University of Michigan
Sociology 412
Winter 1998
Dr. David Schoem

Ethnic Identity and Intergroup Relations

COURSE DESCRIPTION:This semester the course will look at multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-faith identities and relationships as a focal point for the exploration of a wide range of questions on racial, ethnic and religious identity and intergroup relations. It will consider frameworks for community building, taking into account issues of conflict and power and competing social interests.

Students will be encouraged to bring personal experience and perspective to enrich the discussion of theoretical readings. Active participation, a research paper, and two other shorter papers will be required.

REQUIRED TEXTS: (Available at Shaman Drum Bookstore; on reserve at the UGLI)

Maria Root. 1992. Racially Mixed People in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Maria Root. 1996. The Multiracial Experience. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Beverly Tatum. 1997. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? NY: Basic Books
Naomi Zack. 1995. American Mixed Race. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield

COURSEPACK:(Available at Dollar Bill Copying; on reserve at the UGLI)

Alba, Richard. 1990. Ethnic Identity. New Haven: Yale. Chapter 1.
Bayme, Steven. 1994. "Intermarriage and Communal Policy: Prevention, Conversion, and Outreach in Bayme and Rosen The Jewish Family and Jewish Continuity. Hoboken, NJ KTAV, 285-293.
Brown, Yasmin A. and Anne Montague. 1992. "Choosing Sides" New Statesman and Society, 14-15. February 7
Calderon, Jose. "Latinos and Ethnic Conflict in Suburbia: The Case of Monterey Park" Latino Studies Journal. Vol. 1, (2) May, 23-32
Chesler, Mark.1995. "Racetalk" in The Diversity Factor. Vol. 3, No. 3 Spring
Cohen, Steven. 1988. American Assimilation or Jewish Revival. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press. P. 10-18
Cohen, Steven. 1987. "The One in 2000 Controversy" Moment. March
Cose, Ellis.1995. "One Drop of Bloody History: Americans Have Always Defined Themselves on the Basis of Race." Newsweek, Feb. 13, 125, 70, 72.
Espiritu, Yen Le. 1992. Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. Phila: Temple U. Press. Chapter 7
Fisher, Roger and William Ury. 1991. Getting to Yes. NY: Viking, p. 17-39
Gilbreath, Edward 1994 How Our Children Suprised Us" Christianity Today March 7 32-33
Gordon, Milton. 1975. "Toward a General Theory of Racial and Ethnic Group Relations" in Ethnicity. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan (eds) Cambridge: Harvard U. Press, P.84-110
Greenberg, Irving. 1987. "The One in 2000 Controversy" Moment. March
Hacker, Andrew. 1992. Two Nations. NY: Charles Scribner, Chapter 2
Hoffman, Paul. 1994. "The Science of Race." Discover. November, P.4
Hughes, Langston.1992. "Let America Be America Again" from ReReading America, Gary Columbo et.al. eds. Boston: St. Martinês Press
Leo, John. 1993. "Community and Personal Duty." in Scott Walker, ed. The Graywolf Annual Ten: Changing Community. St. Paul: Graywolf Press, Pages 29-32
Lorde, Audre. 1992. "Age, Race, Class and Women Redefining Difference" in in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth P.503-509
Njeri, Itabari. 1989. "Multiracial Americans Strive for Clearer Sense of Who They Are." The Los Angeles Times.
Njeri, Itabari. 1991. "The Last Taboo: Does Wave of Interracial Movies Signal a Real Change?" Ebony September. pp. 74-77.
Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. 1986. Racial Formation in the United States. NY: Routledge, Chapter 4, P. 57-68
Parker, Pat. 1997. "For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to be My Friend" in Reconstructing Gender. Estelle Disch (ed.) Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, P. 180
Pinderhughes, Elaine 1993. "Biracial Identity -- Asset or Handicap?" In Harris, H.W., Blue, H. C., and Ezra E.H. Griffith (Eds.), Racial and Ethnic Identity: Psychological Development and Creative Expression (pp. 73-93). New York: Routledge.
Poston, W.S. Carlos.1990. " The Biracial Identity Development Model: A Needed Addition" Journal of Counseling & Development, 69, 152-155.
Reagon Johnson, Bernice. 1992. "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century" in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth P.503-509
Rodriguez, Clara E. 1992. Race, Culture, and Latino Otherness in the 1980 Census. Social Science Quarterly, Dec, 930-937.
Russell, Karen. 1992. "Growing Up With Privilege and Prejudice." in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth P. 82-87
Sandor, Gabrielle.1994. "The 'Other' Americans." American Demographics, June, 16, 36-42.
Schumer, Fran. 1990. "Star-Crossed: More Gentiles and Jews are Intermarrying -- and It's not all Chicken Soup." New York, April 2, 23, 13, 32-37.
Waxman, Chaim. 1990. "Is the Cup Half-Full or Half-Empty?" in Seymour Martin Lipset, American Pluralism and the Jewish Community. New Brunswick: Transaction Books 31-43
Wertheimer, Jack, Charles Liebman, and Steven Cohen. 1996. "How to Save American Jews" Commentary. January, 47-51
Wilson, William Julius. 1989. "The Cost of Racial and Class Exclusion in the Inner City" The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 501, January, P. 8-25

