ANT 3451: ANTHROPOLOGY OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

Professor: Chris Girard

Office: DM 335 Cell phone: 305-244-4668 E-mail: girardc@fiu.edu *Contact me for anything except your grade!

Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10:00-11:00

This course will explore race/ethnicity in the U.S., emphasizing factors that inhibit or accelerate assimilation and relevant social science theories. A focal point will be race and ethnicity as a social identity in Miami-Dade County, an area where more than half of the population has been born outside the United States. In fact, Miami-Dade County has a higher percentage foreign born than any other major metropolitan area in the United States. Consequently, the issue of assimilation moves to center stage. Some scholars suggest that South Florida’s immigrant trajectories—and their relationship to assimilation—may be unique. Whereas the Chicago School assumed that assimilation was a prerequisite for upward mobility, the “Miami School” recognizes that there are first generation immigrants who have become mayors and business leaders in South Florida. However, the relative “success” of South Florida’s Cuban enclave must be contrasted with the experience of other groups—groups that continue to struggle for recognition and access to resources commensurate with their population. For example, Miami-Dade County and the country as a whole continue to be plagued by deep racial cleavages that restrict the life chances of both immigrants and those born in the U.S. These cleavages have centuries-old historical roots and a global context, as well as contemporary social psychological and institutional components. This course, then, will have the objective of surveying scholarly analyses of the concepts of “race” and “ethnicity,” looking at the concrete experiences of different racial and ethnic groups, and gaining an understanding of how each group got to be where it is today in the United States and in South Florida. Class notes (one page for each lecture) are available on the internet. There is one required text for the course:

S. Dale McLemore & Harriet D. Romo. 2005. Racial and Ethnic Relations in America. 7th edition. Boston: Pearson

EXAMINATION AND GRADING SYSTEM: There will be two quizzes, one midterm, and a final examination. Each quiz will count for 1/6 of the final grade, and each exam will count for 1/3 of the final grade. If the student desires, a 10-page paper on a topic to be chosen by the student may be submitted for a fifth grade (each quiz would then count 1/8 toward the final grade and the two exams and paper would each count 1/4 toward the final grade). All examinations will be given in class (see scheduled times in this syllabus). The midterm will consist of 32 multiple-choice questions. The final exam will consist of 21 multiple-choice questions and one essay question (see below). The quizzes will consist of 16 true-false questions. Students arriving late for quizzes and tests will have as much time as it takes for the last person arriving on time. Grades are posted (DM 335) or can be seen after class. Don’t call!

ESSAY QUESTION ON FINAL EXAM : This question counts for 1/3 of the final exam grade. I will give you the question right now (!) so you can write a practice essay in advance and commit it to memory (no notes will be allowed at the time of the final):

For Asians, Hispanics, and blacks, describe levels of secondary structural assimilation using very specific measures of secondary structural assimilation supplied in the lectures and in the textbook. Also, from the lectures and from the textbook (not from your own knowledge), identify historical and structural factors that have either helped or hindered secondary structural assimilation and fully elaborate the effect of each of these factors on each of these groups. Be sure to talk about access to cultural and physical capital for each of the three groups.

FIVE 1-PAGE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: At the bottom of the “Required Readings” page of the syllabus, there are 5 questions to be answered from the lectures. The answer, in essay format, MUST be one page, typed and double-spaced with one-inch margins and a font size of 12. Answers less than ¾ of a page will not be accepted! Only if all five questions are completed, the entire set of essays will be collected in class (NO E-MAIL will be accepted!) on Monday of the 13^th week. If you cannot come to class that day, call me to make arrangements before the assignment is collected. The assignment will be returned on Monday of the last week with comments on questions 4-5 that will be helpful for the final exam essay. Failure to complete this assignment will result in your grade being lowered one level.

PAPER: Students pursuing paper option must download paper guidelines from web page, must submit a rough draft along with final draft (no exceptions!) and must have topic and at least 3 sources approved by the professor in advance. The rough draft must be turned in two weeks before the final exam and the final draft must be turned in one week before the final exam (on the date that writing assignments are due—see the second page of the syllabus). The rough and final drafts must be typed on paper and given to the professor in person. The rough draft must also be submitted to TURNITIN.COM. Integrity is essential! Plagiarism will result in an “F” on the paper.

EXTRA CREDIT: Extra credit, equal to a quiz grade, may be earned by a 5-minute oral presentation in front of the class. Doing a presentation is equal to getting 100 on a quiz! It automatically receives 50 out of 50 possible points. This presentation must be on a topic (approved in advance by the professor) in the book or lectures, have at least 3 transparencies, be written as notes that are not read, be educational and entertaining, and be rehearsed during office hours or by calling the professor before it is scheduled. The student may do up to two oral presentations. Extra credit points will not substitute for test scores, but will be added to both achieved and possible points. With no extra credit, the average of the two quizzes (1) is added to the midterm (2) and final (3) and this total score is divided by 3 (see examination and grading system above). With one oral presentation, total points are divided by 3.5. With two oral presentations, or with the paper option, total points are divided by 4. With both the paper and 2 presentations, total points would be divided by 5, and so forth.

MAKE-UP POLICY: You must make arrangements with me (please call 305-244-4668), before the midterm exam and quizzes, if you need to take a make-up exam. You must schedule a make-up for the final exam at least one week in advance and the alternative testing date must be prior to the scheduled date for the final exam.

ATTENDANCE: By taking this class, you make a commitment to attend all lectures, arrive on time, and leave only when the professor is finished lecturing. Integrity is an essential aspect of who I am and I expect this of all students.