INTRODUCTION TO RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS –

0460-2070

SAGE 330: TR 9:30-10:50

Dr. George Yancey Office Hours

Chilton 397F TR: 12:30-2

940-565-2179

Welcome to this introductory course on race and ethnicity. This course has the following objectives:

n  I shall endeavor to introduce the student to the study of race and ethnic relations. Thus it is my goal to will present the basic theories surrounding the study of race and ethnic relations.

n  We will conduct an examination of the various social science perspectives of ethnic studies, sociology, and history in analyzing how race relations have evolved in American society.

n  Examining the contrasting tendencies of different racial groups to assimilate or maintain their distinctiveness from the dominant group.

n  To document the evidence of continuing prejudice and racism within our society, and look at applied attempts to rectify racial distrust and alienation.

Students in this course are expected to participate in the knowledge creation process with the professor and with the other students. They are also expected to keep up with the assigned readings within the course. If students are not involved in discussions, then the instructor reserves the right to assign additional essays or hold in-class writing session on the readings.

Attendance

Attendance is strongly encouraged and may be taken into account if a grade is borderline. Furthermore, the instructor’s and the teaching assistant’s notes are not available to students. If the student misses a class then he/she must find notes of another student for the lectures that are missed.

Texts

There are two books required for this course. Those two books are Race and Ethnic Relations in America by S. Dale McLemore, Harriett D. Romo and Susan G. Baker; and Transcending Racial Barriers by Michael Emerson and George Yancey. Please pick up these books as soon as possible so that you can begin your reading assignments. It is suggested that the student reads the assignments ahead of the lecture so that the student can participate more easily in the lecture and so that the instructor can more easily clarify questions that may arise from the readings.

Grading

The student’s grade will consist of three tests, a paper and a group project. The project will be discussed later in the course. Each test is worth 25 percent of the grade, the paper is worth 15 percent of the grade, and the group project is worth 10 percent of the grade. The specifics of this paper will be given at a later date. The paper will be due on November 22.

Tests

The tests in this course will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer and an essay. They will be given on the assigned date. The instructor should be notified prior to the student missing the examination if possible. Students will not be allowed to make up a test without a written excuse unless the student has contracted the instructor prior to the exam. During the test no student will be allowed to leave the classroom until he/she has finished the test. The final exam will not be comprehensive although some questions may build upon the knowledge the student had gained during the course. No student will be allowed to take the final exam at a time different from the assigned time unless they talk to me at least three weeks before the assigned time unless there is a medical emergency. The final exam for this course will be from 10:30 to 12:30 on Thursday, December 12 in this classroom.

Cell Phones

I have actually had the unpleasant experience of having a cell phone ring while I was lecturing. This is inexcusable. All cell phones are to be turned off or to vibrate when you are in this class. Furthermore please do not text during the class lecture. That is rude and unacceptable. If there is a special circumstance that you think justifies you having a cell phone that does not have a vibrate function then talk to me. Otherwise be prepared to be embarrassed or academically penalized if your cell phone goes off in class. I also do not want you to be texting while class is going on. If texting is that important to you then please do so before or after class. You may also leave the class to go somewhere to text if you have some kind of extreme emergency.

Audio Recording

To preserve the privacy of the professor and the students I do not allow audio recordings in this class without prior permission. Those who gain permission will have to sign a form promising that the recordings are only for study purposes and not to be made available to the general public. Failure to abide by the terms of the form or recording the lecture without signing the form will result in an academic penalty.

Topics

Below is a schedule of topics to be discussed in this course. The schedule is subject to slight changes but I will attempt to adhere to it as much as possible.

Week of Tentative Schedule of Topics Readings

8-30 Introduction

9-6 Assimilation and Pluralism 1 (M)

9-13 Race and Ethnicity Theory 2 (M)

9-20 Origin of Race Relations and White Race 3-4 (M),

9-27 Racial History-Extermination/Slavery 6,7,10 (M)

10-4 Racial History – Immigration/Test 1(10-6) 8,9,11 (M)

10-11 Effects of Racism/Racial Alienation 5 (M)

10-18 Prejudice/Right Wing Authoritarianism 13 (M)

10-25 Fighting Racism/Models of Solving Racism 1-2 (E)

11-1 Models/Assimilation of Immigrant groups 3-5 (E)

11-8 Racial Identity/Interracial Families 12,14 (M)

11-15 Test 2(11-15)/White Privilege

11-22 Who is White/Contact Hypothesis 6-7 (E)

11-29 “Two Towns of Jasper”/ Thanksgiving

12-6 Multiracialism/Review 8-10 (E)

12-15 Final

Note: (M) refers to chapters in McLemore et. al. text; (E) refers to chapters in the Emerson book.