WEEK-TO-WEEK OUTLINE

Week One -- Introduction; Communication
January 7

Film: "None of the Above"

Hughes, Langston.1992. "Let America Be America Again" from ReReading America, Gary Columbo et.al. eds. Boston: St. Martinês Press

Week Two -- Group Identities and Personal Identities
January 14

Film: "Skin Deep"

Chesler, Mark.1995. "Racetalk" in The Diversity Factor. Vol. 3, No. 3 Spring

Njeri, Itabari. 1989. "Multiracial Americans Strive for Clearer Sense of Who They Are." The Los Angeles Times.

Parker, Pat. 1997. "For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to be My Friend" in Reconstructing Gender. Estelle Disch (ed.) Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, P. 180

Pinderhughes, Elaine 1993. "Biracial Identity -- Asset or Handicap?" In Harris, H.W., Blue, H. C., and Ezra E.H. Griffith (Eds.), Racial and Ethnic Identity: Psychological Development and Creative Expression (pp. 73-93). New York: Routledge.

Tatum - Parts 1 and 2

Week Three -- Race, Racism, and Racial Identity
January 21

Films: "True Colors" "LA is Burning" "America in Black and White"

Cose, Ellis.1995. "One Drop of Bloody History: Americans Have Always Defined Themselves on the Basis of Race." Newsweek, Feb. 13, 125, 70, 72.

Hacker, Andrew. 1992. Two Nations. NY: Charles Scribner, Chapter 2

Hoffman, Paul. 1994. "The Science of Race." Discover. November, P.4

Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. 1986. Racial Formation in the United States. NY: Routledge, Chapter 4, P. 57-68

Spikard, Paul R. (1992). The Illogic of American Racial Categories. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America (pp. 12 - 23) Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Tatum - Chapters 6 and 8

Week 4 -- Assimilation, Cultural Pluralism, Multiculturalism
January 28

Film: "Crossing Delancey"

Alba, Richard. 1990. Ethnic Identity. New Haven: Yale. Chapter 1.

