SOC 2840 001 - Race and Ethnic Relations

Catalog Description: The causes and consequences of prejudice, discrimination, and privilege; the effects of dominant and subordinate status for intergroup relations.

Detailed Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the study of race and ethnicity and group relations from a sociological perspective. Throughout the course we will discuss and apply various theoretical perspectives that address racial and ethnic group experiences and intergroup relations; explore evidence of prejudice, discrimination, and privilege; identify social dynamics influencing categories of and perceptions regarding racial and ethnic groups across time; examine historical and contemporary experiences of dominant and subordinate groups as a consequence; and consider the implications of prior and current conditions for racial and ethnic group categorizations and experiences in the future. In general, the course is designed to 1) enable students to identify how racial, ethnic, and cultural group categories— as social constructs—influence everyday life, and 2) support the development of a sociological imagination to explain and understand these influences, their causes, and their consequences.