Graduate Seminar on Race and Ethnicity Course Information Number: SCS-298-02 Term: Fall 2013 Location: SSM 150

Time: Wednesdays: 3-5:45pm

Fall 2013 Draft Syllabus Professor Information Tanya Golash-Boza, Ph.D. Office: COB 333 Email: tgolash-boza@ucmerced.edu Office Hours: Thursdays: 3pm to 5pm

Course Description In this course, we will read works from history, legal studies, sociology, anthropology, political science, womens studies, and ethnic studies about the formation of the idea of race and the reproduction of racial hierarchies at the individual and institutional levels. By beginning with the creation of the idea of race in the seventeenth century by Enlightenment scholars, we will learn how the idea of race was created by Europeans, and, consequently, was created to benefit Europeans. Students also will perceive that the benefits accrued to Europeans and their descendants are constant even as the idea of race changes over the centuries. The theme for this years class will be race in transnational perspective. We will begin the class with a discussion of racial formations and institutions in the United States. We will then turn to an examination of racial formations in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. This class will involve intensive reading, active student participation, and a substantial research paper, as is characteristic of most seminars. Attendance is required. Course Requirements Weekly Reflection Essays: 35% of grade due at beginning of each class. Class Discussion Leader: 20% of grade students will sign up for dates. Public Lecture Participation: 10% of grade. Research Paper: 35% of grade due Thursday, May 12. Weekly Reflection Essays At the beginning of each class, you will hand in a 500 word typed reflection essay on the assigned readings. These may only be turned in at the beginning of class. If you are late or absent, you will not receive credit for that day. I will not accept any excuses. Instead, you are allowed to miss one of these with no penalty. Your essay should tell me what the readings are about, and give your reaction to the readings. You should end your essay with four questions that you have about the readings. We will use these questions in class discussion. Grading Rubric for Reflection Essays 10 points: You present a clear summary of important points with regard to the readings. You take a critical lens and ask poignant questions. 9 points: You present a clear summary of important points and ask good questions. 8 points: You present a good summary of the readings and pose questions. 7 points: You present an acceptable summary of the readings and ask questions. 6 points: You present a mediocre summary of the readings. 5 points: Your present a poor summary of the readings. 0 points: You do not turn in a reflection essay at the beginning of class.

Class Discussion Leader You will each sign up for a day to lead the class. If you sign up for a day when we dont have a visiting professor, you will provide an overview of the assigned reading, and discuss how it relates to other things we have read. You will then facilitate the class discussion for that day. You should bring a list of at least 15 questions you have about the reading. Make sure the questions are provocative and lead to discussion. For example, dont ask: What was the authors argument? Instead ask: Why does the author argue that birthright citizenship is important? If you lead class discussion on a day we do have a visiting professor, your primary job will be to facilitate a conversation between the class and the visiting author. You will not have to provide an overview of the book, but you will have to bring a list of at least 20 questions half for the author and half for the class. Your grade for being class discussion leader will be based on your presentation of the readings and your ability to engage the other students in the discussion. The other students will also come with questions and it will be important to make space for everyone to ask their questions and contribute to the discussion. Public Lecture Participation We will have the honor of meeting several of the authors of the required texts for this course. Several of the class meetings will include the authors of the text we are reading for that week. In addition, each of these visitors will give a public lecture the following day. In addition to course attendance, you are required to attend the public lecture series. The public lectures will be on Thursdays from 10:30am to noon. If you will be unable to attend these lectures, please let me know and I will give you an alternative assignment. Final Research Paper At the end of the semester, by December 18 at noon, you will hand in a 20-page research paper. The Final Research Paper will involve an in-depth investigation of a research problem that is closely related to the questions brought up in this class. Your bibliography must include at least four books and eight journal articles or book chapters from edited volumes. Specifically, you must use at least one of the books we have read for this class, and at least one article from either Ethnic and Racial Studies, American Quarterly, Journal of American Studies, American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, International Migration Review, Social Forces, Social Problems, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, or other similar print or electronic sources. For this research paper, you will be required to conduct some independent library research into a topic of special interest to you within the boundaries of this course. You will be expected to cultivate knowledge of and skills in searching printed and electronic media (books, journals, articles, etc.); to think about, prepare, and present a theme or idea of individual interest; and to demonstrate personal depth of understanding of the themes advanced and developed within the class by applying them to a topic of your choosing. Completion of this assignment will require spending time in the library; and, depending upon your prior experience, working with the staff of the Libraries to take fullest advantage of the Libraries resources.

