ETHS 100: Introduction to Ethnic Studies
M/W- 810-925 BUS 122
Instructor- Elena Strasser
strasser@sfsu.edu EP 407
Office Hours:
Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11 and by appointment.
Course
Description:
This course
will serve as an introduction to the field of Ethnic Studies. Ethnic Studies is
a dynamic, evolving discipline which focuses on the historical and contemporary
experiences of people of color in the United States, systems of oppression
based on race and ethnicity and the activism of those groups against racism
other forms of discrimination. Therefore, this class will provide an
introductory survey of the discussions that initially framed the field and
discussions that are on going. These discussions are not just important in the
discipline- they are subjects which are important in the day-to-day lives of
people. For this reason, I am not only interested in seeing you engage with the
material presented, but also to put yourself within these discussions. As a
result, this class will work to develop your own personal beliefs and
experiences regarding the subject matter. Seeing that this is an introductory
level course its goals are not only to introduce you to the content of Ethnic
Studies but also to develop your skills as writers, readers and thinkers within
the discipline. To that end, this class will be heavy in reading and writing
requirements but you will not be graded subjectively, but rather on the
behaviors you choose to make in this course.
Course
Objectives:
At the end of this course students
will be able to:
·
Understand
the major concepts, theories and ideologies within the field of Ethnic Studies.
·
Grasp
the importance of Ethnic Studies scholarship in movements for social justice.
·
Practice
self-guided reflections about newly encountered material with the goal of
reaching a more complex and thorough understanding.
·
Find
and understand the connections between the content in the classroom and the
events outside of out it.
·
Utilize
blogs as an internet-based learning tool.
Course
Readings: All of the
readings in this course will be available through a course reader that can be
purchased in-class on Wednesday, August 29th. If you do not choose to buy your
reader in class, you can purchase it from Photo Day directly. You can contact
them at 3418 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco or (415) 387-4779.
Assignments:
Blog
In order to facilitate engagement,
reflection, community discussion and active reading/thinking skills, you
will be required to create a blog for this course. There are two types of blogs
you will be writing: “Pre-Reading/Pre-Thinking” Blogs will be written before
you do that week’s reading, and “Post-Reading/Reflection” Blogs will be written
at the end of that week. Please note that: “Pre-Reading/Pre-Thinking”
Blogs are due by midnight on Saturday and “Post-Reading/Reflection” Blogs are
due by Midnight on Thursday. More details about the blog will be discussed
in the prompt.
Current
Event Paper
At
the end of each unit you will turn in a Current Event paper that links the
concepts, ideas and theories we are discussing in class with an event, op-ed,
article, or movie/ book review that happens outside of class. More details on this assignment will be
discussed in the prompt.
Cumulative
Paper
At
the end of this course you are expected to write a cumulative paper that
discusses and ties together some of the major themes in the course. This
Cumulative paper will be made up of 4- 3 page essays (For a total of 12 pages).
On the class blog, I will post 15-20 questions/prompts that you can choose to
respond to in your essays. More details on this assignment will be included in
the prompt.
Grading
Policy
This course
will use a contract grading system instead of a traditional grading system. The
objective of contract grading is to evaluate you on the basis of your behavior
and academic choices and not on the products you produce in this class. In
contract grading, I hold you accountable for certain behaviors listed under
each grade- what you do during the course of the semester will determine the
grade you receive.
To
receive a “B” in this course, students will:
·
Attend
24 of our class sessions.
·
Write
10 blog entries (5 Pre-Reading, 5 Post-Reading) throughout the semester[1].
·
Comment
on your peer’s blogs 6 times throughout
the semester.
·
Complete
and turn in two of the three of the Current Event Papers.
·
Come
to the in-class workshops for the Cumulative Paper.
·
Complete
and turn in the Cumulative Paper.
·
Attend
the LAC, CARP or another tutoring center once during the course of the semester,
and bring proof of such attendance to me.
·
Come
see me in office hours once during the course of the semester.
·
Actively
participate- both through listening and talking- during class.
To receive an “A” in the course
students will complete all of the requirements for a “B” and:
·
Meet
with either an LAC, CARP, a tutor from another organization or myself one additional time.
·
Complete
one additional “Pre-Reading/Pre-Thinking” Blog and one “Post-Reading/Reflection”
blog (for a total of 12 blogs).
·
Write
a reflection paper that examines how any of the concepts we learned in this
course affects your life (2 pages).
·
Do
work that shows growth and progress throughout the semester.
Class Expectations
Students: I expect students in this course to be
ready to learn and open to constructive feedback on their own ideas, written
work and opinions. We will be working very closely in this course and therefore
I expect that students will develop ways to professionally and respectfully
engage with their classmates. I do not expect that you will agree with your
classmates or myself all the time but I expect that you will be respectful,
humble and open. I also expect students to be responsible for their own
learning- if you are struggling with something, please bring it up in class or
speak to me in office hours.