Cohen, Steven. 1988. American Assimilation or Jewish Revival. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press. P. 10-18

Espiritu, Yen Le. 1992. Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. Phila: Temple U. Press. Chapter 7

Waxman, Chaim. 1990. "Is the Cup Half-Full or Half-Empty?" in Seymour Martin Lipset, American Pluralism and the Jewish Community. New Brunswick: Transaction Books 31-43

Week Five -- Assimilation, Cultural Pluralism, Multiculturalism
February 4

Shrage, Laurie. 1995. Ethnic Transgressions: Confessions of an Assimilated Jew. In Naomi Zack (Ed.), American Mixed Race Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 287 - 307

Daniel, G. Reginald. 1996. Passers & Pluralists:Subverting the Racial Divide. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 91 - 107

Fernandez, Carols A. 1992. La Raza & the Melting Pot: A Comparative Look at Multiethnicity. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 126 - 143

Week Six -- Multi-Racial Identity
February 11

Films: "Politics of Love in Black and White" "Just Black"

Guest Speaker

Brown, Yasmin A. and Anne Montague. 1992. Choosing Sides. New Statesman and Society, February 7, P.14-15.

Streeter, Caroline A. (1996). Ambiguous Bodies: Locating Black/White Women in Cultural Representations. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience pp. 305 - 320

Tatum - Chapter 9

King, Rebecca Chiyoko & Kimberly McClain Da Costa (1996). Remaking of Race in the Japanese American and African American Communities. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 227 - 244

Weisman, Jan R. 1996. An "Other" Way of Life. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 152-164

Week Seven -- Multi-Racial Identity
February 18

Guest Speakers

Njeri, Itabari. 1991. "The Last Taboo: Does Wave of Interracial Movies Signal a Real Change?" Ebony September. pp. 74-77.

Poston, W.S. Carlos (1990). The Biracial Identity Development Model: A Needed Addition. Journal of Counseling & Development, 69, 152-155.

Kich, George Kitahara.1992. Development Process of Asserting Biracial Bicultural Identity. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America p. 304 - 317

Nakashima, Cynthia L. 1996. Voices from the Movement: Approaches to Multiraciality. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 79 - 97

Ramirez, Deborah. 1996. Multiracial Identity in a Color-Conscious World In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience, p. 49-62

Williams, Teresa Kay. 1996. Race as a Process: Reassessing the "What Are You?" Encounters of Biracial Individuals. World In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 191 - 210

Week Eight -- Inter-Racial Relationships
February 25

Film: TBA

Johnson, Ronald. 1992. Offspring of Cross-Race and Cross-Ethnic Marriages. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America p. 239-249

Week Nine -- Multi-Faith Identity
March 11

Films: "School Ties" "Gefilte Fish"

Bayme, Steven. 1994. "Intermarriage and Communal Policy: Prevention, Conversion, and Outreach in Bayme and Rosen The Jewish Family and Jewish Continuity. Hoboken, NJ. KTAV, 285-293.

Cohen, Steven. 1987. "The One in 2000 Controversy" Moment. March

Greenberg, Irving. 1987. "The One in 2000 Controversy" Moment. March

Wertheimer, Jack, Charles Liebman, and Steven Cohen. 1996. "How to Save American Jews" Commentary. January, 47-51

Week Ten -- Inter-Faith Relationships
March 18

*Observation and Analysis Paper or Group Identity Paper Due

Gilbreath, Edward 1994.How Our Children Suprised Us. Christianity Today 32-33. March 7

Schumer, Fran. 1990 Star-Crossed: More Gentiles and Jews are Intermarrying - and It's not all Chicken Soup. New York, April 2, 23, 13, 32-37.

Guest Speakers

Week Eleven -- Classification and Census-Taking March 25

Students Present Research Papers

Guest Speakers

Gabrielle, Sandor.1994. The 'Other' Americans American Demographics 16, 36-42. June

Rodriguez, Clara E.1992. Race, Culture, and Latino Otherness in the 1980 Census. Social Science Quarterly, Dec, 930-937.

Fernandez, Carlos A. 1995. Testimony of the Association of Multiethnic Americans Before the Subcommittee on Census, Statistics, and Postal Personnel of the U.S. House of Representatives. In Naomi Zack (Ed.), American Mixed-Race p. 191 - 210

Fernandez, Carlos A. 1996. Government Classification of Multiracial/Multiethnic People. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience pp. 15 - 36

Graham, Susan R. 1996. The Real World. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 37 - 48.

