INTRODUCTION
TO ETHNIC STUDIES
ES 101, Sections
001-005
SPRING 2008
M, W, F
10:30am-11:20 am
GARTLEY 103
[WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES] [RESEARCH/ SERVICE LEARNING REPORT] [FINAL EXAM]
Dr. Monisha Das Gupta
Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies
306 George Hall
956-2914
dasgupta@hawaii.edu
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dasgupta/
Office Hours: W 1-4 pm; and
on Fridays by appointment
For the hotlinked syllabus and updates, refer to: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dasgupta/
SECTIONS:
Section 1 Meets Fridays in GART 103: Leaders:
Section 2 Meets Fridays in KUY 309: Leaders: Jynene
Redfield jynene@hawaii.edu
and
NOTE:
Sections have been recombined.
Section 1 includes all students who signed up for Section 001 + students with last names B-E in Section 004
Section 2 includes all students who signed up Section 002 + students with last names H-Y in Section 004
Section 3 includes all students who signed up for Section 003 + All students in Section 005COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This introductory course in Ethnic
Studies examines U.S.
history and contemporary social issues from multiple perspectives to arrive at
a plural and multicultural understanding of U.S. society. It introduces students
to core concepts and methods used in the study of race and ethnic relations in
the United States. We will analyze these relations through the
lens two major processes that have marked the formation of the United States
– colonization and migration. We do this to understand why social
inequalities in the U.S.
persist and how these inequalities are distributed across racial and gender
groups. At the same time, we look at
these groups’ numerous struggles for a just society. This course is designed to provide students
from various disciplines with a glimpse of the ways in which Ethnic Studies
gives us tools to work toward building a better world.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1) Howard Zinn. 2003
edition. A People’s History of the
United States. Available at Revolution Books 2626 King Street, 944-3106.
You get a 10% discount. Please pay by check or cash. No credit cards are accepted.
2) ES 101 Reader available at the Campus Center Copy Services next to Pizza Hut.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Develop critical thinking:
Students will learn to think conceptually and critically. This means students will apply the concepts
they learn in class to historical and contemporary events as well as their day-to-day
experiences. This course will push
students to go beyond describing social reality or historical events to analyzing
them by asking “how, why, what” questions. Critical thinking is often
uncomfortable because we have to examine some of our deeply-held beliefs and
assumptions. But once we get used to it,
a new window through which we view the world opens up.
Develop a sense of history:
Students will learn to put contemporary social issues in historical context.
Link classroom learning with
community needs: Ethnic Studies is
committed to linking university learning with service to the communities in
Hawai‘i. Students will be expected to
gain hands-on experience with service learning.
GETTING A MAJOR, MINOR OR CERTIFICATE IN ETHNIC STUDIES
This course provides the
foundation for success in upper division Ethnic Studies courses and advanced
study in the social sciences and the humanities offered in other departments.
Many students take ES 101 because it fulfills a requirement. In the course of
the semester, they get interested in the subject matter and take other Ethnic
Studies courses. Yet, they might not
realize that they are accruing credits toward an Ethnic Studies degree. A major, minor or a certificate in Ethnic
Studies opens up career opportunities in public policy, journalism, law,
education, social work, public health, and in the non-profit sector. In Hawai‘i and on the continent, you will
find UH Ethnic Studies graduates in many of these fields. Our department is small, friendly, and makes
sure that students get the help they need from faculty to decide on the
intellectual path they want to pursue in college. For information on how to major, minor or get
a certificate, visit Ethnic Studies Academic Program
and contact the undergraduate advisor Prof. Ibrahim Aoude at aoude@hawaii.edu or at 956-4000.
GRADE
DISTRIBUTION AND DEADLINES:
Weekly Assignments due in class on F (Week 2-Week 17) 30%
Take Home Midterm due in
class 3/3
20%
Service Learning/ Research Report due in class 4/21 10%
Final Take Home Exam
30%
Attendance and Participation
10%
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS:
E-mail and Web Access:
I will frequently send you
e-mails about follow ups, reminders, and campus events. All
students need to sign up for their hawaii.edu accounts and check that
account regularly. For the most updated syllabus, hot links to
articles, and guidelines for assignments, you must check the ES 101
link on my webpage: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dasgupta/
Attendance:
If you have signed on to take this course,
the basic expectation is that you attend.
