Spring 2005

Color Lines: 20th Century Race and Ethnic Relations African American Studies 3390, History 3390

Dr. John D. Márquez Office: Liberal Arts, 332 Telephone: 747-7063 E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: T-TR: 9:00am-10:20am

Course Description: Despite popular assumptions of the “assimilation” of immigrants, the “extinction” of indigenous peoples, and the emergence of a “color-blind” society,” race and ethnicity continue to shape many aspects of our lives. It often determines the neighborhoods in which we live, the jobs open to us, the kinds of education we receive, and other opportunities in society at large. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the basic social and theoretical issues in the field of 20 th century race and ethnic relations. We will focus on the emergence and persistence of racial stratification in areas of the U.S. legal system, health and medicine, the environment, popular media, and military conflict. Special attention will be paid to how racially aggrieved communities have resisted inequality through cultural production, grass roots organizing, and revolutionary struggle. While the experiences of all racial and ethnic groups will be examined, this course will focus primarily on the history and plights of nation’s two largest minority groups, African Americans and Mexican Americans.

Required Texts: (1-5 Available at the UTEP Bookstore) 1) Americo Paredes. 1958. With His Pistol in his Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2) George Lipsitz. 1995. A Life In the Struggle: Ivory Perry and the Culture of Opposition (Revised Edition). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 3) Robert D. Bullard. 2000. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality (3rd Edition). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 4) Kevin R. Johnson. 2003. The Huddled Masses Myth: Immigration and Civil Rights. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 5) Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried eds. 2004. Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice. Boston: Southend Press. 6) Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. 2002. Racism Without Racists: Color Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. 7) Color Lines Course Reader: Available at Copy Mine. UTEP Library, 1st Floor

Course Requirements: All students are required to attend class, to do the assigned readings, to master the material on quizzes and exams, and to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the UTEP rules and regulations and the standards of courtesy and etiquette that govern academic inquiry. All of the course requirements must be completed in order to pass the course. Each student will take two mid-term exams, a final exam, and five quizzes. For purposes of the final grade, each midterm, the final, the cumulative score on the quizzes, and lecture/discussion attendance and participation each will count 20%. Note: All of the course requirements must be completed in order to pass the course.

Reading and Lecture Schedule: Week 1. January 11, 13 – Making Race and Nation Ernest Renan. “What is a Nation?” CR.

Week 2. January 18, 20 – White Supremacy and the U.S. Racial State “U.S. Declaration of Independence.” CR. Thomas Jefferson. “Notes on the State of Virginia.” CR. George Lipsitz, “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness.” CR.

Week 3. January 25, 27 – Ethnogenesis: The Roots of Anti-Racist Struggle Haunani-Kay Trask. “Politics in the Pacific Islands: Imperialism and Native Self-Determination.” CR. Joane Nagel “Introduction: American Indian Ethnic Renewal” & “Constructing Ethnic Identity.” CR. Film: Ethnic Notions

Week 4. February 1, 3 – Alternative Academies: Turning Hegemony on its Head Américo Paredes. With His Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero Film: Chulas Fronteras.

Week 5. February 8, 10 – Democracy or Hipocracy?: The Fight for Inclusion George Lipsitz. A Life in the Struggle: Ivory Perry and Culture of Opposition.

Week 6. February 15, 17 – Black Power: Anti-Racism in the Post Civil Rights Era. Huey P. Newton “Revolutionary Suicide: The Way to Liberation.” CR. ------“The Ten Point Program.” CR. ------“The Correct Handling of a Revolution.” CR. ------“Speech Delivered at Boston College.” CR. Film: A Huey P. Newton Story

Week 7. February 22, 24 – Women Activists & the Trials of Manhood David Román. “Teatro Viva! Latino Performance and the Politics of Aids in Los Angeles.” CR. Mary Pardo. “Becoming and Activist in Eastside Los Angeles.” CR.