Wilson, Terry. 1992. Blood Quantum: Native American Mixed Bloods. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), Racially Mixed People in America p.108-125

Week Twelve -- Integrating Race, Class, and Gender
April 1

Students Present Research Papers

Allman, Karen Maeda.1996. (Un)Natural Boundaries: Mixed Race, Gender, and Sexuality. In Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 277 - 320

Kich, George. 1996. In the Margins of Sex and Race Maria P. P. Root (Ed.), The Multiracial Experience p. 277-290

Lorde, Audre. 1992. "Age, Race, Class and Women Redefining Difference" in in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth P.503-509

Russell, Karen. 1992. "Growing Up With Privilege and Prejudice." in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth P. 82-87

Wilson, William Julius. 1989. "The Cost of Racial and Class Exclusion in the Inner City" The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 501, January, P. 8-25

Week Thirteen -- Building Community
April 8

*Essay/Literature Review Due

Students Present Research Papers

Calderon, Jose. "Latinos and Ethnic Conflict in Suburbia: The Case of Monterey Park" Latino Studies Journal. Vol. 1, (2) May, 23-32

Fisher, Roger and William Ury. 1991. Getting to Yes. NY: Viking, p. 17-39

Leo, John. 1993. "Community and Personal Duty." in Scott Walker, ed. The Graywolf Annual Ten: Changing Community. St. Paul: Graywolf Press, Pages 29-32

Reagon Johnson, Bernice. 1992. "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century" in Race, Class and Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth P.503-509

Week Fourteen -- Concluding Discussion and Analysis
April 15

Students Present Research Papers
* Research Papers Due

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES

Students are expected to maintain the highest level of academic integrity. Students are expected to submit their own work on assignments. On assignments in which collaboration is encouraged, students will be asked to indicated the amount of work submitted that is their own. Cheating and plagiarism on papers and exams will not be tolerated and will negatively affect grades.

Active Participation (20 points)

Active student participation is essential to the success of this course. At a minimum, participation includes regular attendance and attending class on time. Active participation involves completing readings on time, exercising good listening skills and paying careful attention to class discussion, contributing analytical comments to discussion, asking probing and clarifying questions, and making good use of office hours. Students will be expected to make presentations to the class on readings and on their research papers. Students who are not active participants as described above will receive a lower grade; students who miss more than three classes will receive a failing grade for the course.

Research Paper (40 points - due April 15)

Research papers will be 10-15 pages and will ordinarily represent an individual effort, although students may request to do collaborative papers. Paper topics must be approved by the instructor.

Observation and Analysis Paper or Group Identity Paper (20 points - due March 18)

This paper (7-10 pages) will ordinarily be completed as collaborative effort with one-three other students. A single grade will be assigned to each paper, credited to each studentês name on the paper.

The observation and analysis paper will provide an opportunity to critically observe and record issues of intergroup relations, race and ethnic identity, multi-racial and multi-faith identity and relationships. Students should begin their observations at the start of the semester to compile enough data to write a comprehensive essay by the due date. Observations should be linked to reading assignments.

The group identity paper provides an opportunity for a personal exploration of oneês group identity(ies). These papers should also be started at the very beginning of the semester in order to allow sufficient time for paper development and revision.

Essay/Literature Review (20 points - due April 8)

Each student will submit a short, critical essay (5-7 pages) reviewing required readings for the course. This assignment provides an opportunity to reflect in an analytic, structured way on course readings and discussions. Rather than asking for a response to specific test questions, it allows each student to think about the whole of the course and focus the substance of the essay as each sees fit.

Students should first review the main themes of the course. Next, students should identify which themes they wish to discuss in this paper and then organize their discussion with reference to the readings. These essays are intended to be thoughtful and analytical, not merely summaries of readings.