Catalog Course Search Details

 Department:    SOC

 Course #:    112

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    451101

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2018

 Course Description  

An introductory survey of sociological aspects of minority group situations and relations to the larger society. Provides an in-depth survey of the principal trends in life experiences and histories of the major ethnic communities with emphasis being placed on social economic conditions, political activities, legal positions, and ethnic subcultures of minority groups in the U.S.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Completed ENGL& 101 with a grade of 2.0 or higher.

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0

Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Social Sciences  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Understand the differences between race, class, caste, tribe, nationality, nation, minoriy, and ethnicity processes
2. Have an adequate knowledge of the ethno-geographical mapping to U.S. ethnic groups, their distribution and placement in American society
3. Have adequate knowledge of the principal trends in the life experiences of the major ethnic communities
4. Have a heightened awareness of the major issues in ethnic processes, including such issues as racism; assimiliation; bilingualism; exploitation of ethnic labor; problems of land; religion; and citizenship; role of civil Rights Movement in contemporary life; and the impact of technology on ethnic communities
5. Form conclusions based on evidence from the readings and sociological understandings
6. Become actively involved through discussion and dialogue in the major issues that are crystallized as a result of sociological analysis
7. Have a more sensitive appreciation of cultural diversity and its contribution to the unity of American life

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

1. Information Literacy

Definition: Recognizing when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
1.2 Access the needed information effectively, efficiently, ethically, and legally.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.2 Analyze issues and develop questions within a discipline.
2.3 Identify, interpret, and evaluate pertinent data and previous experience to reach conclusions.
2.6 Recognize how the value and biases in different disciplines can affect the ways in which data is analyzed.
2.8 Describe how one’s own preconceptions, biases and values affect one’s response to new and ambiguous situations.

3. Communication

Definition: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
3.4 Produce academic and/or professional writing and integrate it into written and spoken projects.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity

Definition: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
4.2 Understand, value and respect human differences and commonalities as they relate to issues of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and culture.
4.3 Understand the historically and socially constructed nature of—and the meanings attributed to—human differences.
4.4 Demonstrate effective communication across differences in human communities and cultures.

5. Global & Local Awareness & Responsibility

Definition: Understanding the complexity and interdependence of, and stewardship responsibilities to, local and global communities and environments.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
5.1 Understand the impact of their own and other’s actions on local/global communities and environments and how those communities/environments affect them in turn.
5.2 Identify diverse communities and their shared/competing interests and develop strategies for prevention and resolution of conflict.

9. Scientific Literacy

Definition: Understanding scientific principles, and analyzing and applying scientific information in a variety of contexts.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
9.2 Demonstrate their understanding of the principles of scientific methods, analysis, and reasoning.

Course Contents

1. A constant scrutiny of the history of ethnic processes with special reference to the exploitation of ethnic labor, assimilation, immigrant vs. minority status, bilingualism, and problems of land, religion, and citizenship
2. An attention to the basic building blocks, methods and theories in sociology and sociological analysis
3. Discussion of ethnic histories and their relations to sociologically relevant commentary
4. Applied work in a variety of critical approaches emphasizing the importance of historical and social contexts in understanding and interpreting sociologically relevant behavior
5. Various ways in which ethnic expression fosters a liberating ethnic, underlines the organic unity of all history, and reflects the extraordinary and even heroic sacrifices and contributions to the unity of American life that have been made by ordinary people
6. The applications of critical thinking frameworks in the assessment of the comparitive sociol economic statuses of minority groups in the capitalists mode of production and reprodution