do one of the following: send me an e-mail message (best way to contact me), leave
a message on my office phone voice mail, or of course, drop by my office during office hours. I will return
student emails and phone calls within 48 hours.
Sociology 3327 Tuesday and Thursday Fall 2013 Course Schedule
Week 1 August 27 & 29
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Introduction to Soc. 3327 and in class Introductions
Takaki: Chapter 1 A Different Mirror: The Making of Multicultural America
In Class See film: “W.E.B. DuBois”
Week 2 September 5
Gallagher: Introduction and Part 1
Takaki: Chapter 2 Before Columbus: Vinland
Adams et al. (TRACs) The Cycle of Socialization by Bobbi Haro
See Lecture in class: Calvin College Inner Compass: Dr. Trepagnier Silent Racism
Week 3 September 10 & 12
Gallagher: 8 Defining Race: Comparative Perspectives F. James Davis
Gallagher: 4 Defining Race and Ethnicity C. Matthew Snipp
Gallagher: 2 Drawing the Color Line Howard Zinn Seeing the Big Picture: The Social Construction of
Race, 1790–2000
In Class See film: “Race The Power of an Illusion Part 1”
Week 4 September 17 & 19
Gallagher: Part II Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism
Takaki: Chapter 3 The Hidden Origins of Slavery
Gallagher: 35 Hispanics in the American South and the Transformation of the Poultry Industry by
William Kandel and Emilio A. Parrado. Seeing the Big Picture: How is Upward Mobility Linked to
Education, Occupation and Immigration?
In Class See Film: “Race the Power of an Illusion Part 2”
Week 5 September 24 & 26
Gallagher: 3 Racial Formations Michael Omi and Howard Winant
Gallagher: 15 Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position Herbert Blumer and Seeing the Big Picture:
Racism: Group Position or Individual Belief?
In Class see film: “The Color of Fear”
Adams et al. (TRACS) Identities and Social Locations by Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey
Week 6 October 1 & October 3
Takaki: Chapter 4 Toward “The Stony Mountains”: From Removal to Reservation”
Takaki: Chapter 5 “No More Peck o’Corn”: Slavery and Its Discontents
Takaki Chapter 6 “Fleeing “The Tyrant’s Heel”: “Exiles” from Ireland
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In Class See Film: “Race the Power of an Illusion Part 3”
Week 7 October 8 & 10
Gallagher: 5 Racialized Social System Approach to Racism Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Takaki: Chapter 7 “Foreigners in Their Native Land: The War Against Mexico and
Takaki: Chapter 8 Searching for Gold Mountain: Strangers from a Different Shore
See film: “A Class Apart”
Week 8 October 15 October 17 (review for exam)
Takaki: Chapter 9 The “Indian Question”: From Reservation to Reorganization
Gallagher: 12 Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in
Post-Race America Charles A. Gallagher
See film See film “H2 Worker” (Global/International)
Week 9 Midterm Exam October 22
Thursday Class October 24
See Parts of Film In Class: “In Whose Honor?” and “Reel Injun”
Week 10 October 29 & 31
Gallagher: 36 Racism and Popular Culture Danielle Dirks and Jennifer Mueller
Gallagher: 37 The Media as a System of Racialization: Exploring Images of African American Women
and the New Racism Marci Bounds Littlefield
Gallagher: 39 Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches, and Dakotas: The Persistence of Stereotyping of
American Indians in American Advertising and Brands Debra Merskin and Seeing the Big Picture: The
Tomahawk Chop: Racism in Image and Action
Gallagher: 38 Black and White in Movies: Portrayals of Black-White Biracial Characters in Movies
Alicia Edison and George Yancey
Week 11 November 5 & 7
(Group Project Read and Presentation)
Gallagher: 26 No Equal Justice: The Color of Punishment David Cole and Seeing the Big Picture: How
Race Tips the Scales of Justice
Gallagher: 28 Racialized Mass Incarceration: Rounding Up the Usual Suspects Lawrence D. Bobo,
Victor Thompson Seeing the Big Picture: The Color of Incarceration Rates
Gallagher: 27 The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander
Gallagher: 29 The Mark of a Criminal Record Devah Pager and Seeing the Big Picture: The Link
between Race, Education, Employment, and Crime
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TRACS Rethinking Crime and Immigration by Robert Sampson Contexts 2008 Vol. 7 No. 1.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/08/173642807/does-crime-drop-when-immigrants-move-in(globalization and
immigration)
Week 12 November 12 & 14
(Group Project Read and Presentation)
Takaki: Chapter 10 Pacific Crossings: From Japan to the Land of “Money Trees”
Takaki: Chapter 11 The Exodus from Russia: Pushed by Progroms
