Race and Racism	Spring 2001	PHI 270-001 & AAS 270-001
Dr. Kathryn Russell Department of Philosophy - SUNY Cortland		russellk@cortand.edu
Office Hours: Mon. 9:30-11:00 Thurs. 12:30-3:30 Fri. 10:00 - 11:00 and by appointment		138B Old Main Phone: ext. 2014

Required Readings:

Hord, Fred Lee and Jonathan Scott Lee, eds. I Am Because We Are: Readings in Black Philosophy. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1995.

Kivel, Paul. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work For Racial Justice. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1996.

Martinez, Elizabeth. De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1998.

Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview, 2nd ed. Boulder, Westview Press, 1999.

Course description:

This course will examine political, economic, and cultural issues that structure relations of power according to "race" in the United States. We will see that the concept of race cannot be grounded in biological differences among humans, nor can it be traced to innate behavioral tendencies or intellectual capacities. Instead race is a social construct, rooted in economic and cultural interests of dominating groups.

The first part of the course will focus on institutional racism. Students will work in groups to come up with recommendations for new policies to address racism or action plans for activism against racism.

Then we will turn to the historical origins of the concept of race. The ideology of race originates with the oppression of the Irish and Native American populations and growth of European colonialism with its attendant trade in the peoples of Africa. US colonialism continued the racialization processes begun by Europeans. The conquest of half of Mexico in 1848, the continued appropriation of Native American land, and the immigration of Asians have extended the racial paradigm beyond black vs. white.

We will see that the rise of colonialism and capitalism was accompanied with attempts to classify all humans and rank them according to their racial group. The result was competing theories of human diversity which ultimately served to justify the authority of white people, men in particular, and to legitimate the oppression of people of color. Though these scientific forms of racism declined in the twentieth century, they have been replaced with more subtle styles of racist thinking.

After grounding ourselves in a study of what racism is and how it has developed, we will examine black philosophical approaches found in the Carribean and the United States. This section will be significantly directed by students who will select the articles and the issues they want to focus on from the text I Am Because We Are: Readings in Black Philosophy and/or from material of their own choosing.

Alternative to requirements: practical projects may be used to substitute for some of the above requirements. Concrete details on your work and the portions of your grade that are substituted would have to be negotiated between you and me. Options: creating pages on the web, organizing/ speaking at a rally, making a presentation to students on campus, doing a performance or creating an exhibition on campus or in the community, etc.

**Activity reports: What to put in your reports: - don't just summarize the information you heard - pick one part to focus on - explain how an issue you learned about relates to the topics covered in this class. - react to the information from your own point of view

Policies and general information:

1. SUNY Cortland is committed to upholding and maintaining all aspects of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
   If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services located in B-40 Van Hoesen Hall or call (607) 753-2066 for an appointment. Any information regarding your disability will remain confidential. Because many accommodations require early planning, requests for accommodations should be made as early as possible. Any requests for accommodations will be reviewed in a timely manner to determine their appropriateness to this setting.
2. E-mail: Announcements, homework assignments, and information pertinent to our course work will be distributed by E-mail. Please get your account set up before the end of the first week. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR MAIL BEFORE CLASS.
3. There will be no mid-term or final exam.
4. Absolutely NO late work will be accepted unless PRIOR arrangements are made with the instructor and these will be made only in exceptional circumstances.
5. You are expected to follow college guidelines on academic honesty. All work submitted must be your own. All thoughts borrowed from others must be well documented. If I suspect plagiarism, you will be reported to the Provost as required by college policy.
6. I hope all of you will contribute regularly to class discussion. Please treat our class as a seminar, not a lecture course. For a seminar to be successful, each student must assume responsibility for the educational process. Getting much out of any one class session will depend on your doing the readings and thinking about them before we meet. Be sure to ask questions when you feel confused and comment on ideas you find interesting.
   Take it upon yourself to answer other students' questions. Please don't assume that I am in possession of the final, correct answer to a question -- good philosophical inquiry doesn't work that way! Ultimately, we are all learners with different backgrounds and experiences but with common commitments to further our understanding of the important issues we will be discussing.