Racism and Sexism in Global Perspective

TITLE OF COURSE AND COURSE NUMBER:
Racism and Sexism in Global Perspective , WS 250

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:
This course examines the various forms that racism, sexism, and other systems of oppression have taken both in the US and around the globe, with particular emphasis on the legacy of colonialism, the endurance and diverse forms of partiarchy, and the connections between various forms of oppression.

COURSE PREREQUITIES: ENG 110, Writing Effective Prose

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Over all, the course will broaden students’ perspectives and develop students’ critical thinking about racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression, both globally and in the United States.

In particular, in this course students will:

--comprehend the nature of historical and contemporary racist, sexist, heterosexist, and other oppressive attitudes and practices globally and in the U.S.
--analyze the experience of people of color in the US and globally in the current context of globalization and neo-colonialism
-- study the historical impact -- politically, economically, and ideologically -- of colonialism and how relations between the global north and the global south have changed over time
--understand the impact of militarism and war on women and on people of color around the world .
--distinguish between social and biological elements of difference in a variety of cultures and the history of the social construction of views of the “other.”
--gain a sense of the role and status of lesbians, gays, and other “sexual minorities” in a variety of cultures.
-- improve skills in deconstructing and analyzing the impact of Western media images of women and men, and of people of different cultures.
-- advance their understanding and appreciation of movements for social justice around the world.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students should be able to:

 --demonstrate knowledge of past and present racist, sexist, heterosexist, and other oppressive systems, institutions, practices and attitudes around the world.
-- explain the difference between individual prejudices and systems of oppression and discuss a variety of theoretical explanations of the causes of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other systems of oppression.
-- articulate connections between various systems of oppression, domestically and globally.
-- research and analyze current events in the context of the history of racism and sexism around the globe.
-- demonstrate knowledge of the history of liberation struggles and of possible means for addressing the social problems caused by systems of oppression.
-- critically write about and discuss the issues addressed in this course in essays and/or exams
-- work cooperatively with others in small class discussions groups and/or on a collaborative project.
-- demonstrate the ability to use technology for research and learning.

TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE COURSE CONTENT

-- Introduction; course overview
-- Definitions and theories of racism
-- Definitions and theories of sexism
-- Social construction of difference: race, gender, sexuality
-- Historical development of colonialism and racism
-- Global inequality today
-- Cultural and historical varieties of patriarchy
-- Heterosexism
-- Movements for equality and justice

GUIDELINES/SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING METHODS AND STUDENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
Lectures
Small group discussions
Plenary discussions
Experiential activities such as role plays
Films
Guest speakers
Reading logs
Journals
Essays
Research papers
Quizzes
Exams
Group projects
Service Learning Projects
On line research on contemporary issues
Virtual field trips
Multi-media presentations

GUIDELINES/SUGGESTIONS FOR METHODS OF STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Student learning will be assessed through a range of techniques that include exams, quizzes, long and short papers, in-class writing, individual and group presentations, journals, research projects, and e-portfolios, as well as other means.

SUGGESTED READINGS, TEXTS, OBJECTS OF STUDY

Bhattacharyya, G., Race and Power: Global Racism in the Twenty First Century, Routledge, 2001.

Brettell, Caroline B., and Carolyn F. Sargent, Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective, 4th edition, Prentice Hall, 2004.

Burn, Shawn Meghan, Women Across Cultures: A Global Perspective, 2 nd edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Reilly, Kevin, Stephen Kaufman, and Angela Bodino, eds., Racism: A Global Reader, M.E. Sharpe, 2003.

Rothenberg, Paula S. Beyond Borders: Thinking Critically About Global Issues, Worth Publishers, 2006.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUPPORTIVE TEXTS AND OTHER MATERIALS:

Achebe, Chinua, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness,” Massachusetts Review 18 (1977), reprinted in Kimbrough, Robert, ed., Heart of Darkness, An Authoritative Text, Background and Sources, W.W. Norton, 1988.

Aguilar, Delia D., and Anne E. Lacsamana, eds., Women and Globalization , Humanity Books, 2004.

Amadiume, Ifi, Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society, Zed Books, 1987.

Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. New York: New York University Press, 1995.

Bernal, M. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization, Volume I: The fabrication of ancient Greece 1785-1985. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1987.

Bernal, M. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization, Volume II: The archeological and documentary evidence. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press1991.

Bunch, Charlotte and Niamh Reilly. Demanding Accountability: The Global Campaign and Vienna Tribunal for women's Human Rights. New Jersey: Rutgers University, Center for Women's Global Leadership, 1994.

Conway-Turner, Kate, and Suzanne Cherrin, Women, Families, and Feminist Politics: A Global Exploration, Haworth Press, 1998.

Duberman, M. B., Vincus, B., & Chauncy, C. (Eds.) Hi dden from history: Reclaiming the gay & lesbian past. New York: New American Library, 1989.

Ehrenreich, B., & Hochschild, A. R. Global woman: Nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2003.

Eitzen, D. Stanley, Maxine Baca Zinn, Women and Globalization: The Transformation of Social Worlds, Wadsworth 2005.