Week 8. March 1,3 – Race, Citizenship, and Immigration Kevin R. Johnson. The Huddled Masses Myth Film: New World Border

Week 9. March 8, 10 – Race and the Environment Robert D. Bullard. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality.

Week 10. March 15, 17 – Race, Medicine, and Health Paul Farmer. “Aids and Racism: Accusation in the Center.” CR.

Week 11. March 22, 24 – Spring Break

Week 12. March 29, 31 – Race and Reproductive Justice Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried eds. Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice Note: Class will not meet on March 31 due to Cesar Chavez holiday

Week 13. April 5, 7 – Race and The Prison Industrial Complex David Theo Goldberg “Surplus Value: The Political Economy of Prisons and Policing.” CR. Angela Davis, “From the Convict Lease System to the Super Max Prison.” CR. Manning Marable, “Black Radicalism and the Economy of Incarceration.” CR. Week 14. April 12, 14 – Hip Hop and the New Ghetto Politics Robin D. G. Kelley “Looking to Get Paid: How Some Black Youth Put Culture to Work.” CR. Victor Hugo Viesca, “Sraight out the Barrio: Ozomatli and the Importance of Place in the Formation of Chicano/a Popular Culture in Los Angeles.” CR. Film: Slam

Week 15. April 19, 21 – Debunking the Myth of Color Blindness Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Racism Without Racists

Week 16. April 26, 28 – Final Exam: TBA

Color Lines Survival Kit Spring 2005

Every student admitted to UTEP has the ability to succeed, but not everyone does. The difference between success and failure is almost never a matter of intelligence, but almost always a matter of attitude, effort, and initiative. It is important to figure out what is needed to succeed at this level, and not to assume that the skills required for success in high school guarantee success in college. There is a difference between reading general textbooks and reading the findings of researchers. There is a difference between learning facts and learning concepts, between being tested on what you know and being tested on how you know. Successful college students embrace change and growth. They overcome self-defeating behavior, learn how to make use of available resources, and turn freely to others for help. They set high standards for themselves and work hard. They develop effective strategies for learning and problem solving. This course requires you to read carefully, to write clearly, to listen attentively to lectures, to take good notes, and to make constructive contributions to class discussions. But most of all, it asks you to work successfully with your teachers and fellow students to create a climate where ideas, evidence, and argument matter, where everyone is respected for the part of the truth that they can contribute, and where we learn to agree and to disagree intelligently and productively. This process will work best if we cooperate to create the following:

1) A culture where ideas count, where we can be reflective and thoughtful, critical, contemplative, and creative. 2) A culture of work and achievement. We must believe that there are important things to learn and that we must learn them. Following the path of least resistance by doing as little work as possible poisons the well out of which we all must drink. 3) A culture of courtesy, collegiality, and cooperation. We know more together than any one of us knows individually. If you want people to see your part of the truth, you have to show respect for what they know. We come to this inquiry with different opinions and we will leave it with just as many different opinions. But they will be better opinions, if they are grounded in ideas, evidence, and argument, if they come from a process that makes use of what we can learn from one another.

On a practical level this means: 1) All work in the course should be your own original creation. You should not plagiarize from written sources or from other students. 2) You should complete assigned readings for each week BEFORE your class meets. You should come to class prepared to discuss readings and lectures. You should attend all classes, pay attention in lectures, take careful notes, and respect the needs of others who are trying to learn. Color Lines Reading Guidelines Spring 2005

Your ability to read, comprehend, and analyze written text is imperative to this course. These questions are designed to help guide your reading of assigned books and articles.

1) What is the object of study in this book/article? 2) What is the key research question raised in this book/article? 3) What is at stake in this question? Why does it matter? 4) What conversation/debate is this book/article participating in? Who is answering it? What disciplinary context exerts the most influence on it? 5) What are the sources of evidence used to support arguments in the book? 6) What new questions does the book generate? What questions does it leave unanswered?