THEORIES OF RACE IN POLITICS
POLITICAL SCIENCE 410/510 (Cross-listed with Ethnic Studies)
Professor:Julie Novkov
Office:922 PLCOffice Hours:TBA
Office Phone:346-4876E-mail:
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a survey of theories about the modern relationship between race and politics.While much of the material addresses race in the United States, some readings explore race as a political category in other countries.
We will be considering race through a variety of different theoretical frameworks.Most of the readings argue or assume that race is not a natural, biological category, understanding it instead as a sorting mechanism designed and defined by human beings to classify each other.Although the course focuses on politics and the state, it is not intended to be limited to the insights derived from political science.We will read work by political scientists, but also by historians, sociologists, legal experts, and philosophers that sort through the historical and contemporary significance of race as a political category.
The course will help students to develop their own reasoned standpoints on important questions about race.By the end of the course, you should be able to address effectively the following questions, among others:
What is race? How has it connected to politics, and how have political understandings of race changed over time?
What role has race played in the organization of states and governments?
Is the hierarchic treatment of racial groups a necessary component of liberal societies?What hope is there for the eradication of racial hierarchies in politics and culture?
Should we seek to eliminate race as a political category?What are the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing such a strategy?
You will find that scholars disagree about the answers to these questions and related ones. The goal of the course is for you to learn about these disagreements and develop your own independent and critical assessment of the contemporary significance of race as a political category.
REQUIREMENTS
Students will be expected to attend class and participate in class discussions.Constructive, informed, respectful participation that contributes directly to conversations about the course material will raise borderline grades; lack of participation or consistently disruptive participation may result in lower grades.Class participation and attendance will constitute 10% of your grade.The baseline grade for class participation is a B, so a student who does not miss class but never participates in discussions can expect to get a B for this component of the course.You will be expected to keep up with the reading throughout the term.You will not be able to do well on the assignments without both attending class sessions and doing the reading.
As a seminar in political and social theory, this course will emphasize the development and exercise of critical reasoning, both orally and in writing.During the course of the term, each student will maintain a weekly log of her/his reflections about the course materials, lectures, and discussions.Each week I will provide a list of questions to assist you in organizing your reflections.You will be expected to write about two pages per week.I will periodically grade these response papers to help you to figure out if you are putting the right amount of work into them.At the end of the term, the entire log will be graded as a whole.You may revise previous entries before you submit the entire log.This assignment will constitute a total of 35% of your grade.
Each student will be responsible for presenting a response paper to the class once during the term.You will distribute your paper to the class at least 24 hours prior to our meeting and then present your ideas for about 10 minutes in class to open up the class’s discussions on your chosen topic.This assignment will constitute another 10% of your course grade.
The major writing obligation for the course can be fulfilled in one of two ways.You may either choose to write two argumentative essays during the term or to write one longer research paper.For the argumentative essays, I will provide a list of three to four questions from which you will choose; the first essay will be written in two drafts and you will have the option to revise the second essay.For the research paper, you will choose a topic in consultation with me and turn in a rough and final draft for formal evaluation.The argumentative essays will run about ten standard pages in length, while research papers should be about twenty pages.The major writing obligation will constitute the remaining 45% of your grade.The course will have no final examination.
The weights of your various obligations will differ depending on whether you choose to write argumentative essays or a research paper.The weights break down as follows:
Argumentative EssaysResearch Paper
Class participation10%Class participation10%
Response papers 15%Response papers 15%
Response papers 210 %Response papers 210%
Entire log of papers20%Entire log of papers20%
Presentation of paper10%Presentation of paper10%
Essay 1 draft5%Research paper draft5%
Essay 1 final15%Research paper final40%
Essay 225%
Papers are due in class at the beginning of class where indicated in the syllabus.Because of the need to allow time for me to provide detailed feedback on your writing, these deadlines are very rigid.If your draft is late for any reason, you will be penalized.
POLICIES
Students with disabilities.If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with the professor soon.Please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability.
Class attendance.You will be expected to attend class.Each student is permitted to miss two days of class per term with no questions asked and no penalties or reductions in his or her class participation grade.Any classes missed beyond those two will be taken into account in determining your class participation grade, regardless of the reason.
Extensions for papers.To avoid creating inequities for other students in the class and to give me time to provide good feedback, no extensions will be given for rough drafts of papers.Late papers will be penalized half a grade per day for every day that the paper is late, starting at the beginning of class the day the paper is due.Extensions for final papers will only be permitted under compelling circumstances and if the extension is requested in advance.Any student who does not turn in her or his paper on time and has not contacted the professor in advance will lose half a grade per day for every day the paper is late unless the student can provide a University-approved excuse.
Regrading of materials.You may request regrading of materials that I have graded.If you wish to make such a request, contact the professor for a copy of the regrading policy.You will be asked to provide a written explanation of why you wish to have the assignment regraded.