Takaki: Chapter 12 El Norte: Up from Mexico
Takaki: Chapter 13 To “The land of Hope”: Blacks in the Urban North
See Film In Class: The Fred Korematsu Story
Week 13 November 19 & 21
(Group Project Read & Presentation)
Takaki Chapter 14 World War II: American Dilemmas
Gallagher: 21 Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Conditions in U.S. Metropolitan Areas Douglas
S. Massey and Seeing the Big Picture: How Integrated Is Your Neighborhood
See Film: “The Rosa Parks Story”
Tuesday Week 14 November 26
Gallagher: 25 Why Are There No Supermarkets in My Neighborhood? The Long Search for Fresh Fruit,
Produce, and Healthy Food Shannon N. Zenk (et al.) Seeing the Big Picture: Urban Food Deserts: Race,
Health, and the Lack of “Real” Food
Gallagher: 6 Understanding Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Health: Sociological Contributions David R.
Williams and Michelle Sternthal and Seeing the Big Picture: How Race Can Be Hazardous to Your
Health
See Film “Unnatural Causes” (Local/Global Health)
Week 15 Dec 3 & 5 (last day of class review for final exam)
Gallagher: 16 Race and Gender Discrimination: Contemporary Trends James Sterba
See Film In Class: “Inocente” (Local/Global)
Adams et al. (TRACS) What Can We Do? Allan G. Johnson
Gallagher: 49 Policy Steps toward Closing the Gap Meizhu Lui, Bárbara J. Robles, Betsy LeondarWright, Rose M. Brewer, and Rebecca Adamson
Gallagher: 50 Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Race Relations Charles A. Gallagher
(Review for Final Exam)
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Final Exam December 11, 2013 8am-10:30am UAC 410
Electronic Devices in Classroom Policy Department of Sociology
The absence of unnecessary distractions and interruptions being essential for an effective learning
environment, the Department of Sociology requires that each and every student adhere to the
following rules regarding the use of electronic devices in the classroom. These guidelines constitute
department policy and the student’s receipt and acceptance of a course syllabus containing a course
instructor’s rules on the use of electronic devices shall constitute acceptance of this policy.
Definition
Electronic device includes cell phones (including smartphones), computers (laptops, notebooks,
netbooks, and handhelds), mp3 and other digital audio and video players (including DVD players),
and analog and digital audio and video recording devices (still and movie cameras).
1. A student may not use an electronic device during class time without the express permission of
the instructor. Use of cell/smartphones during class time is always prohibited, as is leaving the room
to answer or make a call.
2. A student with a diagnosed disability must present to the course instructor the appropriate
paperwork from the Office of Disability Services in order to work out an accommodation for the
use of otherwise prohibited electronic devices.
3. In all cases, when permission has been granted by an instructor for the use of an electronic device
in the classroom, the student shall employ such device solely in a manner appropriate to the course
work and avoiding distractions or interruptions to fellow students or the instructor, including
leaving the room to use such device.
4. The course instructor has the discretion to grant either individual or a blanket approval or
prohibition for the use of one or more types of electronic devices in the classroom.
5. The course instructor reserves the right to withdraw previously granted approval for the use of
an electronic device, on an individual or blanket basis, if in the instructor’s best judgment
continued use of such device detracts from the effectiveness of the classroom-learning environment.
6. The course instructor shall include in each course syllabus a statement establishing under what
conditions electronic devices may be used in the classroom, and the manner in which a violation of
the instructor’s rules of use of such devices shall be addressed. In case of a change in status of an
electronic device in the course of the semester, the instructor will update the course syllabus as
appropriate.
7. A student violating an instructor’s classroom policy or individual instructions on the use
electronic devices in the classroom shall be subject to any or all of the following actions:
 Confiscation of the device by the instructor for the remainder of the class period
 Dismissal from the class for the day on which the offense occurs
 Referral of the student to the Office of Student Justice for disciplinary action under the
Code of Student Conduct.
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