CRES 100: Comparative Theories of Race and Ethnicity, Winter 2021
Instructor: Neel Ahuja, neel@ucsc.edu
TA: Emily Padilla, emilypadilla@ucsc.edu

Class Zoom links

Live lecture, Tuesdays 8-935am
Section A: Fridays 12-1pm
Section B: Fridays 4-5pm
Neel’s Office Hours: Tuesdays 10am-noon
Emily’s Office Hours: Thursdays 11am-1pm (sign up for appointments)
Please register to receive course blog access

Course Description

CRES 100 builds on the introduction to race and ethnicity in CRES 10 by analyzing debates that arise when we think about race and ethnicity comparatively across borders, time periods, and oppressed groups. In particular, we will explore how specific transborder forces – including colonialism, enslavement, mass migration, warfare, nationalism, and the globalization of capitalism – create different forms of racial inequality and violence and thus pose challenges for developing antiracist concepts and solidarities. The goal is to critically analyze comparative racialization theories and current trends toward racial exceptionalism. In the process, we will develop an account of the roles of race and racism as transnational forces that shape geopolitical relations and inequalities, even as we study how forms of crisis and resistance suggest futures that depart from established racial orders.

Course Learning Goals

• Critically analyze comparative racialization theories that foreground different colonial processes of capital accumulation, labor appropriation, and state expansion.
• Acquire a transnational understanding of how racialized forms of power have operated, been understood, and been contested, in the making of the modern world.
• Explore how the geography of different political formations (such as colonialism, liberalism, and socialism) informs the lived experience of race and ethnicity.
• Develop relational methods of social analysis that engage critical ethnic studies with indigenous studies, feminist studies, queer theory, postcolonial studies, and critical political theories.
• Improve students’ ability to describe, explain, and analyze discourses on race and ethnicity in your everyday world, especially through oral and written communication.

Required Assignments

• Attendance and lecture participation (including notetaking, blog posts, and live discussion): 10% of final grade
• Section assignments, including oral participation, reading journal, and short writing assignments: 20% of final grade
• Two papers (6-7 pages each): 60% of final grade
• Critical Race Analysis (final short essay assignment): 10% of final grade

Weekly Class Schedule

Unless otherwise indicated on the course schedule, we will have a mix of live and asynchronous activities each week using the following meeting plan:

1. Tuesdays 8-935am: live lecture/discussion – attendance required
2. Thursdays: asynchronous lectures, blog discussion, and short assignments to be submitted by Friday at noon
3. Sections: live discussion – attendance required

Policies

• Attendance: Students are required to attend all class meetings. Any student who misses more than 4 classes (out of all sections and lectures) will not pass the course. Arriving more than 10 minutes late constitutes an absence. Regular tardiness will result in a letter grade deduction of the lecture/attendance grade.
• Readings: The course readings will be tough, but the course is designed for us to read, reread, discuss, and write about historically dense and conceptually complex texts. You cannot skim! Please set aside enough time to read slowly and carefully.
• Class Participation: Participation in both oral and written form is required. The written portion includes two written assignments submitted on Friday of each week: a reading journal and a writing assignment to prep you for your papers. We expect students to speak and ask questions each week during lecture or section; to actively participate in all group exercises; and to demonstrate prepared engagement with sections. Visits to office hours are also recommended as they may enhance your ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing. Oral participation (including comments in lecture and discussion) will be graded based on quality and regularity. The class blog is another useful form of student participation. Be respectful of other students and do not monopolize conversation.
• Assignments: Students are required to complete the three major assignments (two papers and critical race analysis) to pass the course. For papers 1 and 2, late papers will be accepted with a one letter grade deduction if they are turned in within one week of the deadline. No papers will be accepted after that.
• Zoom Etiquette: Please only spend class time to complete CRES 100 work. During live sessions, students should generally be seated in a quiet place with the device camera turned on, with notetaking tools available, and with the mic muted except when speaking to the class. Please do not multitask during class (for example, don’t drive, exercise, run errands, etc.). If you will not regularly be able to follow this guideline, please notify the TA or instructor so we can strategize to help you participate as well as possible. Please use the raise hand function to talk during lecture or participate in discussion; use of the chat is also appropriate but please don’t run lengthy secondary dialogues that may distract from lecture.
• Accessibility: The instructor and TA will work to accommodate needs related to disabilities and chronic illnesses. Please inform the instructor, TA, and/or the Disability Resource Center as early as possible (preferably by the second day of class) if you require accommodations.
• Sections: Students will actively participate in each section meeting and will produce a journal entry on every assigned reading prior to section. For the weekly journals, I students should write 1-2 paragraphs (about 10-12 sentences) in which you review the main claim of each essay, underline main arguments, and then move beyond mere summary: how has the author defined and use race/ethnicity in the argument, what is the context and the guiding assumptions or urgent needs to address, and how does the essay add to your understanding of social and political phenomena? If there are gaps, criticisms, or questions that arise from the text, what are they? What passages could be useful in setting up arguments for your paper?
• Email: The instructor and TA will respond to short questions by email, normally within 48 hours. Please be aware of the extra burden that email creates for instructional workers. It is not necessary to email instructors regarding class absences. Check the syllabus before asking questions about class policies. Take advantage of office hours for help with writing, for feedback on paper drafts, or to discuss difficult concepts or readings.

Campus Resources

Counseling & Psychological Services
caps.ucsc.edu
(831) 459-2628
Central Office (Health Center, East Wing, 2nd floor)
M-F, 8AM to 5PM

Disability Resource Center
drc.ucsc.edu
(831) 459-2089, drc@ucsc.edu
125 Hahn Student Services
Office hours: M-F: 8AM to 5PM

Campus Advocacy Resources and Education
http://care.ucsc.edu / care@ucsc.edu
Kresge College Building R-7, Office 714
Walk Ins M-F: 9AM to 12PM; 1PM to 4PM

Slug Support
(831) 459-4446, deanofstudents@ucsc.edu
Hahn Student Services, 245
Monday-Friday 9-5