This is an upper-division course that investigates critical issues of race and ethnicity within the U.S. context. The main purpose of this course is to broaden our understanding of race and ethnicity from a sociological perspective. More specifically, this course is designed to demonstrate that race is socially constructed and that the social definitions of race have profound implications for the rights and privileges extended to people historically and in contemporary times. The course covers theoretical bases for understanding prejudice, discrimination, racism, white privilege, and ethnic identity as well as research on how race and ethnicity are embedded in our major social institutions, such as in the media, workplace, families, courts, prisons, schools, and neighborhoods.

Prerequisite: SOCI1010 or SOCI1020