{"id":20092,"date":"2012-01-24T01:43:41","date_gmt":"2012-01-24T01:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/wordpress\/?p=20092"},"modified":"2014-10-05T20:36:03","modified_gmt":"2014-10-05T20:36:03","slug":"%e2%80%9crace%e2%80%9d-ethnicity-in-society-in-social-historical-context-aas-soc-338","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=20092","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRace\u201d & Ethnicity in Society in Social-Historical Context (AAS-SOC 338)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cRace\u201d & Ethnicity in Society in Social-Historical Context (AAS-SOC 338)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lehman College, City University of New York
\nSpring 2012<\/p>\n

Mark Christian<\/a><\/strong>, Professor & Chair of African & African American Studies<\/p>\n

The idea of \u201crace\u201d since the 18th Century, and up to the present, has brought forth tremendous social inequality and, not to be over-dramatic, \u201csocial death\u201d in a global sense. The ironic thing about \u201crace\u201d is that, from a scientific-biological sense, most authoritative commentators note that it is a problematic concept with little validity if one is arguing for \u201cdistinct races\u201d among humankind. In other words, there are no distinct racial types of humans that can be separated from one another. Yes, there is some minor genetic difference among humans, such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, lip-size; but when measured by what it is to be a human being these add up to only minor genetic differences. However there are still those who will try to put difference between humankind via pseudo-scientific racial theories. Some biologists use modern genetic science to distort the truth that we are all basically the same in humanity. A recent book by Dorothy Roberts<\/a> called Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century<\/a><\/em> (The New Press, 2011) gives a powerful insight into the abuse of modern genetics.<\/p>\n

What is significant about \u201crace\u201d and ethnicity (ethnicity is largely related to shared cultural experiences of a specific racialized social group) is the reality of its social significance over time and place. Indeed, \u201crace\u201d has changed from one place to another. For example, what it is to be Black in South Africa is not the same in a social-historical context to what it is to be Black in the United States over time. We can make this point even more complex by stating what it was to be Black in the United States could once change from one state to another. The point here is to comprehend that \u201crace\u201d has been a socially constructed concept over time that has wielded a great amount of human misery and pain for certain social groups, and a great amount of power and privilege for other social groups. Our task is to come to an understanding of this complex topic and for this to be worthwhile intellectually we shall have to comprehend the idea of \u201crace\u201d from a social-historical context.<\/p>\n

Given the social significance of White privilege in terms of \u201crace\u201d grouping and hierarchy, this course will focus on the how \u201cwhiteness\u201d creates both a conscious and sub-conscious reality that is born out of the historical exploitation of people of color from the period enslavement and the plantation economy (17th \u2013 19th Centuries) experience right through to the present. Even though we now live in a world whereby racism is largely outcast and a forbidden entity in social discourse and interaction, it still lurks beneath the surface in all things social. The current US statistical data on health, wealth, and other societal disparities between so-called \u201craces\u201d makes the comprehension of \u201cwhiteness\u201d an important, indeed essential, part of our studies.<\/p>\n

Although the course is taught primarily from a social-historical perspective, it is at bottom an interdisciplinary course involving aspects of knowledge from the humanities and social sciences. Having a positive and open mind that has a willingness to learn and work hard will be the key to your success in this class. We shall combine sociology, history, film & documentary to give a dynamic learning experience. The course will be taught via an interactive perspective whereby students will engage with the material and present in individual and group formats. Moreover, it is essentially a reading and writing class with interactive discussion. RESPECT for all in the classroom environment is imperative; regardless of one’s philosophical views or social background, gender, racialized self, or other human attribute.<\/p>\n

Learning outcomes:<\/strong>
\nBy the end of this course students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of:<\/p>\n