Summer 2020  |  SOC 3251W Section 001: Sociological Perspectives on Race, Class, and Gender (82786)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
06/08/2020 - 07/31/2020
Tue, Thu 05:30PM - 08:00PM
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Enrollment Status:
Open (29 of 32 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
In the midst of social unrest, it is important for us to understand social inequality. In this course we will analyze the impact of three major forms of inequality in the United States: race, class, and gender. Through taking an intersectional approach at these topics, we will examine the ways these social forces work institutionally, conceptually, and in terms of our everyday realities. We will focus on these inequalities as intertwined and deeply embedded in the history of the country. Along with race, class, and gender we will focus on other axes of inequality including sexuality, citizenship, and dis/ability. We will analyze the meanings and values attached to these social categories, and the ways in which these social constructions help rationalize, justify, and reproduce social inequality. prereq: Soc majors/minors must register A-F
Class Notes:
Click this link for more detailed course information http://classinfo.umn.edu/?sajja017+SOC3251W+Summer2020 This 8-week online class will meet on Tues & Thur evenings from 5:30-8:00 with synchronous online instruction.
Class Description:
Numerous scholars in the social sciences have noted pervasive inequalities in the United States. These inequalities often manifest within the realms of education, health, income, wealth (among others) and often cut sharply along the lines of race, gender, and class. This course will examine the cultural processes through which such durable inequality can persist despite widespread (although not-near total) belief in egalitarian ideals in the United States. We will discover, through engagement with scholarly work spanning from the early 20th century until our current moment, how racial, classed, and gendered social positions and identities saturate every aspect of social life - our perception, our routines, our values, and even the way we carry our bodies through the world. Both during class time and within class assignments, students will use such accumulated knowledge to account for why social power remains unequally distributed in the United States.

List of assigned authors in the course include (but is not limited to): W.E.B DuBois, Dorothy Smith, Patricia Hill Collins, Kimberlee Crenshaw, Pierre Bourdieu, and others.

Who Should Take This Class?:
All students who have an interest in grappling with the deep sources/consequences of social inequality, especially if they have already become interested in the sociological discipline, are welcome.

Learning Objectives:
Students will gain an entry-level understanding of essential works in sociology which explain the cultural nature and operation of Race, Class, and Gender in the United States.

In service of the above objective, students will learn strategies for how to digest and comprehend academic texts and their theoretical content.


Students will gain experience in working with other students and the instructor in a discussion (rather than purely lecture) format to review and apply course texts.


Students will develop the ability to translate sociological texts and theory into their surrounding social contexts, using it to analyze a social problem of their choosing in a course paper.


Students will learn how to develop and revise a medium length
(10-12 page) paper, and, consequently, a sociologically-informed argument, throughout multiple drafts and across several weeks.

Grading:
Students will be evaluated on a mixture of class participation, Small, pre-class writing assignments which will prepare you for class, and several graded components (an articulation of topic, an outline with provisional sources, a peer-reviewed draft, and the final paper) of a 10-12 page paper due in segments throughout the term. There will be no quizzes or tests.
Exam Format:
There is no final exam for the class. A final paper will be due during the final exam period of the semester.
Class Format:
Classes will include the following activities (Instruction will be synchronous, meaning students will have to be online at the assigned times) :

-Small group discussion in zoom "breakout" rooms where students will meet regularly with a set of fellow students to respond to questions from the instructor. (The instructor encourages students to "go" to class in spaces where video and audio capture from their chosen device [smart phone or computer] is possible).

-Mini "lectures" where the instructor will pull together, in real time, the contributions of the various breakout groups (the logistics of this will be ironed out early in the term), as well as his expertise, into a shared notes document for the class on the readings for the day.

-Occasional films demonstrating course concepts

-Paper workshops with the students regular breakout groups to hone and revise their paper ideas and paper text.
Workload:
Students should expect to dedicate 4 to 6 hours a week to course readings in addition to several additional hours during weeks before major assignments
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/82786/1205
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
13 April 2020

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