SOC 3290—Race and Ethnic Relations
Three Semester Hours
JT 1/13
Prerequisites
University Requisite: 6 hours in SOC including 1000
Other: This course has been designed so that even if you haven’t had many courses in sociology, you can do well by focusing closely on the readings and carefully thinking through course material and questions.
Course Overview
Racial and ethnic problems in society; causes and consequences of prejudice and discrimination. Focus on differences and patterns of inequality in the United States as well as other societies.
Methods of Course Instruction
All material for this course is print-based. Instructor and students communicate and exchange materials through postal mail.
E-Print Option
In this course, an option exists to use e-mail to submit your lesson assignments. Your assignment will be returned to you either as an e-mail attachment or as a hard copy sent through the postal mail, depending on the preferences of the instructor and/or program.
Textbooks and Supplies
Schaefer, Richard T. Racial and Ethnic Groups . 13th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2011. [ISBN: 9780205248155]
Number of Lessons
The course has 12 lessons, including one midcourse examination and final examination. These lessons include:
- Lesson 1: Understanding Race and Ethnicity
- Lesson 2: Prejudice
- Lesson 3: Discrimination
- Lesson 4: Immigration and the United States
- Lesson 5: Ethnicity and Religion
- Lesson 6: Midcourse Examination
- Lesson 7: The Native Americans
- Lesson 8: The African Americans
- Lesson 9: Hispanics, Mexican American, and Puerto Ricans
- Lesson 10: Muslim and Arab Americans
- Lesson 11: Asian American Diversity, Chinese, and Japanese Americans
- Lesson 12: Final Examination
Types of Writing Assignments
Each lesson contains a writing assignment section where you complete the lesson by demonstrating an understanding of its material. Each lesson will conclude with questions that you are required to answer. These answers should be carefully developed following an essay format. You should begin with a clear thesis statement and substantiate your argument through the logical integration of course readings and discussions, while incorporating your own ideas. Your total submission should range between two and four pages (except where additional length is indicated), and it should be typed and preferably double-spaced. If you do not have access to a computer or typewriter, handwritten work is acceptable, if legible.
Grading Criteria
Grades for the course will be determined on the basis of your ten written assignments and two exams. The first exam will be worth 25% of your grade and the final exam will also be worth 25%. The ten written assignments will be averaged together at the end of the course and this averaged grade will be used in determining the final 50% of your course grade, making your combined exams and exercises equally weighted.
When calculating grades for the course, fractions of half a percent or higher will be rounded up to the next highest percent. For example, a grade of 79.5% would be rounded up to 80%. However, a grade of 79.4% would be rounded down to 79%.