Overview

In this course, we will discuss theoretical and empirical research on the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of ethnicity and race at the national and international level.

We will concentrate on the interactions and relationships between race/ethnicity, gender, class, and community relations. We will pay particular attention to the role of ethnicity and race in shaping patterns of socioeconomic inequality, and examine how they are embedded in asymmetrical power relations in diverse national societies. The main focus will be on Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. We will also address the role of states and civil society in shaping the sociopolitical context where ethnic and racial relations are shaped.

Using gender as central vector of analysis, we will explore ethnoracial relations vis-à-vis current debates about economic globalization, social inequality, racialization, international migration, immigrants’ rights, nationalism, and xenophobia.

One of the goals of this course is to help students identify how these issues are embedded in ordinary discourses and everyday practices in a globalizing world. We will discuss how ethnicity and race shape people’s everyday life experiences and access to, or denial of, socioeconomic and cultural opportunities and societal rewards.

In-class discussion will be a central part of the learning process, so students are encouraged to actively participate. One of the goals of this class is to encourage critical and thoughtful dialogue about complex and often controversial issues in an environment of mutual respect, guided by the UC Davis Principles of Community (http://occr.ucdavis.edu/poc/).

My lectures and course materials, including PowerPoint presentations, tests, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by U.S. copyright law and by University policy. I am the exclusive owner of the copyright for the materials I create. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use. You may also share those materials with another student who is enrolled in or auditing this course. You may not reproduce, distribute or display (post/upload) lecture notes or recordings or course materials in any other way — whether or not a fee is charged — without my express prior, written consent. You also may not allow others to do so. If you do , you may be subject to student conduct proceedings under the UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct. You own the copyright to your original papers and exam essays. If I am interested in posting your answers or papers on the course web site, I will ask for your written permission.