MODULE 2: RACISM

The second module will begin with a look at racism in the U.S., its effects on society, the power of myths, and what can be done.

Reading/Viewing: Our reading and viewing list may include but is not limited to:

From Rereading America: “Causes of Prejudice” by Vincent N. Parillo
From Rereading America: “Chyna and Me” by Joyin C. Shih
From The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
From Rereading America: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
From The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
“Living Apart: How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law” by Nikole Hannah-Jones

In-class Dialog, Group Discussion, and Exploratory Writing: We will begin this module in much the same way we began Module 1. You will write a response to the question “Have you experienced, witnessed, or been the perpetrator of an act of racism?” As we progress through the module, we will choose specific aspects of our topic to focus on through group and class discussions and exploratory writing exercises. To help facilitate our class discussions, you may be asked to:

Document the opinions of one or two persons outside of class on their ideas of the effects of racism in our society
Bring in a media story depicting racism in action or erroneously purporting to be a case of racism
Provide a written description of your own racial identity and list some terms that are applied to each of those identities (those you approve and disprove of)
As a group, select a city or county and research the incarceration rates for different racial groups. What difference do you notice in types of offenses, crime rates and sentence lengths for members of different races

Reading Response Blog Postings: All readings will be assigned as homework. These homework assignments will not be considered complete until you have added a reading response post to the course blog if one is assigned for that reading. This is an informal posting but should be a thoughtful response, and posts will be taken up at length in class.

Response Essay: Choose a song, picture, movie, or a story from TV, a magazine, a newspaper, or online new source that depicts an incidence of racism or expresses some feeling toward racism, as you define it. After spending some time with your source, you will provide a descriptive summary of what you’ve seen, read, or heard. Finally, you will provide a thoughtful explanation of your reaction to the source. Support your explanation by referring back to the source. This assignment is 3–4 double-spaced, typed pages. It should be ready for peer review the class session before its official due date. It should be ready for peer review the class session before its official due date.

Click here to download assignment sheet.