Required Readings:

Andersen, Margaret L. and Collins, Patricia Hill. Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1998.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.

Articles on reserve in the library and handouts will supplement the main textbooks.

Optional Readings:

Bigelow, Bill, et. al. Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools. Ltd., 1994.

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

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

Course description:

The class will emphasize critical thinking about ethical and political problems that confront us in everyday life. It will challenge you to develop your own stand on selected issues but to sympathetically understand alternative points of view. You will be encouraged to work collaboratively with other students in responding to class material.

Policies and additional 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. Absolutely NO late work will be accepted unless PRIOR arrangements are made with the instructor. Such arrangements will be made only under unusual circumstances.

4. Plagiarism: All work submitted must be your own. Ideas borrowed from others, either directly or through paraphrase, must be well-documented through endnotes or footnotes. If I suspect plagiarism the student will be reported to the Provost and can either accept the charge or defend her or himself in the Grievance Tribunal.

5. If you are absent, you are responsible for finding out what went on in class, whether any assignments were given, and for keeping up with your work.

6. Though we will focus on particular articles, most of the Andersen/Collins book and additional handouts or articles on reserve will be assigned throughout the semester. You should do all the assignments and follow guidelines for analytic reading.

VAL 340 satisfies requirements for Category 2 in the General Education program. The 1999-2000 Catalog describes GE2 as follows:

The goal of this category is to educate students about the nature of prejudice and discrimination and their impact on the people of this country and throughout the world.

Assumptions

1. A liberal education should enable students to examine critically the ways they think about themselves as well as other people.

2. Understanding prejudice and discrimination is necessary as a first step in eliminating them.

Objectives

1. To examine issues such as power and bias as they relate to prejudice and discrimination, and how these issues have determined attitudes, institutions, dominance and subdominance.

2. To analyze how various beliefs can lead to conflicting conclusions about a society and its norms, values, and institutions.

3. To study the individual and institutional nature, as well as the extent of prejudice and discrimination, either in the American context with attention given to the global dimension, or in the global context with attention given to the American dimension.

4. To examine prejudice and discrimination in relation to unequal distribution of power.

5. To examine various aspects of prejudice and discrimination such as a moral, historical, educational, health, economic, linguistic, political psychological, and social dimensions. Other intellectual perspectives may be included. No course need embrace all disciplinary perspectives.

6. To examine the factors upon which prejudice and discrimination may be based, e.g.: race and/or gender as well as, class, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

• Two essays 25% of grade each

  Essay 1 - John Berger's Ways of Seeing and gender
  Essay 2 - Race and class

• One in class exam 10% of grade

• One action plan report 15 % of grade

• Class participation 10% of grade

  You are expected to attend every class session and actively participate in discussion. Bring your books to class. Three unexcused absences are acceptable; excessive absence can lower your grade.
  

  What counts as participation?

Speaking up in class in constructive ways - either with questions or comments, coming into my office to talk to me, taking active roles in your group work, helping other students, etc.

• In class writing, outside activity reports and homework 15% of grade.

You will be asked to do occasional writing in class or homework to demonstrate you have done reading assignments and to convey how well you've understood them. One in class writing assignment will be used not only for part of your grade, but also for Cortland College's assessment of student learning outcomes in the General Education Program (April 27).

The point of these writing assignments is to develop your skill in using the analytic concepts we study in class. This coursework will be graded check (acceptable), check plus (exceptional), and check minus (unacceptable).

Outside activity reports (200 words - typed)

• Attend a campus event of relevance to the class. These will be announced in class or campus publications. Turn your reports in within one week of the activity.
• Go to the Electronic Media Center in Memorial Library and view one segment of Eyes on the Prize. Due on or before Feb 24. Link to the handout on the contents of Eyes on the Prize segments on line from the Prejudice and Discrimination class base.
• Scholar's Day: All classes on campus will be canceled 8:00 - 5:00 April 12. You are required to attend and write up a report on ideas and scholarly activities you learned about.

What to put in your reports:

• pick an analytic concept you are learning about in class
• use this concept to analyze what you learned
• react to the information from your own point of view
• do not summarize the whole event

Extra credit: You can achieve extra credit by reading one of the optional books for this course and writing an analytic report on it.