Plagiarism or cheating.This one’s simple: don’t do it.Don’t even think about doing it.Plagiarism is the use of someone else’swordsorideaswithout giving the original author credit by citing him or her.If you use someone else’s language directly, you must use quotation marks.If you rely on another person’s ideas in creating your argument, you must provide a citation.This is obviously required for research papers, but I will expect careful attention to citation in the argumentative essays as well.If you have any questions about plagiarism, please contact me before you submit the assignment for grading.If you plagiarize or cheat in this class, theBESToutcome you can hope to achieve is a failing grade.Ignorance will not provide a defense to the application of this policy.
MATERIALS
You will be expected to have access to several books for the course.They will be available for purchase at the book store, but copies will also be on reserve at Knight LibraryThere will also be a course packet available for purchase, which will include a few handouts as well as some articles and book chapters.Items available in the course packet are marked with an asterisk in the syllabus.Two items are on e-reserve.I recognize that the total book bill for this course will be higher than for most political science classes; I encourage you to share books with other students in the course if this will help you to manage.Some of the books may also be available used or through cheaper on-line sources.The books available for purchase will be the following:
RequiredRecommended (required for grad students)
Paul Gilroy,Against Race($16.95)Charles Mills,The Racial Contract($15.95)
Adolph Reed,Stirrings in the Jug($18.95)Grace Elizabeth Hale,Making Whiteness($16.00)
Anthony Marx,Making Race and Nation($21.00)Philip Klinkner,The Unsteady March($20.00)
Charles Omi & Michael Winant,Racial FormationDavid Roediger,The Wages of Whiteness($19.00)
in the United States($22.95)Noel Ignatiev,How the Irish Became White($19.99)
COURSE WEB PAGE
The course will also feature a web page, through which you can keep up on what’s going on in the class.The web page can be found at there is substantial interest and consent, I will post your reflective papers on the web site as well.
SYLLABUS
UNIT ONE:RACE, BIOLOGY, AND IDEOLOGY
January 6
Race: The Power of an Illusion(video)
January 8
*W.E.B. DuBois,The Souls of Black Folk(excerpts)
*Gunnar Myrdal,An American Dilemma(excerpts ON E-RESERVE)
January 13
Harold Omi & Michael Winant,Racial Formation in the United States
January 15
Harold Omi & Michael Winant,Racial Formation in the United States
January 20
*Barbara Fields, “Ideology and Race in American History”
Recommended for Unit One
Charles Mills,The Racial Contract
Race: The Power of an Illusion(video)
UNIT TWO: RACE, HISTORY, AND STATE-BUILDING
January 22
*Theodore Allen,The Invention of the White Race(excerpts)
Response papers for weeks one-three due
January 27
*1901 Alabama Constitutional Convention Debates (excerpts ON E-RESERVE)
*Alabama Constitution (1901) (excerpts)
*Amendments to the Alabama Constitution (excerpts)
*W. Flynt, “Alabama’s Shame: The Historical Origins of the 1901 Constitution.”
*R.V. Riser, “The Burdens of Being White: Empire and Disenfranchisement.”
January 29
Adolph Reed,Stirrings in the Jug
February 3
Adolph Reed,Stirrings in the Jug
February 5
Adolph Reed,Stirrings in the Jug
Draft of essay one due (short essay option only)
February 10
Anthony Marx,Making Race and Nation
February 12
Anthony Marx,Making Race and Nation
Response papers for weeks four-six due
February 17
Anthony Marx,Making Race and Nation
Recommended for Unit Two
Philip Klinkner,The Unsteady March
UNIT THREE: WHITENESS, THE LAW, AND RACIAL AMBIGUITY
February 19
*Peggy Pascoe, “Miscegenation Law, Court Cases, and Ideologies of ‘Race’ in Twentieth-Century America.”
Final draft of essay one due (essay option only)
February 24
*Victoria Bynum, “’White Negroes’ in Segregated Mississippi: Miscegenation, Racial Identity, and the Law.”
February 26
*Clare Sheridan, “’Another White Race’: Mexican Americans and the Paradox of Whiteness in Jury Selection.”
*Steven Wilson, “Brown over ‘Other White’: Mexican Americans’ Legal Arguments and Litigation Strategy in School Desegregation Lawsuits.”
*Ariela Gross, “Comment: Texas Mexicans and the Politics of Whiteness.”
Draft of research paper due (research paper option only)
Recommended for Unit Three
Grace Elizabeth Hale,Making Whiteness
David Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness
Noel Ignatiev,How the Irish Became White
UNIT FOUR:WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
March 2
Paul Gilroy,Against Race
March 4
Paul Gilroy,Against Race
Optional draft of essay two due (essay option only)
March 9
*Richard Delgado, “Linking Arms: Recent Books on Interracial Coalition as an Avenue of Social Reform.”
March 11
*Peter Kolchin, “Whiteness Studies: The New History of Race in America.”
Final research paper due (research paper option only)
Final draft of essay two due (essay option only)
Final compilation of reflective essays will be due on Tuesday, March 16.