Politics 44CC Race, Class and Power
Fall 2002 Lorn
S. Foster
1 Carnegie Extension
72263
Office Hours: MW 10-10:30 E-mail: Lfoster@Pomona.edu
TEXTS:
Dye, Who's Running
America
Edsall & Edsall, Chain
Reaction
Feagin, Racial and
Ethnic Relations
Frank & Cook, Winner
Take All Society
*Phillips, Boiling
Point
*Phillips, Politics
of Rich and Poor “America’s Crisis –
The Decline of the Middle Class”
EXAMINATIONS
There will be two
midterm examinations, each worth 20% of the student's grade, and a final examination
worth 30% of the grade. Attendance is not mandatory, but is strongly
encouraged.
Midterm
Examination: October 7, 2002
Midterm
Examination: November 15, 2002
Final
Examination: Monday, December 16, 2002, 2 – 4:45 p.m.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
You should have
completed all the readings before each class and be prepared to discuss the
material in class. Class participation
will be 10% of your grade. Each week
you should post a comment or question on the readings to the Web-crossing. The Web-crossing is organized by reading
assignments. There are envelopes for the exams and the papers.
PAPERS
There is no term
paper, per se; instead, students are asked to write one essay which is worth
20% of a student's grade. NO LATE
ESSAYS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS PERMISSION FOR A POSTPONEMENT IS SECURED IN
ADVANCE. All of these essays will be
evaluated according to five equally weighted criteria:
Concept: Is the basic idea sound?
Organization: Do the
parts cohere?
Writing,
grammar, syntax, and expression
Use
of evidence: Are the examples
appropriate? Is the logic tight?
Knowledge: Is the factual data accurate?
*Class Packet
available at Huntley
**Film shown on
Tuesday, September 10th, 7:00 p.m., Hahn 101
The
U.S. is a country of immigrants; most of our ancestors came to this country
from somewhere else. For the first half
of the twentieth century, we tended to diminish the importance of race and
ethnicity and think that race and ethnicity were no longer important.
In
the recent past, we have rediscovered race and ethnicity. People don’t call themselves
Americans, but hyphenated Americans.
You need to trace your family’s origins for the
past 200 years. What was the country or
countries of origin for your family?
How has American society incorporated your group of origin: racial,
ethnic or religious? Have there been “structural”
factors that have prevented your group of origin from fully participating in
American society? If there were “structural”
factors that prevented your group from participating, what were they?
Data
for this study can come from family members, public records and normal
bibliographic sources. This essay
should not exceed 8 pages.
DUE: December 2, 2002
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Introduction
I. Winners and Losers
Frank & Cook,
Chapters 1-5
** “Betrayal
of Democracy”
II. The
Distribution of Status and Wealth
Frank
and Cook, Chapters 6-10
III. Social Class as a Wedge Issue
* Phillips, “America’s Crisis-The Middle Class Decline”
* Phillips, The
Politics of Rich and Poor, Chapters 1-3
IV. The Rich Get Richer and the Poor
Disappear
Phillips, The
Politics of Rich and Poor
Chapters 4-7
V. The Role of Fiscal and Monetary
Policy in Economic Growth
Bluestone and
Harrison, Growing Prosperity
Chapters 1-14
VI. Can the U.S. Sustain High Levels of
Economic Growth?
Bluestone and
Harrison, Growing Prosperity
Chapters 5-8
VII. The
American Working Class
Ehrenreich, Nickel
and Dimed
Chapters 1-2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FALL
BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VIII. Life
in the Slow Lane
Ehrenreich, Chapter3
and Evaluation
IX. The Emergence of an American Governing
Class
Dye, Chapters 1-3
X. Formal and Informal Power in America
Dye, Chapters 6-8
XI. Race and Redistribution
Edsall
and Edsall, Chapters 1-5
XII. The New Suburban Majority
Feagin and Feagin,
Chapters 6-12
XIII. Immigration
and the Growth of America
Feagin and Feagin,
Chapters 1-5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THANKSGIVING BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XIV. The U.S. Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?
Feagin and Feagin,
Chapters 6-8, 10