This course provides an introduction to the major theories, debates, and issues concerning the study of cultures of American ethnic groups. Utilizing social science/cultural studies frameworks, it examines concepts of identity, culture, group formation, and social/political structure to broaden how one understands patterns of relations of power between dominant and “minority” groups as well as among various “minority” groups in the U.S.

In Section 1 (first half of the semester), class readings, lectures and discussions will center on fundamental theoretical issues: the meanings of culture in the personal, political and social sense; power relations over processes of social construction of identities; the emergence and persistence of racial stratification; intersections and transformations of social categories; and the various forms of resistance to structures of inequality.

Section 2 (last half of the semester) covers specific contemporary issues set against the prisms of group experiences and analyzed in terms of the structural and cultural understandings covered in Section 1. Topics include immigration, access to education, popular culture and its alternatives, language debates, employment and the politics of culture in a moment of an economic crisis.

The course will survey historical, social, political, economic and cultural processes that have been experienced by ethnic groups in the U.S. It offers multiple perspectives of (1) how 'race' and ethnicity have defined the experiences of all people in the U.S. and (2) how this has ultimately served to develop a social hierarchy that shape all categories of social status and relationships (class, gender, sexuality, religion/spirituality, dis/ability, family structure, education, age/generation, citizenship/immigration status, and other relationships). We will also examine intergroup (e.g. African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino/a, Native American, European American) and intra-group challenges within today's ethnic communities.

Important Dates

SUMMER 2024

CRN#: 54409 | ONLINE | ASYNCHRONOUS (No scheduled meetings in-person or online)

• This class starts 06/10/24 and ends 07/28/2024

FALL 2024

CRN#: 73077 | HYBRID | SYNCHRONOUS (There are scheduled meetings in-person and on zoom)

• This class starts 08/17/24 and ends 12/20/2024

• This class has two (2) required in-person meetings on the following dates and times:
  
        Tuesday, September 24 | 5:10pm-8:00pm| MUB 140
        Tuesday, October 29 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | MUB 140

• This class has four (4) required ZOOM meetings on the following dates and times. Zoom links for online meetings can be found inside the CANVAS course. All cameras must be on during zoom meetings:
  
        Tuesday, August 20 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom
        Tuesday, October 08 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom
        Tuesday, November 26 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom
        Tuesday, December 03 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom

• The rest of the course is asynchronous online

CRN#: 73076 | HYBRID | SYNCHRONOUS (There are scheduled meetings in-person and on zoom)

• This class starts 08/17/24 and ends 12/20/2024

• This class has two (2) required in-person meetings on the following dates and times:
  
        Tuesday, September 24 | 5:10pm-8:00pm| MUB 140
        Tuesday, October 29 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | MUB 140

• This class has three (3) required ZOOM meetings on the following dates and times. Zoom links for online meetings can be found inside the CANVAS course. All cameras must be on during zoom meetings:
  
        Tuesday, August 27 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom
        Tuesday, October 01 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom
        Tuesday, November 26 | 5:10pm-8:00pm | CityZoom

• The rest of the course is asynchronous online

Course Syllabus