I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Race, Ethnicity & Oppression

2. Course Prefix & Number:
SOCL 2481

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

Students will investigate the historical factors and events that explain oppressive acts and ideas in the present. Positive contributions of oppressed groups to modern culture and everyday life will be noted. Students will debate solutions to issues which have proven to be very controversial.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Bemidji State University, SOC 2230 Ethnic and Minority Relations, 3 credits
St. Cloud Technical and Community College, SOC 268 Race & Ethnicity, 3 credits
Mankato State University, SOC 446 Race, Culture and Ethnicity, 3 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 5 – History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Goal 7 – Human Diversity

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Students will read assigned materials in textbooks
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Students will debate relevant issues in class
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Students will apply sociological concepts to help understand themselves and the world around them.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Articulate the process by which race, ethnicity and oppression affects individuals (MnTC Goal 5);
• Apply founding theoretical traditions and concepts in sociology to specific processes of social inequality (MnTC Goal 5);
• Articulate how processes of stratification create and reproduce social hierarchies and inequalities in human society (MnTC Goal 9);
• Identify empirical patterns and effects of oppression (MnTC Goal 5);
• Develop the ability to use the scientific method and the knowledge and understanding that result from its use in the study of race, ethnicity and oppression  (MnTC Goal 5);
• Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship (MnTC Goal 9);
• Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures (MnTC Goal 5);
• Describe how cultural, social, political and economic changes affect social inequality (MnTC Goal 9); and
• Articulate how social movements contribute to social change (MnTC Goal 9).

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Social System Orientation
• The cultural roots of oppression
• Marx on alienation; Weber on legitimacy
2. The Structure and Terminology of Oppression
• Inequality
• Race and ethnicity
3. The History of European Settlement in the Americas
• Institutional support for slavery
• Indian “Rrmoval”
4. The Evolution of Slavery
• Indentured servitude
• The rise of Jim Crow
5. Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism   
• Hegemony over Central and South America
• International comparisons
6. The Civil Rights Movement in the USA
• Statistics regarding racial minorities today
• Africa today
7. Positive Contributions of Minorities
• Agriculture, art, music, sports, politics, unity, non-violence
8. Ethnic Histories
• Latinos, Asians, Laotians
• Case studies of various nations
9. Discrimination by Status
• Women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities
10. Tracing the Institutional Creation and Evolution of Oppressive Ideas
• Religious: The Tora, the Bible, the Quir’an
• Political
• Economic