This comprehensive course takes a deep dive into the concept of race, with a significant focus on critically examining scientific studies and empirical evidence to understand its produced effects. Rather than speaking of race as a concept, we will delve into its complexities as a dynamic interplay of contradictory forces, facts, and tendencies that developed from the historical past to the present. Through rigorous inquiry, we will explore the various dimensions of race – biological, sociocultural, political, and discursive – to understand its role as a classificatory system of power and meaning. We will question the purpose that race serves and understand its profound influence on our socio-historical policies, laws, regulations, and practices. By further investigating the sociohistorical and scientific developments that contributed to the creation of the race concept, we will uncover the intricate ways in which race operates as a discursive system of meaning, generating both positive and negative effects in American society.
Readings:
1. Historical Race
2. Early Science of Race
3. Social Darwinism/Galton’s Genius
4. Early Eugenics
Empirical Studies/Research on Race
5. Race and Wealth
6. Race and Education
7. Race and Criminal Justice
8. Racial Bias in Neighborhood Preferences/Housing
9. Labor Market Discrimination
10. Discriminatory Medicine
11. Implicit Racial Bias
12. Becoming White: Latinx/Asian Americans/White Colorism
Sample Readings for two sections:
Racial Bias in Neighborhood Preferences/Housin
Readings:
(1) Race in America: Chapter 5: Housing; (2) Charles, Camille Zubrinsky. 2000. “Neighborhood Racial-Composition Preferences: Evidence from a Multiethnic Metropolis,” Social Problems 47 (379-407; (3) *Reading: Krysan, Maria, Mick Couper, Reynolds Farley and Tyrone Forman. 2009. “Does race matter in neighborhood preferences? Results of a video experiment,” American Journal of Sociology 115(2): 527-559.
Section: Labor Market Discrimination
Readings:
(1) Pager, Devah. 2003. “The mark of a criminal record,” American Journal of Sociology 108(5): 937-975; (2) Pager, Western and Bonikowski. 2009. “Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment,” American Sociological Review 74: 777-799; (3) Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2004. “Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination,” The American Economic Review 94(4): 991-1013.