American Racial and Ethnic Minorities University of Wisconsin Madison Sociology 134 Section 2 Fall 2010 MWF 2 25 3 15 in Social Sciences 6104 Instructor Jill Bowdon Email bowdon wisc edu Office Location 2452 Social Science Office Hours Mondays 3 30 5 30 Class E mail List soc134 2 f10 lists wisc edu Course Summary Sociology 134 provides a sociological understanding of relations among racial and ethnic groups in the United States The first part of the semester will be devoted to understanding how history law social institutions and personal interactions have socially constructed race and ethnicity in American society and how they continue to do so I will demonstrate how race and ethnicity are social constructions by showing that 1 race and ethnicity do not have a firm basis in biology 2 the definitions of racial categories have shifted over time and are different cross nationally 3 racial categorization is often arbitrary and 4 racial categorizations have been controlled by whites and used as a tool for racial domination In the second half of the semester we will take a closer look at racism Most people associate racism solely with personal prejudice or racial slurs this is called interpersonal racism Another arguably more influential type of racism is structural racism Structural racism is racial favoritism entrenched in social structures policies and institutions that may create an intergenerational cycle of disadvantage for racial minorities We will examine how structural racism affects racial minorities access to housing education the labor market healthcare environmental wellbeing political participation and criminal justice We will conclude the semester by discussing the dangers of being colorblind as well as strategies for combating interpersonal and structural racism Course Readings All readings will be available on the course web page on Learn UW To access them go to https learnuw wisc edu and log in with your net ID Under 2010 Fall click on the link to the course At the top of the page click on the menu item labeled Content Links to the readings will be found there There is no required textbook though Rethinking the Color Line edited by Charles Gallagher contains several of the readings we will do This textbook is available through the library system The schedule of readings is at the back of the syllabus Make sure to check the syllabus to see if there are assignments other than readings e g listening to podcasts or watching YouTube videos Office Hours My office hours are on Mondays 3 30 5 30 p m However if you are unable to make this time because of a scheduling conflict you may email me to schedule a different time to meet I encourage you to come and talk to me if you have questions about assignments or are having difficulty with the class Class E mail List I have set up a class e mail list soc134 2 f10 lists wisc edu This is the e mail address that you should use to communicate with the group as a whole e g I need notes from Thursday Anyone want to trade Please no spam I will also be communicating to the group through this e mail address so check your email 1 Email Policy Since email now constitutes the bulk of extra classroom conversation between student and instructor it must be subject to normal rules of formality Therefore all email communication should follow these guidelines 1 Email should be composed in formal professional language and with attention to the propriety accorded to the position of the writer and the addressee I will not return emails that do not meet these standards 2 Email should not ask questions whose answers are contained in the course syllabus I will not return these emails either 3 Students should avoid asking questions in email that should be raised either in class or in individual consultation with the instructor These include questions of an excessively conceptual nature and questions that expect an unreasonable amount from the instructor A good rule of thumb if your question cannot be answered in two sentences or less or if it is a question that you should solve on your own through the course of your reading then it is not appropriate for email 4 Lastly though you can expect a 24 hour turn around to your email you cannot expect responses to emails outside of business hours Monday Friday 9 a m to 5 p m Course Participation through eInstruction You will need to purchase an eInstruction clicker to participate in class I will use the clickers to take attendance do opinion polls and administer reading quizzes At the time of this writing the clicker unit currently costs 22 50 from the University Bookstore 16 90 used Once you have purchased the clicker you need to register it by visiting this website http cpsonlinehe einstruction com source dspSerialNumberEntry cfm SiteAppName uwmadison DS h glevel3 cc2 jkwylzlua yes eid 1 You must register the clicker to associate the clicker with the course in which it is being used I will provide you with the necessary course code More detailed instructions are available in http comets wisc edu clickers eInstruction register html The eInstruction clicker will cost you 13 to register your unit for the semester You will be able to use the clicker for future or concurrent classes or you can resell it to the bookstore at the conclusion of the course Assignments 1 2 3 4 3 essay exams 45 Connection Paper on Family 15 Final Project on Structural Racism 30 Attendance and Participation Uploading your picture to Learn UW Class Attendance Participation in in class assignments 10 Connection Paper on Family 3 4 pages Plan for Paper October 25th Paper Due November 5th How have you and your family been advantaged disadvantaged by structural racism Talk to your parents and grandparents about topics like applying for loans home ownership inheritance education labor market experiences and segregation After you have gathered this information from your family think carefully about how your family s race or races has have affected their life trajectories How has white privilege or lack of white privilege affected your life Build your essay around an argumentative thesis statement which you support by using examples from your life and your family members lives Also cite at least two readings that connect either to examples given in the text of your paper or your overall thesis 2 Your plan for this paper due October 25 th should include the names of family members or appropriate pseudonyms with whom you spoke the topics you