Type of Action
 

	Course Deletion	X	Requisite Change:
	Course Revision		Repeatability Change
X	Description Change		Diversity Option
X	Title Change		General Education Option
	Number Change		area:
	Contact Hour Change		Computer Requirement
	Credit Change		Writing Requirement
	Add Cross-listing		Other

 

Effective Term: Fall 2002
New/Current Course Number: SOICOLGY 459/ 659		Crosslist Number: - /
Old Course Number:  880-459/ 659

New/Current Course Title:	Processes and Patterns of Racial/Ethnic Inequality
Old Course Title:	Patterns of Minority Group Relations
15 Character Abbreviation:
25 Character Abbreviation:
Sponsor(s):	Darcie Vandegrift
Department(s):	Sociology
College(s):	Letters & Sciences
Other Programs Affected:

Check if course is required in: ____Major/Emphasis (specify):

____Minor/Emphasis (specify):
____Other (specify):

I.   Detailed explanation of changes (use FROM/TO format)

FROM:

An examination of the circumstances under which widely diversified segments of the population may constitute a minority, and hence be subject to differential and unequal treatment in a society. Particular consideration is given to the theories of discrimination, segregation and prejudice, the various forms which each may take, and the relations among them providing the structure of minority-dominant group relations.

TO:

An examination of the circumstances under which racial and ethnic groups receive privileged or disadvantaged social locations. Particular consideration is given to theories of racial and ethnic inequality and the processes that form the structures of differential and unequal relations in society. A cross-national comparison of the social construction of race and ethnicity will provide additional context of understanding patterns and theories of race and ethnic relations.
 
 

FROM: Prereq: 6 crs. in sociology including SOCIOLGY 140 or consent of instructor

TO: SOIOLGY265, or RACEETH380/580, or WOMENST370/570, or EDFOUND243, or AFRIARM100, or AFRIAMR141, or CHICANO150,
        or AMERIND102, or CIGENRL350/500, or GEOGRPY430,
 
 

II. Justification for action

This update reflects a refinement of the current course to incorporate new knowledge in the field of race and ethnicity. The original emphasis on theories and patterns of racial and ethnic inequality remains in the title and description, removing the now less favored term "minority group" (Faegin & Faegin 1999). The topics covered in the renamed course will not deviate from those covered in the previously named course. Building on the path-breaking work of Michael Omi and Howard Winant (1986, 1994), sociologists have increasingly focused on the past and present conditions in which race and ethnicity are constructed as social realities as opposed to biological facts. Scholars writing on the construction and transmission of racial and ethnic identities and inequalities (Galligher 2000; Daniel Tatum 1997; Williams 1991) note that this emphasis requires several shifts in thinking and teaching in this area. First, students must learn about race and ethnicity in relational terms, studying aspects of racial and ethnic privilege as well as disadvantage. Second, students should gain understanding of both the economic and cultural factors involved in the transmission of inequality and privilege. Third, the title change adds the word "processes," acknowledging that categories of difference are "accomplishments" (West and Fenstermaker 1995), not just a set of unwavering relationships. Finally, given our knowledge of global patterns of race and ethnicity, students should be directed towards the use of theories and language that reflect these constructions even when discussing a U.S. context (for example, thinking of racial and ethnic groups as disadvantaged vs. privileged instead of minority/majority and studying how racial categories have shifted across time and place).

Students taking this class would benefit from having previous exposure to the basic social science vocabulary of race/ethnic relations (e.g., prejudice, discrimination, stereotype, etc.). I created a broad list of possible prerequisites so that students could come to the course as majors or non-majors with the necessary earlier study of racial and ethnic relations. The previous requirement of six hours of sociology would not necessarily give students a background in the area; the new prerequisite courses reach students with an established interest in the course even if they were not sociology majors.