Teacher:
I will be prepared to
teach class in a professional manner. I will be open to hearing ideas different
from my own and will encourage you to develop in ways that you identify as
important to you. I will try my best to be reflective and critical of the way I
am teaching in order to improve and welcome your feedback in that process. I
will strive to make this space accessible and engaging to students from diverse
backgrounds and identities. I will hold my students to high standards and give
them the tools to meet them.
SFSU
Disability Policy: SFSU
and the College of Ethnic Studies are committed to making classes accessible to
all students. Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are
encouraged to contact the instructor. The Disability Programs and Resource
Center (DPRC) is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process.
The DPRC is located in the Student Service Building and can be reached by
telephone (voice/TTY 415-338-2472) or by email (dprc@sfsu.edu).
Academic
Integrity: Plagiarism
and cheating are very grievous transgressions within the University
community. According to the
College of Humanities,
“Plagiarism is a form of cheating or fraud; it occurs when a
student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. Plagiarism may
consist of using the ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another
without appropriate acknowledgment, but it also includes employing or allowing
another person to write or substantially alter work that a student then submits
as his or her own.”
We will be
reviewing citations in class, but if you are unsure of how to appropriately
cite please contact me so you do not plagiarize accidently. Incidents of
plagiarism can result in a failing of the course and reporting of the student
to the Office of Student Affairs.
Religious
Holiday Policies: SFSU
is committed to religious tolerance and will make provisions for students who
need to miss class for religious holidays or events. Please notify the
instructor in writing within the first two weeks of the semester of any
absences due to religious holidays.
Student
Assistance: There are multiple resources for students at SFSU, please
utilize them accordingly to help you successfully complete the semester.
The Learning Assistance Center: HSS
348, (415) 338-1993. www.sfsu.edu/~lac/tutoring.
Campus Academic Resource Program: HSS
346, (415) 405- 0316.
Counseling and Psychological Services:
Student Services Building 208, (415) 338-2208. www.sfsu.edu/~psyservs
The
Ethnic Studies Student Resource and Empowerment Center: EP 110B. (415) 405-
0775.
Semester
Calendar
Week One:
August 27th and August 29thth
Monday Housekeeping, Go Over the Syllabus
Wednesday Community Building, Class Code of
Conduct Development
-Student
ID cards are due.
-Bring
in money to purchase readers.
Week Two:
September 3rd and September 5th
History and Future of Ethnic Studies
Monday: Labor Day, NO CLASS
Wednesday: How did we get Ethnic Studies? What is the future of Ethnic
Studies?
- Whitson, H. Introductory Essay, SFSU College Strike Collection.
- Whitson, H. Introductory Essay, SFSU College Strike Collection.
- State of Arizona, House Bill 2281
- Monteiro, K. Who Gets to Define Ethnic
Studies
Week
Three: September 10th and September 12th
What is Race?/The ‘Instability’ of
Race
Monday: What is Race?
- Cornell,
S., and Hartmann, D. Mapping the Terrain.
VIDEO:
Race: The Power of Illusion, Part 1.
Wednesday: Do Racial Categories Adequately
Explain Everyone’s’ Identity?
- Abdulrahim, S. ‘Whiteness’ and the
Arab American Experience.
- Strum, C. Social Classification and
Racial Contestation- Local Non-National Interpretations of Cherokee Identity.
Week Four:
September 17th and September 19th
Race and Ethnicity
-Flores, J. The Latino Imaginary:
Meaning of Community and Identity.
- Hattam, V. Ethnicity and the
Boundaries of Race: re-Reading Directive 15.
Monday: What are the differences between
Race and Ethnicity?
Wednesday: What are the definitions we use? How
do these definitions impact the way we function as a society?
Week Five:
September 24th and September 26th
White Supremacy and Privilege
- McIntosh, P. White Privilege,
Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.
- Lipsitz, G. “The Possessive Investment
in Whiteness”: Racialized Social Democracy and the ‘White’ Problem in American
Studies
Monday: What is White Privilege? How does it
relate to racial injustice/ racist?
Wednesday:
How does White Privilege shape our understanding of Racism in the United
States?
Week Six:
October 1st and October 3rd
Color-Blind Racism-
- Bonilla-Silva, E. The Strange Enigma
of Race in Contemporary America.
- Bell, J. and Hartmann, D. Diversity in
Everyday Discourse: The Cultural Ambiguities and Consequences of “Happy Talk”
Monday: How is the notion of ‘Colorblind
Racism’ different from some more conventional understandings of racism?
