Course Schedule
Note: All readings are either from required course texts or on reserve in the Bailey-Howe Library or the Anthropology Department office (509 Williams Hall)
Seeking tips on reading for this course? See my 'Reflections on Reading for this Anthropology Class'
America, Cultural Pluralism, and the Meanings of Race and Ethnicity:
Historical, Conceptual, and Comparative Precursors
Course Introduction
Mon. 8/28: Introduction to the course, instructor¹s expectations, requirements, etc.
No reading
Wed. 8/30: The U.S.A., Anthropologically-Speaking
Reading: 1. Varenne, H. (1998) 'Diversity as American Cultural Category.' In Democracy and Ethnography, Greenhouse, ed. Albany: SUNY Press, pp. 27-49.
Fri. 9/1: The Cultural Politics of Mapping American 'Diversity'
Reading: 1. Yanow, D. (1998) 'American Ethnogenesis and the 1990 Census.' In Democracy and Ethnography, Greenhouse, ed. Albany: SUNY Press, pp. 105-23.
Mon. 9/4: Labor Day (no class)
Theoretical and Historical Frameworks of 'Race,' 'Ethnicity,' and 'Cultural Pluralism'
Wed. 9/6: Anthropology and/of Race
Reading: 1. Chapters 1-4, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 9/8: The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
Reading: 1. Chapters 5-7, Rethinking the Color Line
Mon. 9/11: Race and Ethnicity in Comparative Contexts, Part 1
Film: Mirrors of the Heart¹
Reading: 1. Rodriguez-Morazzani, (1998) 'Beyond the Rainbow: Mapping the Discourse on Puerto Ricans and 'Race.'' In The Latino Studies Reader, Darder and Torres, eds. NY: Routledge. pp. 143-62.
Wed. 9/13: Race and Ethnicity in Comparative Contexts, Part 2
Reading: 1. Doob, C. (1996) 'South Africa and Brazil: Comparative Contexts of Racism.' In Racism: An American Cauldron. NY: Harper Collins. pp. 212-37.
2. Begin reading Clifford, J. (1988) 'Identity in Mashpee.' In The Predicament of Culture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 277-346.
Fri. 9/15: Social Relations of Difference Beyond 'Black,' 'White,' 'Brown,' 'Red,' 'Yellow,'.... and 'People of Color'
Reading: 1. Finish reading 'Identity in Mashpee.'
2. Chapter 8, Rethinking the Color Line
* Course Logbook due in class Fri. 9/15 *
Facets of Discrimination and Conflict
The Science of Race and the Racism of Science
Mon. 9/18: Science and Race (Evolution, Phrenology, Tuskegee, etc.)
Reading: 1. Gould, S.J. (1993) 'American Polygeny and Craniometry Before Darwin: Blacks and Indians as Separate, Inferior Species.' In The 'Racial' Economy of Science, Harding, ed. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, pp. 84-115.
2. Editorial, The Black Scholar. (1993) 'Science and Black People.' In The 'Racial' Economy of Science, Harding, ed. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, pp. 456-7.
Wed. 9/20: Inheritance, Intelligence and Eugenics (Vermont, Bell Curve, etc.)
Reading: 1. Jones, J. (1995) 'Back to the Future with The Bell Curve: Jim Crow, Slavery and G.' In The Bell Curve Wars, Fraser, ed. NY: Harper Collins, pp. 80- 93.
2. Duster, T. (1990) 'The Genetic Screening of 'Target' Populations.' In Backdoor to Eugenics. NY: Routledge. pp. 37-57.
Fri. 9/22: The Persistence of IQ
In-class debate: 'Resolved: IQ is racist.'
Reading: 1. Lewontin, et. al. (1993) 'IQ: The Rank Ordering of the World.' In The 'Racial' Economy of Science, Harding, ed. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, pp. 143-60.
Race and Racism in Higher Education
(Note: Although I will not require it, you should watch the hour-long film Racism 101¹ during this section of the course and write about it in your logbook. It is available in Bailey-Howe¹s Media Library.)
Mon. 9/25: Multiculturalism and Higher Education
Guest lecture: TBA
Reading: 1. Chapters 9-10, Rethinking the Color Line
2. Hu-DeHart, E. (1994) P.C. and the Politics of Multiculturalism in Higher Education.¹ In Race, Gregory and Sanjek, eds. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 243-56.
Special evening class: Wed. 9/27, 7-9pm in 511 Williams Hall: Spinning into Butter: A Play
(NO CLASS during regular hour; no quiz)
Fri. 9/29: Discussion on Spinning into Butter
Reading: Chapters 11-13, Rethinking the Color Line
Mon. 10/2: 'Hate Speech' and College Campuses
In-class debate: 'Resolved: The First Amendment should protect 'hate speech' on college campuses.'
Reading: 1. Gunther, G. (1995) 'Good Speech, Bad Speech No.' In Campus Wars: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Difference, Arthur and Shapiro, eds. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 109-13.
2. Altman, A. (1995) 'Liberalism and Campus Hate Speech.' In Campus Wars: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Difference, Arthur and Shapiro, eds. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 122-34.
