SOCI 122: Race and Ethnic Relations
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WelcomeWelcome to the course, Race and Ethnic Relations. In this course we’ll read, study, and discuss some of the sociological perspectives on racial and ethnic relations and relationships, primarily in the United States, both currently and historically. As you’ll discover in the first readings and discussions of the class, I place great emphasis on our individual backgrounds as they impact our responses to others, especially in a racial or ethnic context. At the same time, we act and think in a context of social institutions, such as the family, education, government, religion, and the economy, so I encourage you to consider the connections between you, as an individual social actor (that’s sociological terminology), and the social institutions in which we live out our lives. I want you to recognize that each of us has a story and a background that affects our beliefs and attitudes and perceptions of “truth.” Harry Kitano, a West Coast sociologist, writes often of what he calls the Rashomon perspective to describe this effect. Kitano is a Japanese American, who, as a child, was relocated with his parents to the war camps of the 1940s. He refers to the classical Japanese film Rashomon to remind us of how much our position in society affects how we respond to issues, people, and truth and knowledge. As Kitano says “[t]he important point is that views of reality are shaped by position, experiences, emotions, and needs, with variations in time, place and situation” (Kitano, Race Relations, 1997:8). What I ask of you during our sixteen weeks together of the course is that you reflect upon and connect your personal history (your family background, your first language, your educational and neighborhood background, and so on) with the readings and materials assigned to the class. Doing so requires a bit of reflection, time, effort, and in my case, humility, but it’s a valuable learning experience. Sharing your insights with others helps us all to learn more. Good luck. Required TextbooksThe books required for this course are:
You will also read material from various Web sites. You can order these texts from Friday Center Books & Gifts at the Friday Center in person, online, or by using the book order form. Organization of the CourseThe course readings and materials are organized into four major units with subdivisions within each. Section I: Awareness
The first section of the course is devoted to becoming aware and conscious of the place and importance of race and ethnicity in US culture. I've known only one or two people who I would consider to be "color-blind" when it comes to race, and for both of those people they had spent considerable time outside the United States, though they were US citizens. The reason I find few color-blind people in the United States is because, whatever we may think or read or hear from others, color and ethnicity do matter in the United States. Racial or ethnic background, skin color, hair texture, and eye placement absolutely do matter in the United States. We can make a conscious decision in our personal lives to reject the stereotypes and the beliefs, but the very fact that we have to make a conscious decision to do so would give you an idea of how pervasive and influential the beliefs and assumptions are about people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. People in the United States do not always intentionally make race or ethnicity an issue, but race and ethnicity are so embedded in the customs and traditions and laws of the country, and are so embedded in the prejudices and stereotypes that are heard and repeated, that it is often hard to "see," in a sense, the impact of race or ethnicity. Thus, the first part of the course addresses insight into how prevalent race and ethnicity are in stereotypes and other forms. Section II: History
The second major unit of the course will address brief histories of the relationships between and among different racial and ethnic groups in our country, and, more importantly, the conditions under which those relationships originated and developed. All of this historical material is presented from a sociological perspective, which is one of many. As a sociologist, it is difficult for me to teach contemporary race and ethnic relations without addressing the historical context under which those relations have evolved. Section III: Social Institutions
The third and largest unit of the course will address institutional discrimination in depth. We will read and discuss different aspects of how racial and ethnic relationships develop (or not) within the context of social institutions such as the family, education, the economy, the government, and even the media and entertainment. Even though I have addressed the social institutions separately, I will remind you over and over of this major point: The social institutions are interrelated (think of them as positioned in a circle), so what happens in race and ethnic relations within the context of one social institution will have, does have, and has had effects on the other social institutions. Think momentarily of how much US social institutions would change if the norm for society suddenly changed such that interracial and interethnic marriages (and thus bi-racial or bi-ethnic children produced from those marriages) were welcomed and encouraged. What would that one change to the social-norm (within the context of family and personal relationships) affect in terms of currently reported educational outcomes, economic disparities, and other institutional outcomes? For another example, what would happen if all the public and private colleges in the United States suddenly decided to be color-blind and ethnic-blind on applications to admissions? Said colleges would no longer ask about parental income or alumni status (they would investigate that after admissions had been offered—or not), would no longer ask about SAT scores (a minimum score of 1100 or so could be used as a standard or the test simply could be dropped), would no longer ask about financial aid until after acceptance, and so on. How do you think this would change the college student population on US campuses? Or would it? These kinds of interconnections are what I want you to understand in the latter part of our course, which will also give you an idea of how complex the entire issue of race and ethnic relations is, and how difficult it can be to effect significant social change. Grading and AssignmentsYour final course grade will be calculated on the following:
Exams: Your three exams will consist of multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions. You will access your exams on the Blackboard Web site (see Course Mechanics for instructions). A link to each exam will appear in the Blackboard "Exams" section at the time indicated in the course schedule below. Discussion Forums: You are expected to post at least once to each of the discussion forums for the course. You are encouraged to respond and post more, if you'd like, and many students do. You are always welcome to keep a discussion going with others who have posted. I, as the instructor, post some weeks and not others, but I monitor the forum every week. You will access the discussion forum through the Blackboard site. There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray bar at the top of every page in this course. Journal Summary: I want you to keep a journal of your thoughts, reactions, frustrations, or insights as you progress through the course. I would suggest writing in your journal at least weekly, if not more. You can jot down your thoughts in any format you'd like. During the last week of the course, I want you to re-read all of your entries, looking for patterns or changes in your thinking over the weeks of the course. Then write a three- to five-page summary (double-spaced) of what you've found in your own writing. I do not want you to turn in your actual journal entries unless you're quoting yourself to make a point. This journal is mostly for you, but I ask that you make it sincere. That is, I urge you to keep track of your thoughts as the semester progresses, and then conscientiously write a summary of how those thoughts were reinforced, challenged, or changed during the course. Honor CodeYou are bound by the UNC-Chapel Hill Honor Code:
The Honor Code applies to all of your work in this course. Course MechanicsBlackboardSome of your class components (discussion forums, exams, and announcements) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log in to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password. There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard. Click on the "SOCI 122" link, and you will see navigation buttons on the left side of the screen labeled Announcements, Discussion Forum, Exams, and so on. If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:
Library Services and E-reservesStudents enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves. If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to enter your UNC Onyen to access the readings that are available through the library's online system. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. If you encounter difficulties, please report your problem by visiting this Web page for reporting a problem and the Proxy Server Team will respond. Using E-mailYou will receive e-mail messages regarding the course at your UNC e-mail address. Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail account using Webmail. You can have your UNC e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking "Forward e-mail" at the Onyen Web site. If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses "blind carbon copy" to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than Hotmail for this course. Submitting AssignmentsIt is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to me via e-mail. If I don't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered. Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to me, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to me and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course. Other QuestionsIf you have questions regarding
Course Schedule
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