Advanced Theories of Race, Nation, Ethnicity

Soc 527        Dr. Gonzalo Santos       Fall 2006

Office:         DDH - AA205
Office Hrs:  11:00 am - 12:30 pm MW, or by appointment
Phone:         (661) 664-2191
Email:        santos_class@csub.edu
Website:      http://www.csub.edu/~gsantos/

Textbooks

• Benedict Anderson, 2006. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism. London & New York: Verso.
• Sinisa Malesevic, 2004. The Sociology of Ethnicity. London & Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
• Donaldo Macedo & Panayota Gounari, Eds., 2006. The Globalization of Racism. London & Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
• Web Readings on Race, Nation, & Ethnicity (access restricted; access codes will be given in class).

This course attempts to advance our understanding of the historical trajectories of, and the analytical relationships among, the social constructs of race, nation, and ethnicity in the modern world-system. There are many ways to do this. In our case, we will first broadly explore the historical origins and evolution of nationalism in the modern world, based on the classic book by Benedict Anderson, just updated. We will then take a critical look at the various competing theoretical perspectives on the nature and dynamics of ethnicity (Malesevic's book). Finally, we will explore the multifaceted nature, malleability, and enduring potency of contemporary racism worldwide.

Class Presentations: The course will be run as a seminar based on the three textbooks chosen. At every session two students will prepare and make, on a rotational basis, a formal class presentation on the assigned readings, each followed by Dr. Santos comments and open discussion. The individual presentations will aim to be critical thinking assessments of the texts, ideally 20 minutes long. A one-to-two page outline of each presentation will be distributed in class. Although at each particular session the assigned students will have the responsibility for presenting and leading the discussions, Dr. Santos will expect everyone to come to class fully prepared to discuss the assigned texts. Please be on time, especially the presenters. Presenters should bring enough copies of their presentation outlines to hand out to all in class.

Research Papers: Students will write two research papers, to be  turned in on Wednesday, October 25, in class, and Wednesday, November 29, before noon, at Dr. Santos' office, respectively. Students must submit their research papers in two formats: (a) electronically, via email, in Word format; and (b), in paper, bound and paginated.

Extra credit: There are two general studies courses that students are strongly encouraged to take if they wish to develop their research skills, and if they do will receive extra credit in this course:

GST 126 - Researching the Electronic Library (2 units)
Introduces students to effective research techniques using Library electronic resources. Emphasis will be placed upon skills necessary for the identification, retrieval, and evaluation of information for general and specific topics. Students will acquire the competencies necessary to develop an effective search strategy and find research materials, including references to journal articles, full text articles in electronic format, government publications, books, and Internet resources.

 GST 153 - Research on the Internet (2 units)
Introduces students to the information resources available on the Internet for research purposes Students will develop general knowledge of the Internet, navigation skills, effective search strategy skills, familiarity with Internet finding tools, evaluation methodologies and other Internet research skills.

Contact: Ms. Christy Gavin
Librarian, Walter W. Stiern Library
cgavin@csub.edu
661-664-3237

Private but brief and to the point e-mail messages to Dr. Santos (NOT a substitute for office visits, please) may be sent to: santos_class@csub.edu. Expect a one-line response. Finally, students may leave messages at Dr. Santos' phone if for any reason they will be absent or have any other urgent need to communicate with him.