Soc 327 Syllabi and  Class Materials
RACE & ETHNIC RELATIONS

Summer 2012 June 26 to August 5

Course activities placed at CSUB's Blackboard testing site at:
 
https://bb.csub.edu/

Instructor: Dr. Gonzalo Santos

TA email

santos_class@csub.edu

Office: DDH-AA205

Teaching Assistance: Ms. Ana Montoya

TA email

econ865@yahoo.com

Office: DDH-AA204

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Textbook

Course Contents

This course is designed to provide students with a broad introduction to the field of race & ethnic relations in the United States. The historical and contemporary experiences of various ethnic and panethnic groups in the United States -- the so-called five pan-ethnicities: European Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, and Asian Americans -- are sociologically analyzed in the Healey textbook. Various sociological concepts are introduced and defined to explain the origins and history of the interactions between these groups, from colonial times to the present. In short, we attempt to learn and understand -- mediated by sociological theory -- the history and dynamics of modern peoplehoods in the United States. The Healey book does so with various degrees of success, which is fine: there has been and currently is no  consensus for anything resembling a universal theory of modern peoplehood; there is not even agreement over the nature and historical record of racial and ethnic relations in specific countries, such as the United States -- much less on the history of peoplehood in all its forms, in different regions of the world and period of history.

The emphasis of this course will then be placed on how race, ethnicity, & nationhood were and are socially (re)constructed in the U.S., and how these categories relate to various social structural processes such as free and forced prior and present migrations, colonial incorporation and modern imperialism, class stratification and social struggle, the role of the state, the patterns of sociocultural dynamics in peoplehood, and the role of gender relations. We seek to elucidate the contexts in which the modern social categories of peoplehood originated and how they have evolved, how they were affected by -- and in turn affected  -- the broader political, economic, and cultural processes of U.S. history.

Learning Objectives

Below are the GRE Requirement's general mission, goals, and objectives, which this course aims to achieve. The chapter learning in the Healey textbook may be found by clicking the link to the "Healey Chapter Outlines and Learning Objectives" folder in the course's Blackboard account.

Gender Race & Ethnicity Mission, Goals, & Objectives

Mission of the GRE Requirement:  Students will develop an awareness, appreciation, and recognition of the social constructions of gender, race, and ethnicity in order to understand the diversity of human experience and values, particularly those contributions to knowledge and civilization made by members of historically under-represented groups. Fundamental to this requirement is the concept of cultural pluralism, which encompasses ethnic, cross-cultural, and intercultural studies as well as studies of the relationship(s) between dominant and non-dominant social groups.

Goal 1. The course should have, as its principal focus, some aspect of the lives, roles, contributions, perspectives, and experiences of the particular group(s) discussed whether they be women or more specific ethnic and racial groups. Discussion of these groups needs to be set within a broadly defined context, one that might not be limited by national boundaries.
Objective a. Students taking the course should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the broad processes of multicultural/global issues related to issues of gender, race, and/or ethnicity.
Objective b. Students taking the course should be able to compare and contrast issues of gender, race, and/or ethnicity across different cultures.
Goal 2. Relevant scholarship on the course topic, in historical context, should be an important part of course readings and discussions. Attention to past and present theoretical approaches should be incorporated into the course readings and discussions.
Objective a. Students taking the course should be able to compare past and present discipline-specific theories related to gender, race and/or ethnicity.
Goal 3. The course should incorporate viewpoints of individuals whose lives may differ in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.
Objective a. Students taking the course should be able to compare and contrast viewpoints of individuals whose lives differ in terms of gender, race, and/or ethnicity.
Goal 4. The course should identify the structure and dynamics of domination and subordination. The course should include critical analyses of how cultural and societal assumptions about gender, race, and ethnicity function in individuals' lives.
Objective a. Students taking the course should be able to identify the structure and dynamics of domination and subordination in gender, race and/or ethnicity.                 
Objective b. Students taking the course should be able to analyze the ways in which cultural and societal assumptions about gender, race and/or ethnicity function in individual’s lives.
Goal 5. The course should include the use of pedagogical techniques that encourage student participation, to enable them to be active learners and critical thinkers, and to examine their personal values.
Objective a. Students taking the course should be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills about issues of gender, race and/or ethnicity.       
Objective b. Students taking the course should be able to identify how their personal values relate to and have changed regarding issues of gender, race and/or ethnicity.


Structure of the Course:

The Summer version of the course is entirely online. The class is a six-week class, from June 26 to August 5, very fast paced, so students need to make adequate time to study and work during these six weeks. In fact, students can begin doing the work as soon as they read this syllabus, to facilitate their pace. Students will work independently at their own pace on their weekly assignments of readings, testing, and writing reports. They are assumed to be already acquainted with CSUB's Blackboard, and either possess a good computer well-connected to the internet, or can make the time to extensively use some public computer every week. All activities for the course are assigned on a weekly basis in Blackboard and all have a Sunday at midnight deadline for the week in which they are assigned. Students can do work AHEAD of time - even weeks ahead - but will not be allowed to FALL BEHIND (access to each assignment will be closed after its deadline).

Blackboard:


CSUB Blackboard's URL: All testing and writing activities will be performed in CSUB's online testing system, Blackboard, located at CSUB's web portal and at this URL:

https://bb.csub.edu/

If you need to learn how to use Blackboard: For those students who need to be introduced to this system, please go to the tutorial link at the Blackboard portal.