El Saadawi, Nawal, The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World, Zed Books, 1980.

Emecheta, Buchi, The Joys of Motherhood, Heinemann, 1994.

Enloe, Cynthia, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics [Updated], University of California Press 2001.

Enloe, Cynthia. Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link. Lanham, MD: The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2007.

Fanon, Frantz, The Wretched of the Earth, reprint ed., Grove Press, 2005.

Farley, Melissa. Prostitution, Trafficking and Traumatic Stress. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, 2003.

Farr, Kathryn. Sex Trafficking: The Global Market in Women and Children. New York: Worth Publishers, 2005.

Fausto-Sterling, A. Myths of gender: Biological theories about women and men. New York: Basic Books, 1985.

Feinberg, L. Transgender warriors: Making history from Joan of Arc to RuPaul. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

Fisk, Robert, The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East, Vintage, 2007.

Fredrickson, George M., The Comparative Imagination: On the History of Racism, University of California Press, 2006.

Freedman, E. B. No turning back: The history of feminism and the future of women. New York: Random House, 2002.

Furedi, Frank, The Silent War: Imperialism and the Changing Perception of Race, Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Galeano, Eduardo, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, Monthly Review Press; new edition, 1997).

Gavey, Nicola. Just Sex? The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape. London: Routledge, 2005.

Harrison, Faye V., Resisting Racism and Xenophobia: Global Perspectives on Race, Gender, and Human Rights, AltaMira Press, 2005.

Harvey, David, A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Heldke, Lisa, and Peg O’Connor, Oppression, Privilege, and Resistance: Theoretical Readings on Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism, McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003.

Hochschild, Arlie Russell, and Barbara Ehrenreich, eds., Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy, Owl Books; 2nd Rep edition, 2004).

Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris, Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World, Cambridge University Press 2003.

Kivisto, Peter, Multiculturalism in Global Society Blackwell, 2002.

Klein, Laura. Women and Men in World Cultures, McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 2003).

LaFont, Suzanne, Constructing Sexualities: Readings in Sexuality, Gender, and Culture, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Louie, Miriam Ching Yoon, Sweatshop Warriors : Immigrant Women Workers Take On the Global Factory, South End Press; 2001.

Magdoff, Harry, Imperialism: From the Colonial Age to the Present, Monthly Review Press; New Ed, 1979.

McClean, Vernon, ed. Solutions for the New Millennium: Race, Class, and Gender. Kendall/Hunt, 2000.

Miller, N. Out of the past: Gay and lesbian history from 1869 to the present. New York: Random House, 1995.

Morgan, R. Sisterhood is global: The international women’s movement anthology. New York: The Feminist Press, 1996.

Moute, Gwen, The Global Color Line: Racial And Ethnic Inequality and Struggle From a Global Perspective, Elsevier Limited 2001.

Nagel, J. Race, ethnicity, and sexuality: Intimate intersections, forbidden frontiers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Nanda, Serena, Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations, Waveland Press, 1999.

Outshoorn, Joyce . The Politics of Prostitution: Women's Movements, Democratic States and the Globalization of Sex. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Parrenas, Rhacel Salazar, Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration, and Domestic Work, Stanford University Press 2001.

Petras, James, and Henry Veltmeyer, Globalization Unmasked: Imperialism in the 21 st Century , Zed Books, 2001

Pharr , S. Homophobia: A weapon of sexism. Berkeley: Chardon Press, 1997.

Reinfelder, M. (Ed.) From Amazon to Zami: Towards a global lesbian feminism. London: Cassell, 1996.

Richmond , Anthony H., Global Apartheid: Refugees, Racism, and the New World Order, Oxford University Press, 2005???

Rodney, Walter, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa , Howard University Press, 1981.

Roopnarine, Jaipaul L., and Uwe P. Gielen, Families in Global Perspective, Allyn & Bacon, 2003

Rosenblum, Karen E. and Toni-Michelle C. Travis. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation. McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Rothenberg, P. S. White privilege: Essential readings on the other side of racism. New York: Worth Publishers, 2002.

Russell, Diana E. H. and Jill Radford (Eds.). 1992. Femicide: The politics of woman killing. New York: Twayne Publishers.

Said, Edward W., Orientalism, Penguin Books Ltd, 1979.

Shiva, Vandana, Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development, Zed Books, 1989.

Stark, Christine and Rebecca Whisnant (Eds.). 2004. Not for sale: Feminists resisting prostitution and pornography. North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press.

Stoler, Laura Ann, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule, University of California Press, 2002.

Sudbury , Julia, Global Lockdown: Gender, Race, and the Rise of the Prison Industrial Complex, Routledge; 2005.

Visvanathan, Nalini, et al., eds., The Women, Gender and Development Reader, Zed Books; Reprinted Ed, 1997.

Wijer Marjanand and Lin Lap-Chew. 1997. Trafficking in Women: Forced labor and Slavery-like Practices in Marriage Domestic labor and Prostitution. The Netherlands: Foundation Against Trafficking in Women.

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