An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of every
class. You cannot sign the sheet if you
come in late. Early departures or coming
late to class — unless by permission — will be considered as absences.
Participation:
Adrienne Rich, poet and
anti-racist scholar, reminds us that education is something we claim, not
receive. This means learning is an active, not passive process. Speaking and
active listening in class counts for participation. The
grade of students who have perfect attendance but do not participate in class
discussion will automatically drop to a “B.”
If you have problems speaking in a classroom setting, please talk to me
about it. The
success of this class depends on honest and respectful discussion that engages
with the ideas presented in the readings, lectures, videos, and by your
classmates. While some of you may not
feel comfortable in the beginning to speak in front of the whole class,
group-based discussions should always provide you with an opportunity to speak.
Reading:
You must come to
class having done the assigned reading.
You cannot do your weekly assignments or participate in discussions without
doing the readings. Please bring the
relevant reading material to class so that you can refer to it.
Note taking:
Good
note taking is a skill that you'll need in any profession. It is
essential that you take notes as you read and on lectures delivered in class.
Copying down talking points on powerpoint slides does not
count as notes. You must take notes that reflect the content of
the lectures and use them when you are doing your assignments.
Written assignments:
All writing you submit for the class will have to be typed
and grammatically correct. All assignments for this class must be handed to the
instructor in person.
a) Weekly assignments: Starting Week 2, the course outline below has
questions based on that week’s readings that you will answer for this
assignment. The assignment must
show that you have covered all the readings and answered all the questions. There are no make-ups for discussion
questions and questions submitted by e-mail or dropped off by a friend are not
acceptable. See the online syllabus for guidelines on doing this assignment.
b) Take Home Midterm
and Finals: The midterm and finals
will be handed out in class. They will
be a set of short questions that will test you on your ability to think
critically about concepts, events, and issues covered in the course. The take home tests will be open book; you
will be allowed to consult your notes and readings as you answer the questions.
The finals will test you on the material covered in the entire course.
c) Service Learning
Project: Students will be asked to sign up for a service learning project
by the third week of classes. They will
be offered a range of projects. Find
details about these projects at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~csssl/.
You will be graded on the quality of
your participation, your completion of the 20 hours, and a 4-page reflection
that connects your service learning experience to what we learnt in class.
OR
Research Report: If
you are unable to participate in service learning, you will be asked to write a
8-page research report on one of the following topics:
- Homelessness in O’ahu
- Caring for Hawai’i’s
environment
- Regeneration of Native Hawaiian Culture
- Filipino immigrant life in O’ahu
The research will be library based
and you will formulate your research topic and plan in consultation with me and
your lab leader. You must have met with your lab leader about your project by
Week 9.
Extra Credit Events:
If you want to bolster your grade
or make up for a missed weekly assignment, you may submit a paragraph-long
reflection on and a question about an event or lecture you attended on
campus. These events will be announced
in class or sent to you by e-mail. You
will get 1 point for each report.
Office Hours:
Please use my office hours listed at the top of the syllabus. If you cannot make those, make an appointment
to see me. One-to-one meetings during
office hours enable us to discuss your ideas and help you with any difficulty
you face with the course material. This kind of work cannot be done when I am
meeting with you as a class. These
meetings also help me to get to know you better.
♦ Students who have special needs should make an appointment
to see me within the first week of class so that we can ensure your full
participation.
POLICIES:
Late Assignments: All assignments are due in class.
The dates on which the papers are due are firm deadlines. There are no late submissions or makeups for
the weekly assignments and finals. If
you miss the mid-term exam because of illness (you must submit a physician’s
note), unexpected travel, religious observance, or a family emergency, you will
need to immediately notify me (not your lab leader) and make arrangements for
the makeup. If you hand in your exam late without notification, you will lose 1/3 of a grade for every day that an
assignment is late. If you anticipate
problems with meeting a deadline (this requires thinking ahead), please see me,
call me, or e-mail me.
Absences: Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed three unpenalized absences (a week’s worth of classes). You will lose 1/3 of a grade for every absence
after that. If you cannot come to class,
you need to inform me through e-mail.
Please understand that if you are absent then you obviously cannot
participate in class. Your absences will
be reflected in the grade you receive for participation.
