IST3007-1-WI16 - Race, Gender, Class : Hist & Soc. Scient Analy/Indiv. Inst & Syst. Racism/Mod. W

Instructor: Dr. Loring Abeyta and Dr. Tink Tinker

Course Synopsis

Please note the syllabus for this course, attached as a file here. SYLLABUS RACE GENDER CLASS 2016 . v1 . December 6.docx

This syllabus will necessarily undergo some revision as the seminar gets underway, but any changes made will be noted in the course announcements when each change is made.

Required Texts:

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, ed. Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge ( Third Edition : Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2013). This is a “revised” edition. Earlier editions will be problematic in terms of pagination, etc.

Anne McClintock, Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest (Routledge, 1995). While this text is now two decades old, it frames the issues is such helpful ways that we continue to rely on it. The instructors have spent considerable time looking at more recent publications but have yet to find a text that accomplishes what McClintock is able to do in the context of a graduate school seminar that focuses on theoretical issues.

Doctoral Students Required Reading :

Willie James Jennings, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race , Yale University Press, 2010.

Course Overview

Introduction

              This course is not a philosophical debate about the ontology of race/racism, gender/sexism/ homophobia, and class/inequality (i.e. it does not question whether these realities exist). The categories of social relations covered in this course are realities which have an observable history and which have been an intimate part of the systemic whole of modernity’s distorted distribution of power, wealth and influence in the world – socially and politically. This course is not a “touchy-feely,” experiential, therapeutic, role-playing exercise in exploring the embodiment of our individual experiences of oppression (e.g., an undergrad Race / Gender 101 course). While there will indeed be moments in our course discussions when we will share personal experiences, we will use these as a bridge to build a theoretical understanding of racism, sexism, class discrimination, and other forms of systemic social exclusion that are so integral to our experience in a late-capitalist, liberal democratic state. 

              We will engage in a critical analysis that allows us to both examine the evidence and to understand the theoretical discourse that attempts to interpret and explain the evidence in the most helpful manner. It will also be important for us to explore strategies of action that might best help us to resist, counter, and overcome the harms which result from these malignant and wholly systemic assertions of power. In our critical analysis we must keep at least two things in mind: always refer back to the text, and be judicious in how personal experiences inform our analysis. Our approach will address how inequality is a social phenomenon created by human action. Thus, responsibility for change rests with human agency. Using careful and incisive critical analysis our seminar will seek to name and describe the underlying systemic reasons that have generated these powerful forces of oppression.

One key concept that we consistently see in our readings for this course is the notion of race, gender, class, and sexuality as articulated or intersecting categories of social interaction. The intersection or articulation of race, gender, class, and sexuality is not neutral, nor is it devoid of political consequences. It is not a four-way stop with a common knowledge and acceptance of existing rules and regulations that allow for the orderly and predictable flow of social “traffic.” These are intersections with hard and sharp edges, constantly scraping – and, at times, lacerating – against each other.  In other words (risking the banality of a pun), there are many collisions at the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Throughout the course, we need to keep in mind that this intersection is a zone of contestation and conflict. 

There are two other aspects of the race, gender, class categories to which we will attend during this seminar. First, it will be important to approach this problem from a theological perspective as well as from a social-scientific perspective in order to give us a broader set of tools for both analysis and for strategic resistance. Secondly, even as we vision the function of church/religion in deconstructing race, gender and class, we need to name the participation of institutional church structures in the actual development and emergence of these categories of oppression. The contemporary context of race, gender and class configure a systemic problematic that involves the whole of society. As such, all institutions (ecclesial, political, economic, pedagogical, etc.) are steeped in this systemic whole and can never be untouched by the problematic. This is what we are being called upon to analyze and deconstruct.

Overview of the Course       [Goal]

               Students will develop a critical and analytical understanding of and develop the skills and strategies to respond to the complex interrelationship of race, gender and class in the 21^st century, where globalization—the dominant socio-political discourse of the world arena—has not resolved but rather has contributed to deepening inequalities in the world. Students will articulate the significance of these social forces in contemporary society as they affect social institutions, community life and the vision of a new just world order.

Course Objectives

Course ObjectivesBy the end of the quarter, seminar participants will be able to:

Explain why the complex intersections of race, gender and class must be seen within the systemic whole of the development/modernization paradigm, rather than as isolated phenomena of social injustices.

Move beyond politically correct rhetoric towards a written and oral argumentation sustained by critical analysis. How do we arrive at a determination of what is true or accurate in assessing situations of injustice and conceiving of the remedies which will have long-range effects for real social change?

Articulate the fundamental tenets of the leading debates and theoretical schools in the discourse on race, gender, and class with accuracy and authenticity. The students will be expected to identify various schools of thought on race, gender, and class such as Marxism, liberal capitalism, liberation theology, indigenism, womanism, and feminism.

Understand the history of the euro-christian modernization project in the western world and its importance in the analysis of how these social forces of racism, sexism, and class discrimination are integral components of the goals of modernization and liberalism, both at the individual and community level.

Develop an emerging set of ideas and strategies for addressing current events and issues in the public arena as they arise during the quarter. Mastering the tools of this analysis will enable or empower students to envision and implement long-range strategies of social change at several levels: local community, church, regional/national organizations and institutions.

Engage in on-going reflection on possible strategies for effecting social change with respect to race, gender and class. A key question that must be constantly raised in our discussions is this: What can we do to change the socially constructed world of which we are a part?

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.