If you still need help: Contact the Student Technology Help Desk for Blackboard-related question in the library at (661) 654-2315; or, for computer-related questions, contact the Student Help Desk at (661) 654-2307. Students on campus may go to the E-Learning Services at the lower level of the campus library, accessible through the East entrance door (by the pond) during regular Summer hours (M-Th only).

Assignments based on the Healey Textbook:

The
Healey book contains 11 chapters, of which we will cover the first 10 chapters, assigned on the weekly schedule below: one chapter on the first week, two chapters per week the next four weeks, and one chapter on the last week. For each chapter covered in the Healey textbook, students will be asked to do two types of assignments:

(1) CHAPTER TEST. For each chapter assigned, students must take at least one multiple-choice test of twenty questions. To take a given chapter test, go the course's Blackboard account and click on the "Healey Chapter Tests" folder, then click the link to that chapter test. The deadline for each chapter test is the Sunday midnight at the end of the week the chapter was assigned.

EXTRA: If you wish to improve a possible low chapter test score, you may take a second chapter test, so long as you do so before that chapter's Sunday deadline. The final chapter score recorded will be the average of the two test scores.

(2) DEBATE REPORT. For each chapter assigned on a given week, students must read the color-pages section entitled "Current Debates" and answer the questions found at the end of that section under "Debate Questions to Consider." To do this assignment, go to the "Healey Debate Reports" folder on the course's Blackboard account, click the link for the given chapter, and write your numbered answers in the field provided, in the same order they were asked. Do NOT attach any files for your submission -- instead, please use the Blackboard editor.  It is recommended that you first compose your response in Word, then copy and paste it into the editor, but do not attach the Word file. (You should save your Word file just in case something goes wrong.) The deadline for each Chapter Debate Report is also the Sunday midnight at the end of the week the chapter was assigned.

NOTE on how you should answer the questions:  Each of your numbered answers should be at least a couple of paragraphs long. They should consist of cogent, focused answers that demonstrate that you grasp the essential points being debated, takes sides and address both pro and con arguments of the debate - explain why you disagree with the arguments "con" and agree with the arguments "pro" of your position, and do so exhibiting your critical thinking skills in the process.


Other Instructions on Taking Healey Chapter Tests at CSUB's Blackboard:

Be prepared!  The maximum duration for each chapter test is 60 minutesAfter each weekly deadline, access to any given chapter test will be closed and no late testing will be possible. So make sure you have prepared well, chosen a day, time & place well, and have ample time and tranquility (with no distractions) to begin testing; take time to read carefully each question before you answer it - do not rush! (a common mistake). You may take the test with the open book, but exclusively on your own, please. Never plan to take a test in two or more sittings; plan always to take each test in a single session (the computer usually freezes incomplete tests).

Save your answers every time. If you change your mind on a specific answer, don't forget to save it again! And don't forget to send your quiz/test to grade when you are done (lots of students forget this last step and their scores are not computed!).

Security precaution: If you are using a public computer always quit both the Blackboard site and the browser after you are done with testing  -- otherwise, someone may access your own Blackboard account and "try out" some tests! This is because your access codes stay active until you quit the browser. And remember, never share your testing access codes with anyone!

Cheating Warning: Students are hereby formally forewarned that anybody caught cheating on the tests will automatically fail the course. Blackboard has a monitoring capability that automatically "flags" for instructors a variety of potential cheating cases and situations  -- including comparing student answers, times of testing, etc. 

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Other Course-Related Materials Found in the Course's Blackboard Account:

These instructional materials are placed in the course's Blackboard account for the benefit of the students.

Plagiarism:

To prevent students from wittingly or unwittingly engaging in plagiarism, Dr. Santos strongly recommends students to carefully read and abide by the document CSUB Classifications of Plagiarism found at: http://www.csub.edu/tlc/options/resources/turn_it_in_help_page.shtml

Anyone found guilty of engaging in cheating will automatically fail the course and be reported to the Office of Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs for further disciplinary action.

Grading:

The ten Healey Chapter Tests taken together are together worth up to 65 percent of the final grade. The ten Healey Chapter Debate Reports are together worth up to 35 percent of the final grade. The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100 points as follows:

94-100 = A 87-89 = B+ 77-79 = C+ 65-69 = D
90-93 = A- 84-86 = B 74-76 = C < 65 = F

80-83 = B- 70-73 =

Email Communication with Dr. Santos & Ms. Montoya:

Students may communicate with both Dr. Santos and Ms. Montoya by email to the "santos_class email address" above. Ms. Montoya, who will be in charge of grading and managing the activities in Blackboard,  may also be reached directly and privately at her own email address above. Please be advised, though, that email communication has to be very brief and to the point. Always put your name in the "Subject" heading, and in the body of the text. Expect a one-line reply. Always sign off with your FULL NAME, do not assume we know who you are! If you send an email message to Ms. Montoya requesting to talk to her, include a phone number so she may call you back.

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Schedule of Readings
 
Week
Healey Chapters
1
June 26- July 1
1
2
July 2 - 8
2 & 3
3
July 9 - 15
4 & 5
4
July 16 - 22
6 & 7
5
July 23 - 29
8 & 9
6
July 30 - August 5
10

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