The Political-Economy of Race and Institutional(ized) Discrimination
Wed. 10/4: Race and Economy
Reading: 1. Chapter 1, The Unequal Homeless
2. Chapters 19 and 22, Rethinking the Color Line
(Recommended) Chapters 20-21, 23-24, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 10/6: Race, Ethnicity and Residence
Reading: 1. Chapters 2-3, The Unequal Homeless
2. Chapter 25-26, Rethinking the Color Line
Mon. 10/9: Intersections of Racism, Gender and Homelessness
Reading: 1. Finish The Unequal Homeless
2. Chapter 27, Rethinking the Color Line
Wed. 10/11: Environmental(ist) Racism and Justice
Reading: 1. Chapter 18, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 10/13: Fall recess (no class)
Race and the Media
Mon. 10/16: Media Constructions of 'Racial Differences'
Reading: 1. Chapters 28-30, Rethinking the Color Line
Wed. 10/18: Race and Hollywood
Film Excerpt: 'Miami Vice'
Reading: 1. Chapters 31-32, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 10/20: The Cultural Politics of Rap and Hip Hop
Reading: 1. Bernstein, N. (1995) 'Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita: Teens Today Claim a 'Racial' Identity.' In Race and Ethnic Relations, Annual Editions 97/98, pp. 246-48.
2. Dawson, M. (1999) ''Dis Beat Disrupts:' Rap, Ideology and Black Political Attitudes.' In The Cultural Territories of Race: Black and White Boundaries, Lamont, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 318- 42.
3. Begin reading White Lies
* Course Logbook due in class Fri. 10/20 *
Establishing and Interrogating 'Whiteness'
Rendering the Visibility of 'White Racial Identity'
Mon. 10/23: The Emergence of Whiteness as Racial Category
Reading: 1. Continue reading White Lies
2. Chapters 33 and 37, Rethinking the Color Line
Wed. 10/25: On the Meanings of Whiteness (Weddings, Advertising, etc.)
Reading: 1. Continue reading White Lies
2. Chapters 40 and 41, Rethinking the Color Line
3. bell hooks (1998) 'Representations of Whiteness in the Black Imagination.' In Black on White: Black Writers on What it Means to be White, Roediger, ed. NY: Shocken. pp. 38-53.
Fri. 10/27: Whiteness and Class
Reading: 1. Finish reading White Lies
2. Hartigan (1997) 'Name Calling: Objectifying 'Poor Whites' and 'White Trash' in Detroit.' In White Trash: Race and Class in America, Wray and Newitz, eds. NY: Routledge. pp. 41-56.
The Construction of 'White, Middle Class Values'
Mon. 10/30: American Colonialism and Exotic Others
Reading: 1. Chapters 1-2, Reading National Geographic
Wed. 11/1: The 'Savage Slot'
Film: 'The Couple in the Cage: A Guatinaui Odyssey.' (Coco Fusco)
Reading: 1. Chapters 3-4, Reading National Geographic
Fri. 11/3: Fashioning Otherness
Reading: 1. Chapters 5-6, Reading National Geographic
Mon. 11/6: National Geographic's Evolutionary
Reading: Finish Reading National Geographic
Exhibiting Racial Assumptions in Consumer Culture
Wed. 11/8: Exhibiting Racial Assumptions, Part 1
(Note: no quiz)
Fri. 11/10: Exhibiting Racial Assumptions, Part 2
Identity Politics and the Stuggle for a Nonracist World
Civil Rights and the Dilemmas of Affirmative Action
Mon. 11/13: The Battle for Civil Rights
Film: (Tentative) 'A Time for Justice'
Wed. 11/15: Institutionalizing Civil Rights...But for Whom?
Reading: 1. Chapters 35 and 36, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 11/17: The Dilemmas of Affirmative Action, Part 1
In-class debate: 'Resolved: Affirmative Action should be abolished in all U.S. public institutions'
Reading: 1. Hochschild, J. (1999) 'Affirmative Action as Culture War.' In The Cultural Territories of Race: Black and White Boundaries, Lamont, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 343-68.
Mon. 11/20: The Dilemmas of Affirmative Action, Part 2
Discussion
Reading: 1. Skerry, P. (1997) 'The Strange Politics of Affirmative Action.' In Race and Ethnic Relations 98/99 Annual Editions, pp. 26-31.
Wed. 11/22-24: Thanksgiving Break (no class)
Struggles for Mulitracial Identities and Nonracist Futures
Mon. 11/27: Breaking out of 'Black-White' and Other Traps
Reading: Chapters 38 and 39, Rethinking the Color Line
Wed. 11/29: Film: 'Just Black?' (F. Windance Twine)
(Note: no quiz)
Reading: 1. Chapter 34, Rethinking the Color Line
Fri. 12/1: Obstacles and Opportunities for a Nonracist World, Part 1
Reading: 1. Chapters 42 and 43, Rethinking the Color Line
2. Bell, D. (1996) 'Minority Rights: On the Importance of Local Knowledge.' In Race and Ethnic Relations, Annual Editions 97/98, pp. 254-9.
* Course Logbook due in class Fri. 12/1 *
Mon. 12/4: Obstacles and Opportunities for a Nonracist World, Part 2
Reading: 1. Chapters 44 and 45, Rethinking the Color Line
Wed. 11/6: Course Conclusion
* Final Exam due Mon. 12/11 by 12:00 noon in Anthropology office, 509 Williams Hall *