MINORITIES IN AMERICAN LIFE (SOC 206)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to help students investigate the history and present status of majority-minority relations in the United States against the background of majority-minority relations in other parts of the world. Conditions and processes that affect the development of minority populations based on race and ethnicity are reviewed in terms of America as a nation of immigrants.

A full range of populations are surveyed with a view to understanding and explaining the similarities and differences in treatment and adaptations developed by dominant and subordinate populations. The existence of African Americans, White ethnic Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans are reviewed.

This course will use race-ethnicity, gender, and class as conceptual framework to study minorities both in America and other parts of the world. This course also will incorporate web-based instruction and cultural diversity into the curriculum in order to enhance teaching and learning.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

	develop the ability to access, evaluate, and use information effectively and critically.
	describe the theoretical perspectives that relate to the study of racial and ethnic relations
	learn how to collect data and write a research paper
	differentiate between "races’ and "ethnic groups"
	compare and contrast varying racial and ethnic groups that made up the population of the American society and discuss the diversity in the backgrounds
	describe how prejudice and discrimination may be related, or unrelated, to each other
	achieve a better understanding of the relationship of individuals and the social and cultural environment
	describe the characteristics of groups of people that contribute to diversity in terms of age, ethnic or racial status, social class, gender, physical abilities, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, etc. and examine how diversity integrates with communication.
	recognize that cultural practices relate to the geographical and historical conditions from which they arose.
	write and speak clearly and effectively in standard American English.
	use appropriate library tools such as library cataloging systems to access information in reference publications, periodicals, bibliographies, and data bases.
	select one group that has been historically discriminated against and describe specific discriminatory actions that this group has endured.
	use computers to access, analyze, or present information.
	recognize and explain the consequences of prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory actions.
	observe and propose ways of responding to minority status of groups through Service Learning

TEXTBOOK: Racial and Ethnic Groups, written by Richard Schaefer and published by Prentice Hall, the latest edition

CLASS FORMAT AND POLICIES:

	Class meetings will be organized on a lecture/discussion basis, with questions, comments, and discussions encouraged during all the class meetings.
	Cellular phones should be turned off during the class sessions.
	"Side conversations" are not allowed during class sessions.
	Students are expected to have prepared the assigned readings before class meetings to ensure productive discussions.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance
Regular attendance is mandatory for the successful completion of the course and it is worth 40 points of the semester grade. Students are asked to sign the attendance sheet before the class starts. Those who are chronically late or leave before classes dismiss may result in the loss of the attendance points.

Group Discussions
Students are required to participate in in-group discussions. A report on the assigned topic is due on the day of the discussion. Group discussions help students to reinforce the course material and are worth 40 points of the semester grade.

Two Multiple-choice Tests
There will be one multiple-choice exam. The test has 40 questions, 1 point each, with a total of 80 points.

Two Assignments
Students are required to submit two assignments, and they are worth 40 points of the semester grade.

Research Paper
Students are required to follow the research process and produce a 10-page research paper on a minority group of their choice. Students need to learn how to design a questionnaire and gather the first-hand data and collect secondary sources to support their hypotheses. Students are also required to present their research paper in class. TThis project is worth 60 points of the semester grade.

Grading Summary

Two Examinations	80 points
10-page Research Paper on minority group	60 points
Attendance and Class Discussions	20 points
Submit two homework assignments	40 points
Total	200 points

Grading Scale
Final grades for the course are determined by the sum of all the points during the semester and are based on grading scale listed below. A 200- point grading scale is used.

A = 180 - 200	B⁺ = 171 - 179
B = 160 - 170	C⁺= 151 - 159
C = 140 - 150	D⁺= 131 - 139
D = 120 - 130	F = below 119

SCHEDULE OF EXAMS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES

UNIT I: PERSPECTIVES ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS

Date	Topics	Reading Assignments
Week 1	Introduction to minority groups	Course Syllabus Chapter 1
	Theoretical perspectives Research Methods Vide show: Thinking Sociologically	Chapter 1
Week 2	Prejudice	Chapter 2
	Theories of prejudice	Chapter 2
Week 3	Understanding discrimination	Chapter 3
	Discrimination in American Society Video Show: Class Divided	Chapters 3

UNIT II: ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS SOURCES OF CONFLICT

Week 4	The history of immigration	Chapter 4
	The impact of immigration Web Assignment 1: Immigration data	Chapter 4
Week 5	The rediscovery of ethnicity	Chapter 5
	Religion in the United States	Chapter 5
	Video Show: Culture Diversity
	Review
	Test 1	Chapters 1,2,3,4,5

UNIT III: MAJOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS IN AMERICA

Week 6	Native Americans	Chapter 6
	Native Americans today Web Assignment 2: Native Americans	Chapter 6
Week 7	The making of African Americans	Chapter 7
	The Civil Rights movement Web Assignment 3: American Americans	Chapter 7
	African Americans Today	Chapter 8
Week 8	Hispanic Americans	Chapter 9
	Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Web Assignment 4: Mexican Americans	Chapter 10
Week 9	Asian Americans: growth	Chapter 11
	Asian Americans: diversity Web Assignment 5: Asian Americans	Chapter 11
Week 10	Chinese Americans	Chapter 12
	Japanese Americans
	Jewish Americans	Chapter 13
	Position of Jewish Americans Web Assignment 6: Jewish Americans	Chapter 12
Week 11	Women	Chapter 13
	Beyond the United States	Chapter 14
	Test 2

UNIT IV: WORK ON YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

Week 12	Lecture on the research process Select the topic of the research paper
	Literature Review: collect the second-hand data
Week 13	Formulate two hypotheses Design questionnaire to gather the primary data
	Distribute the questionnaire
Week 14	Analyze data
Week 15	Paper write
Week 16	Research Paper Presentation

MINORITIES IN AMERICAN LIFE (SOC 206)

Test 1

Test 2