Joseph F. Healey, 1997. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

This course provides the student with a broad introduction to the field of race & ethnic relations, mostly as it developed and is applied in the United States, but also as it is applied elsewhere in the world, especially in the Americas. The historical and contemporary experiences of various ethnic and panethnic groups in the United States -- the so-called European Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, and Asian Americans, and all their constituent groups -- are analyzed, using various theoretical perspectives and conceptual frameworks from historical sociology; that is, we seek to understand history mediated by sociological concepts. Emphasis is placed on how raceness, ethnicity, & nationhood were and are (re)constructed, and how they relate to other social constructs such as gender, native/immigrant, and social class. We seek to understand the context in which these modern social categories originated and evolved, how they are affected, and in turn affect, the broader political, economic, and cultural processes of the modern world-system. Attention is given to some controversial issues, such as: immigration, affirmative action, the persistence of racial/ethnic discrimination & stratification, the rise and limitations of the new credo of multiculturalism in the United States and worldwide, and globalization.

Classes: Students are expected to come generally prepared to discuss the assigned readings/viewings for the week. After the lecture or video presentation there will usually be open class discussions. Attendance is mandatory. Unauthorized absences, tardiness, and/or early departures will be penalized. There are three kinds of weekly reading assignments: (a) a chapter from the Healey book, (b) a web reading, (c) choosing a painting/drawing from the web Gallery of Historical Imaginings (click here to enter it or access it through Dr. Santos' Syllabi webpage) to comment about.

E-Mail Groups:All students will be assigned to and must participate in an e-mail group. Each group will: (1) engage in open e-mail discussions over the Healey chapters, the web readings/viewings, and the lectures; as well as (2) collaborate in putting together a volume on one of four research topics (click here to see full description of them). Here are the details:

E-Mail Group Discussions. Students will participate in one of four electronic discussion groups or ListServ bulletin boards, where every message sent is read by all members. All students have a CAMPUS E-MAIL ACCOUNT NUMBER of the form "a#####" (where #=digit). Many students have home (external) accounts. So the first step for all students enrolled in the class is to immediately send Dr. Santos an e-mail message, (send a message to gsantos1@academic.csubak.edu).

1. If you have a home (external) account: Send Dr. Santos the message below and generally follow the "subject" and message content instructions, but ignore the specific instructions having to do with the campus e-mail system (e.g. the MX%-prefix, the SETMAIL command, etc.). "Your e-mail account" = your home account - this is the one you should use! Also, "SOC#" will be for you the full address of the ListServ: "SOC#@ACADEMIC.CSUBAK.EDU" (where #=digit)

2. If you do not have a home (external) account and must rely on your campus e-mail account: Send Dr. Santos the message below and follow the specific instructions relating to the (clumsy) campus e-mail system:

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A. Send Dr. Santos an e-mail message to: gsantos1@academic.csubak.edu

In the "Subject" heading of your message please write "Add me to a group". Skip the "Cc:" prompt (you'll automatically receive a copy of every message you send). In the body of the text, write:

"Add me: [your last name, your first name]"

"My E-mail account: [your e-mail account #]"

"My first preference for a research topic: [topic number]"

"My second preference for a research topic: [topic number]"

"I am:" [your race or ethnicity or nationality ] - (this is optional information)

B. You will be subscribed to an electronic bulletin board. You will receive a message informing you which ListServ bulletin board "SOC#" (#=1-10) you have been subscribed into . Students with campus accounts may then send e-mail messages to their group simply by addressing them to their group's listserver's name "SOC#" in this way: when prompted by To: enter MX%"SOC#" - QUOTATION MARKS INCLUDED.

[external accounts: mail your messages to: SOC#@ACADEMIC.CSUBAK.EDU]


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Example for campus accounts: Let's say you were assigned to group SOC3 and you'd like to send a message on assigned chapter 2 of the textbook to your group; you would do the following:

1. Log into your VAX computer account.

[If you do not know how to log in or send e-mail, go to Lab A of the library and ask.] [VERY IMPORTANT: Everybody should set up their e-mail system to be as user-friendly as possible by doing this ONCE: by the $ prompt, type SETMAIL and hit the return key. This will allow you to thereafter edit your text with ease and quote other people's messages in your replies. DO THIS ONLY ONCE & DO IT RIGHT AWAY!]

2. By the $ prompt, type MAIL and hit return. [This will get you into the e-mail system.]

3. In the MAIL> prompt, type SEND and hit return. [This begins a new message.]

4. The prompt TO: will appear; you then type MX%"SOC3" and hit return [including quotes].

[notice there is NO SPACE between "soc" and "3" in your listserver name "SOC3".]

5. At the prompt Subject: you type SOC3: Ch2 and hit return.

[This is important : always put your group name first! Furthermore, always use this subject heading for an original message on a selected chapter of the Healey book; use "SOC3: WebTitle" for a web reading/viewing . If you are replying to someone else's message, just use the REPLY function: an Re: will automatically appear plus his/her original subject heading. Finally, if you just wish to chat about anything (e.g. your research project or the mid-term exam), please type: SOC3: bla bla bla in the subject heading. Remember, always put your group's name first - NO SPACE BETWEEN "SOC" AND "#", AND ALWAYS PUT A COLON AND SPACE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE "#". This allows easy monitoring and filing for Dr. Santos. Do this whether you are using an external account or a campus account.]

6. The space for the body of your message will appear. Type in and edit your message.

[You can edit your message using the arrow keys, the delete key, etc.; if you wish to abort your message and start all over again, press the CONTROL and C keys together.] When your are done editing and are ready to send your message, press the CONTROL key and the Z key together and the message will be mailed out to everybody in your group and to Dr. Santos automatically. You also get a copy, which you can save in a folder -see below]

7. To respond to somebody else's message while reading it, just type the command REPLY in the command line MAIL> and press return. The entire message will re-appear but this version is editable - you can add stuff and delete stuff. Delete most of it, leaving only the passages you wish to comment on. Then insert your comments, preferably using separate, in-between paragraphs; when you are done just press CONTROL-Z to send it off.]