Academic honesty: Any infraction of codes of academic honesty will lead to
sanctions from the instructor. You will receive a failing grade if you inadequately paraphrase a text, or copy or
submit other people’s work, or do not properly attribute ideas that are not
original to you.
COURSE OUTLINE:
- Zinn
refers to chapters in the book, A People’s History of the United States.
- R# refers to the readings in your
course reader. Refer to the Table
of Content in the course reader to find the reading.
UNIT I: Key Concepts
Week 1:
1/14: Introductions; What is Ethnic Studies?
1/16: “American Anthropology Statement on Race” (Download
from online syllabus)
1/18: Meet in Gartley
103. Video: Race, the Power of an Illusion, excerpts from Part 1
Week 2:
- Weekly
Assignment due 1/25 (F) 2pts: What is “social construction”? What makes “social constructs” somewhat
different from “stereotypes”?
1/21: HOLIDAY
1/23: R#1: Lorber; R#2: Mantsios; R #3: Collins
1/25: Meet in Gartley
103. R# 4: Espiritu; R#5: Tengan
UNIT II: Conquest: White
settler colonialism
Week 3:
- Weekly
Assignment 2/1 (F) 2pts: What
were the main justifications used by the Spanish, Puritans, and leaders of
the early U.S. Republic to colonize the indigenous people of North America? Give an example of Powhatan gender
relations that helps us critique these justifications.
1/28: Zinn, Ch 1,
1/30: Rountree, Excerpts from Powhatan, Pocahontas, Opechancanough (Download), Zinn Ch 7, R #6: Burnett
2/1: Meet in Sections. * LeMasters,
“Pocahontas: (De)Constructing an American Myth” (Download from online syllabus)
Week 4
- Weekly
Assignment due 2/8 (F) 2pts: What is cultural genocide and how do U.S. laws facilitate
this? List the ways in which Native
Americans have fought cultural genocide.
2/4: R# 7: Guerrero; R# 8: Smith
2/6: Video: In Light
of Reverence; Zinn, Ch 19 (pp. 524: It was thought that the Indians –536
…there are visions to be seen); R# 9: Looking Horse; R#10: Black Elk
2/8: Meet in Sections; Learn about Mascots
(From this page skim the US Civil Rights Commission's and the American
Psych Association's positions; also take a look at the FAQ link right
above the YouTube clip).
UNIT III: Slavery and
its Legacies
Week 5
- Weekly
Assignment due 2/15 (F) 2pts: What were the main features of slavery
and what was a major difference between the labor that was extracted from
enslaved black men and women? What were the various strategies that blacks
used over time to resist slavery?
What positions did working class whites take on slavery?
2/11: Zinn Ch 2, R
#11: “Slave Codes”; R# 12: Harley
2/13: Zinn Ch 9
2/15: Meet in Sections:
* Zinn Ch 10
Week 6:
- Weekly
Assignment due 2/22 (F) 2pts : What
kinds of rights did African Americans exercise during the First
Reconstruction? What types of Jim
Crow arrangements ensured the rise of white supremacy and the failure of
Reconstruction?
2/18: HOLIDAY
2/20: R # 13: Hines et al.; Davis, “Creating Jim Crow,”
“Surviving Jim Crow,” “Resisting Jim Crow,” “Escaping Jim Crow” (linked from
online syllabus)
2/22: Meet in Gartley 103. Video: The rise and fall of Jim Crow,
Part 1
Week 7
- Weekly
Assignment due 2/29 (F) 2pts:
What is “white privilege”? How
did European immigrants come to enjoy “white privilege”? Identify the gendered measures taken
against Asian immigrants to prevent them from accessing the rights enjoyed
by European immigrants.
2/25: R #14: Espiritu; Barrett and Roediger, “In between
peoples” (Download from online syllabus)
2/27: R# 15: McIntosh; Review for Take Home
2/29: Meet in Sections
Week 8
- Take Home Midterm due in class 3/3 (20 pts)
- Weekly
Assignment due 3/7 (F) 2pts: Why was Hurricane Katrina called an
“unnatural disaster”? Reflect on
one episode in the video that helped you understand why we need the
historical background about the development of racism, sexism and
capitalism.