Wednesday: What are some of the connections
between White Supremacy, Racism and Colorblind Racism?
- Unit
1 Current Event Paper Due
Week
Seven: October 8th and October 10th
Intersectionality in Ethnic Studies
- Lourde, A. Age, Race, Class and Sex:
Women Re-Defining Difference.
- Moraga, C. La Guera
-Cantu, L. A Place Called Home: Mexican
Immigrant Men’s Family Experiences.
Monday: What does an intersectional analysis
look like? Why is it important?
Wednesday: How does using an intersectional
analysis change the way we examine issues of oppression?
Week
Eight: October 15th and October 17th
Domestic Violence
- Crenshaw, K. Mapping the Margins:
Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence Against Women of Color
*We
will jigsaw this reading- you will receive your assigned sections on the blog.
- Kibria, N. Power, Patriarchy and
Gender Conflict in the Vietnamese Immigrant Community
- Serwer, A. Republicans are Blocking
the Violence Against Women Act.
Monday: What does an intersectional analysis
of Domestic Violence look like? How does race-ethnicity, immigration status and
language effect a person’s experience with violence as well as seeking safety?
Wednesday: How might using a more
intersectional analysis change the types of services that we provide for
survivors of Domestic Violence?
GUEST SPEAKER
Week Nine:
October 22nd and October 24th
Race, Disability and Education
- Reid, D.K. and Knight, M.G. Disability
Justifies Exclusion of Minority Students: A Critical History Grounded in
Disability Studies.
- Connor, D. “I Get in So Much Trouble
Just by Walking”: Narrative Knowing and Life at the Intersections of
Disability, Race and Class.
- Fletcher, T., Navarette,L. Learning
Disabilities or Difference: A Critical Look at the Issues Associated with the
Misidentification and Placement of Hispanic Students in Special Ed Programs.
Monday: What are some of the connections
between the social constructions of race and disability?
Wednesday: How does an intersectional analysis
of disability challenge our understanding of disability?
Week Ten:
October 29th and November 1st
Wrap-Up
Monday
Wednesday
- Unit
2 Current Event Paper Due
Week
Eleven: November 5th and November 7th
Gender, Race and Class in Hip-Hop I
- Sullivan,
R. Rap and Race: It’s Got a Nice Beat, but What About the Message?
- Dyson,
M.E. Cover Your Eyes as I Describe a Scene So Violent: Violence, Machismo, Sexism
and Homophobia.
Monday: How does Hip-Hop engage with issues of
Race, Gender and Class?
VIDEO:
Hip-Hop- Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Wednesday: What are some of the problematic
aspects of hip-hop? What larger institutional structures and changes are they
related to?
Week
Twelve: November 12th and 14th
Gender, Race and Class in Hip-Hop II
- Jamila,
S. Can I Get a Witness? Testimony from a Hip-Hop Feminist
-Clay,
A. All I Need is One Mic: Mobilizing Youth for Change in the Post Civil-Rights
Era.
Monday: Veteran's Day, NO CLASS
Wednesday: What are some examples of Hip-Hop
that challenge oppression?
Week
Thirteen: November 19th and 22nd
HAPPY THANKS-TAKING BREAK: NO CLASS
Week
Fourteen: November 26th and November 28th
The Prison Industrial Complex I
- Alexander,
M., West, C. The New Jim Crow.
- Bohrman,
R. and Murakawa, N. Remaking Big Government: Immigration and Crime Control in
the United States.
Monday: What is the Prison-Industrial
Complex? How does it affect communities of Color?
Wednesday: In what ways does the
Prison-Industrial Complex use Colorblind Racism?
Week
Fifteen: December 3rd and December 5th
The Prison Industrial Complex II
*Jigsaw
Readings: You will only read one of the readings for this week- we will assign
readings in class.
- Critical
Resistance and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. Gender Violence and the
Prison Industrial Complex.
- Davis,
A. Abolitionist Alternatives.
- Burk,
C. Think. Re-Think: Accountable Communities.
- Gilmore,
R.G. Pierce the Future for Hope: Mothers and Prisoners in the Post-Keynesian
California Landscape.
Monday: What are some of alternatives to
prison? How do these alternatives challenge the various dimensions of the PIC?
Wednesday
- Unit
3 Current Event Paper Due
Week
Sixteen: December 10th and December 12th
Course Wrap-Up
Monday In-class workshop on the Cumulative
Papers
Wednesday In-class workshop on Cumulative
Papers
Week
Seventeen-FINALS: December 17th and 19th
- Cumulative
Paper due during my office hours, Wednesday, December 19th 10-11a.
[1] In
order to get credit, assignments must be completed in accordance with the
prompt, and turned in by the due date.
No comments:
Post a Comment