Class meets in person in HH 306 on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm and live on Google Meet on Wednesday from 4:00 - 4:50 pm unless otherwise indicated. Assigned readings should be completed before class the day they are listed since most class periods will be devoted to discussion. Please make sure you understand and follow our Community Agreement for Classroom Discussions.

Note that UMD defines 1 credit hour as being equal to 3 hours of work. This is a 4 credit hour class, so in total you should expect to spend (at most!) 12 hours a week on this class. 4 hours are devoted to attending class, leaving 8 hours per week for reading, writing, etc. Please let me know if you find that you are spending more time on this class than that. 

Week 1

• Tue Sept 1:  [HH 306] First Day of Class. What is our Community Agreement for Classroom Discussions? What's In A Name? 

• Wed Sept 2 : [Google Meet] Read the Introduction of So You Want To Talk About Race (aka Talk About Race). Discuss. 

• Thur Sept 3 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 1 and 2 of Talk About Race. Discuss. What is a Personal Essay? 

  • Note that the Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 are approximately 30 pages.

Week 2

• Tue Sept 8 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 3 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Sept 9 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 4 of Talk about Race. Discuss.

• Thu Sept 10 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 5 and 6 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

  • Note that Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 are approximately 60 pages.

• Sun Sept 13 : Personal Essay #1 due by 11:59 pm. 

  • Details : Please make sure to read and understand the guidelines for Personal Essays before you start this assignment. 

• • NOTES : Reflect back on your life and make detailed notes about experiences you remember where your race or that of someone close to you (family or friend) was central to that experience. Your notes should contain specific details about people, places, dates, etc. which will help make these experiences uniquely yours. What details you include will depend on the type of experience, but you should include enough information to tell the story of that experience in a personal way. You should have one experience from each of these periods in your life : Early Childhood (ages 0 - 10), Middle School (ages 11 - 13), High School (ages 14 - 18), and College (ages 18+). Note that these experiences do not have to be from school itself they should just be from that "era" in your life. You should complete your notes before moving on to your outline. Remember that your notes should be made up of relatively brief bullet points and not paragraphs or a rough draft.

  • OUTLINE : Once your notes are finished, create an outline for your essay. Your experiences will serve as the foundation of your essay. Your outline should include all the specific details you need in order to tell the story of your experiences. In addition, you should add what each experience reveals about your understanding of race at that time and why that experience was significant to you. You should complete your outline before moving on to your essay. Remember that your outline should be in a traditional itemized format.

  • ESSAY : Using the four experiences described in your outline, write an essay exploring how race has been a part of your life and how your understanding of race has developed over time. Your four experiences should form the foundation of your essay. Your goal in this essay is to create a very personal history of how your understanding of race has evolved over time. How exactly you do this depends a lot on the kind of experiences you've had and your own personal background, so make sure to include details that are unique to you and your experiences.

  • Privacy Notice : I will not share your submission with anyone else, nor will I upload it to AI. It will remain private with me. I am the only entity who will read or grade your submission.

Week 3

• Tue Sept 15 : Read Chapter 7 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Sept 16 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 8 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

• Thur Sept 17 : Read Chapter 9, 10, and 11 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

  • Note that Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are approximately 65 pages.

Week 4

Final Exam 

TBA