3/3: R # 16: Waite et al: Video, When the Levees Broke(Act 1), Timeline: Aug 24, 2005-Aug 30, 2005 (scroll down to the dates), Chart of Hurricane Katrina victims, Map of Levees and New Orleans Neighborhoods (scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the jpg file for the map)
3/5: R# 17: Harriford and Thompson; Video, When the Levees Broke(Act II)
3/7: Meet in Gartley
103. Video, When the Levees Broke(Act
III )
Browse: Teaching The
Levees
Week 9
- Weekly
Assignment due 3/14 (F) 2pts :
Reflect on what you learnt about the interplay of race, gender, and
class in studying the impact of Hurricane Katrina. What is the “biopolitics of
disposability”?
3/10: Video, When the
Levees Broke(Act IV); Enarson, “Women and Girls Last?: Averting the Second
Post-Katrina Disaster” (Download from online syllabus); R # 18 Tisserand; R # 19: Younge
3/12: Giroux, “Reading
Hurricane Katrina: race, class and the biopolitics of disposability” (Download
from online syllabus)
3/14: Meet in Sections
Week 10:
- Weekly
Assignment due 3/19 (W) 2pts: What is colorblindness? What lessons can we learn from the
struggles against social inequalities in the “long” Civil Rights Movement
that will help us fight the effects of colorblindness in the Third
Reconstruction (rebuilding New
Orleans)?
3/17: Hall, "The long civil rights movement and the political uses of the past" (Download from online syllabus)
3/19: Finish Hall; R# 20: Harriford and Thompson
3/21: HOLIDAY
Week 11 (3/24-3/28)
SPRING BREAK
UNIT IV: Conquest, Migration, and Transnationalism
Week 12: Mexico
- Weekly
Assignment due 4/4 (F) 2pts: What
were the reasons behind the conquest of northwest Mexico? How does this history help you
understand the border as a “social construct”? List the ways in which border controls
are being currently used against immigrants.
3/31: R# 21: Acuna; R #22: Anzaldúa
4/2: Cho, “Beyond the Day without an Immigrant” (Download); Danticat,
“Impounded fathers”
(Download)
4/4: Meet in Sections
Week 13: Hawai‘i
- Weekly
Assignment due 4/11 (F) 2pts:
What were the major economic and cultural transformations in Hawai‘i induced
by contact with the West before 1893?
What steps did the Kanaka Maoli take and continue to take to resist
annexation? Why is it important to
document Kanaka resistance?
4/7: Zinn, Ch 12 (pp.297-301 up to “…expansionist policies,
even war, might have popular appeal.”); R # 23: McGregor
4/9: Video: Then
there were none; R# 24: Silva; R #25: McGregor
4/11: Meet in Sections
Week 14: - Weekly
Assignment due 4/18 (F) 2pts: Why
is the portrayal of Hawai‘i as a harmonious multiracial society an
illusion? Discuss two distinct
strategies that the haole power structure adopted to keep the Issei and
the Nisei respectively from enjoying full citizenship in Territorial
Hawai‘i.
4/14: Wilson, "More Whites, Fewer Asians in Hawaii" (Download); R # 26: Glenn
4/16: R # 27: Okamura
4/18: Meet in
Sections
Week 15: The Philippines
- Research/ Service Learning Project Due 4/21(M) in class
- Weekly Assignment due 4/25 (F) 2pts: On what grounds did the U.S. colonize the Philippines? What is the relationship between the
colonization of the Philippines
and Filipino migration to the U.S.?
4/21: Video: This
Bloody Blundering Business, R # 28: Schirmer and Shalom
4/23: R # 29: Espiritu
4/25: Meet in Sections.
Week 16:
- Weekly Assignment due 5/2 (F) 2pts: What kinds of transnational ties do
Filipina/os maintain with their homeland?
What is one gendered impact of migration from the Philippines?
4/28: R# 30: Espiritu
4/30: Video, Modern heroes, modern slaves; R # 31: Parreñas
5/2: Meet in Sections
Week 17: Taking stock
- Weekly Assignment due 5/7 (W) 2pts: By using two
examples from the documentary, illustrate the transnational dimensions of
Filipina women’s work and the protest against the treatment of overseas
workers.
5/5: Video: Modern
Heroes (contd); Review of main concepts in the course
5/7: Review for Finals
* This syllabus is subject to minor changes.
FINAL EXAMS DUE MAY 13, TUESDAY, BY 3PM AT GEORGE 301
(NO EXTENSIONS)