Course Readings
The texts in this course are listed below. The books are available for purchase at the Vanderbilt bookstore. You should review the printed syllabus for the dates readings are assigned. Readings should be done before you come to class that day and are intended as an aid to understanding that day's lecture or class discussion.
Brodkin, Karen. (2002). How Jews Became White Folks & What That Says About Race In America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. "The history of Jews in the United States is one of racial change that provides useful insights on race in America. Prevailing classifications have sometimes assigned Jews to the white race and at other times have created an off-white racial designation for them. Those changes in racial assignment have shaped the ways American Jews of different eras have constructed their ethnoracial identities. Brodkin illustrates these changes through an analysis of her own family's multigenerational experience. She shows how Jews experience a kind of double vision that comes from racial middleness: on the one hand, marginality wit regard to whiteness; on the other, whiteness and belonging with regard to blackness." (Publisher)
Frankenberg, Ruth. (1993). White Woman, Race Matters: The Social Construction Of Whiteness. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. "Through documenting the life histories of 30 white women, Frankenberg compellingly outlines the interplay of perception and reality in shaping the structures of racism. Rather than understanding whiteness as neutral and void of race, Frankenberg straightforwardly argues that whiteness and its accompanying privilege is crucial in structuring race relations. She proposes that the women she interviewed struggled to understand and to situate themselves within, or outside of, existing race relations and racial consciousness. For example, several subjects reported that as children, they never thought about race, while others, though raised in segregated and racist environments, found ways to challenge the status quo. Frankenberg explores our experiences and perceptions of race, sex and intimacy; she considers, for example, how white girls are taught to fear black men. This book is a valuable contribution to the study of the relationship of whiteness to race, and is a must for anyone concerned with issues of feminism and racism." (Publishers Weekly)
Gallagher, Charles A. (2007). Rethinking The Color Line: Readings In Race and Ethnicity. New York: NY: McGraw Hill. "This anthology of current research and writings on race and ethnicity examines contemporary issues and explores new approaches to the study of race and ethnic relations. Each reading exposes students to the most important theoretical debates on race and ethnic relations. This book has been designed to be personally relevant for students while also helping them understand that race and ethnic relations are embedded in the institutions that structure our lives. The readings require students to constantly negotiate the tensions between individual agency and the often determining constraints of social structure. The common thread that links these readings is the ongoing debate about the relationship between agency and structure. It is this conceptual framework that will allow students to think about race and ethnicity in fluid rather than static terms." (Publisher)
Payne, Richard J. (1998). Getting Beyond Race: The Changing American Culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. In Getting Beyond Race, Richard Payne takes the practical approach that race relations are ultimately about ordinary people interacting with each other. Payne argues that confrontation, blaming, and dwelling on failure in race relations are not as productive as adopting a positive view and looking at individual success stories. Drawing from his own experience of having lived with different racial groups and hundreds of conversations with Americans from all walks of life and racial backgrounds, he writes about those who are helping to reduce the significance of race in society and through their actions are creating models of behavior for America's future. Payne covers topics from how race is an artificial concept created for social purposes to race in the military, interracial marriages and adoptions, affirmative action, and the effects of generational change and immigration on racial attitudes in America. Instead of looking at questions of race simply in terms of black-white relations, he expands his discussion to include Latinos, Asians, and other people of color. Moreover, Payne contends that the very concept of race is being weakened by fundamental changes throughout many facets of American culture. This book looks forward and offers concrete suggestions for getting beyond race. (Publisher)
Rodriguez, Clara E. (2000). Changing Race: Latinos, The Census, And The History Of Ethnicity In The United States. New York, NY: New York University Press. "Latinos are the fastest growing population group in the United States. Through their language and popular music, Latinos continue to make their mark on America and are becoming more assertive and less content to remain America's "second minority." How then do they fit in to America's divided racial landscape and how do they define their own racial and ethnic identity? Are they just another American ethnic group, like Italians or Germans that will assimilate into English-speaking America? Or will they maintain a distinct Spanish-speaking culture for generations to come? Can this diverse group, made up of dozens of separate nationalities, even be considered a single "race?" Can they help bridge the gap between black and white Americans? Through extensive personal interviews and careful analysis of census data, Clara Rodriguez shows that Latino identity is surprisingly fluid, situation-dependent, and constantly changing. She illustrates how the way Latinos are defining themselves, and refusing to define themselves, represents a powerful challenge to America's system of racial classification and American racism." (Publisher)
OTHER COURSE READINGS
(CHECK BACK FOR LINKS TO THESE CHAPTERS)
October 6th - Sleeper, Jim. (1997). Liberal Racism: How Fixating On Race Subverts The American Dream. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield.
October 13th - Moran, Rachel F. (2001). Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race and Romance. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
November 13th - Yancey, George (2003). Who Is White? Latinos, Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.