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Minimum e-mail contributions: Each week, all students must send at least three e-mail messages: an original message on the Healey chapter covered that week, another one on one or more of the assigned readings/viewing for that week, and at least one reply to someone else's message(s). No more than half of the messages on web readings/viewings may from viewing of the "Gallery of Historical Imaginings." Students are encouraged to send as many messages related to the Healey textbook, the web readings/viewings, other people's messages, or the lectures/videos, as they wish. You are NOT constrained to only 3 messages a week!

Messages on a Healey chapter should be either focused on questioning, clarifying, or commenting on the sociological concepts & arguments and/or on the historical information contained in it. Messages on the images in the "Gallery of Historical Imaginings" should be composed as an art critic and social analyst, not merely as a viewer.

Note 1: It is important that you submit your original messages in the weekly time frame in which they are assigned: The web readings are assigned on Fridays on the schedule below. They are meant to be read, chosen for commentary, and commented from that day on to the following week's Wednesday night, your replies until Thursday night. Healey chapter messages also should follow this schedule, though the chapters are assigned to be read for class during the weeks in the manner shown in the schedule below. Example: you read Chapter 1 for the first week of classes, and from the Friday of the first week to Wednesday of the second week you must send two messages: one from Chapter 1, and another from the first web assignment (made on the Friday of the first week, in this case a Gallery image or a reading on immigration); you have until Thursday of the second week to reply to someone else's messages on Chapter 1 or the first web assignment. Messages on Healey chapters and web readings submitted past their assigned time frame will be automatically deleted and ignored for grading by Dr. Santos - no late postings will be accepted.


Note 2: Students are strongly urged to always save their own messages in folders within thir accounts and in diskette . To manage your files within your account, ask in Lab A how to use the MOVE command to create "folders" in your e-mail system & henceforth save your originals and replies easily in different subdirectories of your account; on using the EXTRACT command to create downloadable files in your root directory ($ prompt); and on how to download files from your root directory to a diskette. Students with home account must save their messages according to their own software. You are responsible for demonstrating your work in case Dr Santos files are lost!

All messages on the textbook and web readings should be about a page long if it was printed, and the format of the text should be as follows:

MANNERS: It is important at all times to maintain a tone and language that is respectful, thoughtful, and to the point. Disagreements may and should be forcefully expressed - in fact, it is invited, but without relying on sarcasm, ridicule, insults, guilt-mongering, or ganging-up on dissenters and lone voices. Remember, you are trying to persuade others in your group, not browbeat them into submission. Nobody will be allowed to "flame out" (go ballistic). And please, do not ramble on and on.

Evaluation: Dr. Santos will be monitoring all messages and evaluating each student's participation in the e-mail discussions. He may, from time to time, participate in the group discussions, make important class announcements, or send someone a private message. Look for his messages. If you wish to send him a private message, send it to his address: gsantos1@academic.csubak.edu, and type "SOC#: PRIVATE MESSAGE TO DR. SANTOS" in your subject heading. But for most purposes, Dr. Santos would strongly prefer students to either come to his office during office hours, see him after class, or call him by phone, rather than sending him e-mail messages, which may get lost in the flood!

Group Research Project: Each e-mail group will also have to discuss via e-mail, or meet face-to-face at their convenience, to design, research, and write a single-volume research project on one of four research topics (click here or on list below to see a full description of them). Each student must write their own research paper for the volume. For the guidelines on how to write a good research term paper click here, or look it up in Dr. Santos' Syllabi webpage.The deadline for the research volume is the time and day the final exam is schedule to start.Here are the topics:

• Topic 1: Origins and Evolution Of Ethnic Studies

• Topic 2: Human & Civil Rights as Experienced by Native, African, and Asian Americans

• Topic 3: The History and Current Developments of the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

• Topic 4: The (Mis)Uses of Science in the Social Construction of Race

Extra Points Class Web Project: For those of you well versed on the arts of web surfing and/or image optical scanning, here's something you can do for extra points: submit to Dr. Santos high quality digital pictures (in GIF or JPG format, on a Mac diskette) as contributions to a quarter-long class web project entitled "A Gallery of Contemporary Imaginings," the equivalent to the historical "Gallery of Historical Imaginings" already on this course's web viewing assignment.

Exams: There will be a mid-term exam on Monday, May 5, for section 1 (MWF), and on Tuesday May 6, for section 2 (TR). There will be a final exam on Wednesday, June 11, 8:00-10:30 a.m. for section 1 (MWF), and on the same day, 11:00-1:30 p.m. for section 2 (TR). Both exams will be based on the lectures and the Healey textbook - not the web readings. Both exams will consist of two parts: a multiple choice part and an essay part.The final exam will only cover the second half of the course.

Grading: Each exam is worth 30 points. The participation in the e-mail group discussions is worth 20 points. The research project is worth 20 points (15 for each individual chapter + 5 for the whole volume). For submission of good contemporary images of race and ethnic relations, up to 10 extra points. The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

Office Hours/E-Mail to Dr. Santos: All students are encouraged to visit the instructor regularly, during posted office hours or by appointment, especially to make sure their group project is well organized, their individual research papers are well focused, or to discuss any question they may have from the class lectures, the textbook, the web readings, or their group interactions.

Private but very brief and infrequent e-mail messages to Dr. Santos may be sent to gsantos1@academic.csubak.edu, but NOT as a substitute for office visits, please.Remember, always write in the Subject heading: "SOC#: Private Message for Dr. Santos".