We can discuss individually what sort of paper will best meet your needs, depending on at what stage you are in your graduate career. If you are a first or second year student, or if you are preparing for exams, a literature review will likely be most useful. If you are at a later stage, you may wish to aim for something that you could present at a regional or national conference. If appropriate, you may turn in a portion of your M.A. thesis or dissertation for this research paper assignment. Mandatory milestones for paper. - Statement of topic: October 9 - Preliminary Bibliography: October 23 - Bibliography with notes: November 27 o Summarize the content of at least four books and six journal articles that you will use in your paper. o You will use this bibliography to arrange the readings thematically into an outline. - Outline of paper: December 4 o Introduction with statement of research question. Example: How have charter schools affected the educational opportunities of Asian students? o Literature review divided up into three thematic sections o Conclusion/Proposal for research/Directions for future work (This part will vary depending on the student.) - Final draft due: December 18 Grade Policy In this course, we will be using the +/- grading scales to describe intermediate levels of performance between a maximum of A and a minimum of F. Intermediate grades represented by plus or minus shall be calculated as .3 units above or below the corresponding letter grade to calculate your GPA. In this class, we will use the 100 point scale below. A AB+ B 93-100 90-92.9 87-89.9 83-86.9 BC+ C C80-82.9 77-79.9 73-76.9 70-72.9 D+ D DF 67-69.9 63-66.9 60-62.9 <60

Class Schedule
September 4: First day of class. September 11: Audrey Smedley and Brian Smedley Race in North America, 4th Edition. Westview Press 2011. ISBN-10: 0813343577 Class Discussion Leader: __________________

September 18: Ian Haney-Lopez: White by Law New York University Press 2006 ISBN-10: 0814736947 Class Discussion Leader: __________________ September 25: Michael Omi and Howard Winant: Racial Formations 1994 ISBN-10: 0415908647 Class Discussion Leader: __________________ October 2: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva: Racism without Racists 2009 ISBN-10: 1442202181 Class Discussion Leader: __________________ October 9: Oliver and Shapiro: Black Wealth/White Wealth Routledge 2006 ISBN-10: 0415951674 Class Discussion Leader: __________________ October 16: Paul Spickard (History). Is Lighter Better? Skin-Tone Discrimination among Asian Americans (with Joanne L. Rondilla) Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007 Class Discussion Leader: __________________ October 23: Juliet Hooker (Political Science). Author of: Race and the Politics of Solidarity Class Discussion Leader: __________________ October 30: Ayu Saraswati (Women's Studies). Author of: Seeing Beauty, Sensing Race in Transnational Indonesia (2013). University of Hawaii Press. Class Discussion Leader: __________________ November 6: Nadia Kim (Sociology). Author of: Imperial Citizens: Koreans and Race from Seoul to LA Class Discussion Leader: __________________ November 13: Jemima Pierre (Anthropology). Author of: Race Across the Atlantic: Postcolonial Africa and the Predicament of Blackness. 2012. University of Chicago Press. Class Discussion Leader: __________________ November 20: (American Studies meetings). Use this week to do research for your paper. November 27: (Thanksgiving) December 4: Tanya Golash-Boza Yo Soy Negro: Blackness in Peru Class Discussion Leader: __________________ December 11: France Winddance Twine (Sociology). Author of: A White Side of Black Britain. Duke University Press. Class Discussion Leader: __________________ December 18: Papers due by noon. *Names in bold are scholars we will invite to UC Merced