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The College endorses a new component to its General Education Program dealing
with the study of the dynamics of difference and power (DDP). This component is
not required for students to graduate; it is an aspiration for general education
that students will be encouraged to fulfill. A DDP course is one that uses
class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion and/or sexuality as categories of
analysis and that examines power at the interpersonal, local, national and/or
international levels. This list is comprised of courses that are submitted by
the faculty who teach them along with rationales as to how the courses meet the
goals of this component of General Education.
Of the courses described below, the following are offered for Fall 2008:
- ANTH059 Archaeology
- ARHI051C Intro Art Hist: 1200-Present
- ARHI182 From Colony to Nation State
- DANC135 Traditions of World Dance
- GWS 190 Senior Seminar
- HIST017 Chicana/o and Latina/o Histories
- POLI139 Politics of Community Design
- PPA 190 Internship and Thesis Seminar
- RLST164 Women in Islamic Traditions
- SOC 126 Immigration & Second Generation
- SOC 162 Mapping Inequality
- THEA051C Theatre Performance
ANTH059 Archaeology
The origins and development of difference and power through time are considered
in the context of hominid evolution (e.g., sexual dimorphism and cultural
constructions of gender); understanding diversity among cultures and societies
through time and space (e.g., the relationship to environmental context and
differences in access to resources, as well as how hunter-gatherer societies
differ from states, of which an important dimension is how identity and status
have been and are defined, achieved and/or inherited, etc.); and the nature and
current dominance of state-level societies (including the inherent relationship
between states and social inequality). In this course we explore what we know
about the past, how we know what we know about the past, and how this influences
the present, including the disparities that exist within and between human
societies today.
ANTH162 Andean Cultures
Includes discussions of ethnicity, politics, religion, and other aspects of
difference and power in the societies of the Andes.
ANTH164 Global Gay Rights Issues
Deals with problems associated with obtaining equal rights for people with
diverse sexual orientations in cultures around the world (issues such as
marriage, right to serve in the military, workplace discrimination, and so
forth).
ANTH168 Seminar in Gay & Lesbian Ethnography
Studies the conceptualization and organization of sexual orientation in diverse
cultures around the world.
ARHI051C Introduction to the History of Art
This course takes a global approach to the history of art, using selected
examples from Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia from approximately 1200 to
the present. It addresses questions of class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion
and sexuality in analyzing the creation and reception of works of art. It shows
how art works are often embedded in systems of power, how they operate to
reinforce or undermine the status quo, be it at the personal, local, national or
international level. This course also examines how the visual arts embody the
dynamic changes that occur as a result of the intersections of cultures.
ARHI182 From Colony to Nation State: A Social History
of North American Art
This course involves a comparative analysis of artistic production in Canada,
the U.S. and Mexico from colonial times to 1900. The emphasis is on the
intersections of race, class, religion and gender within the creation of works
of visual art. It also looks at the visual arts within the context of conquest
and colonization and within the formation of national identities, cultures, and
myths. It treats the work of artists from a wide range of communities and
cultures, including those of indigenous, African and European descent.
ARHI184 Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism: A
Social History of North American Art
This course involves a comparative analysis of artistic production in Canada,
the U.S. and Mexico from 1900 to the present. It utilizes race, gender, class
and sexuality as categories of analysis through which to understand works of
art, communities of artists, and artistic institutions. It also examines the
relationships between artistic theories and practices, economic developments,
and social and political movements (e.g., the Mexican Revolution, the
Depression, the Women’s Movement). The artists examined in this course come from
a wide range of communities and cultures, including those of indigenous,
African, Asian, and European descent.
ASAM150 AA Contemporary Asian American Issues
Survey of contemporary sociological theories and empirical studies focusing on
Asian American experiences in the U.S. and globally; major themes in the
sociological imagination including race, class, gender, sexuality,
marriage/family, education, consumption, childhoods, aging, demography, and the
rise of transmigration.
DANC135 Traditions of World Dance
Analyzes dance practices of a variety of cultures around the words in terms of
class, ethnicity, nationalism, gender, race, religion, and sexuality. We focus
on Islam and other religions and the attitudes toward dance and gender. We also
look at particular dance social dance classes, such as classical and court
traditions in terms of class, and we also study state sponsored folk dance
ensembles like Moiseyev and Ballet Folklorico in terms of ethnicity, race, and
nationalism and the political contexts in which these companies were formed.
ECON116 Race and the US Economy
In this course, we will apply the analytical tools of economics and other social
science disciplines to examine how and why race and ethnicity correlate with
economic status. The readings focus on African Americans, reflecting the much
larger body of economic research on this group relative to other minorities, but
we will also study the experiences of Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific
Islanders and American Indian/Native Americans. I have three major goals for the
course:
Develop and sharpen economic reasoning skills. Many introductory economics
courses purport to train the student “how to think like an economist.” My goal
is less to train you to think like an economist (indoctrination) and more to
help you understand how economists think (training for battle). Economists and
economic analysis have a major influence on social policy and it is important,
regardless of your career choice, to understand the assumptions that underlie
economic arguments and to be able to evaluate economic evidence with some
independence of thought. At the end of this semester, you should be better able
to 1) Distinguish between simplifying assumptions and those that are essential
to an economic model. 2) Compare the assumptions and predictions of competing
economic theories; 3) Use economic theory to formulate a hypothesis to explain
differences in economic outcomes; 4) Critique a statistical analysis of racial
disparities in economic outcomes.
Introduce the “Other” into economics. In the majority of principle texts,
consumers and firms are free of gender, race, ethnicity or family history.
Specific references to the distinct economic experiences of minority groups are
largely missing. This course will develop your knowledge of the research in
economics on the economic status of African Americans and the growing literature
on Latinos, Asian Americans and other groups. At the end of the semester, you
should be better able to 1) Locate data on the socioeconomic status of
demographic subgroups of the US population; 2) Describe the major historical
trends in the economic status of African Americans in the US since
Reconstruction; 3) Interpret summary measures of segregation and racial and
ethnic disparity; 4) Summarize the economics literature concerning the role of
discrimination vs. other factors in explaining racial and ethnic differences in
socioeconomic status; 5) Assess the impact of public policies designed to reduce
racial inequality in economic
status.
Model a rational discourse about race, ethnicity and economic disparity. This
course emphasizes evidence-based analyses of race and ethnicity. We will make
distinctions between speculative hypotheses and conclusions based on a careful
analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. At the end of the semester, you
should be better able to 1) Avoid assessments based on stereotypes; 2) Support a
position with references to empirical evidence; 3) Express disagreement by
challenging the logical consistency or the evidentiary basis of an opponent’s
statement.
ECON121 The Economics of Gender and the Family
We study the importance of gender in our understanding of individuals’ choices
about occupation, labor force participation, caregiving within the family, and
the consequences of these choices for economic security and well-being. The
interplay of gender, race, and class (often cast as educational attainment) is
explored, and alternative paradigms are used to generate hypotheses with which
to interpret empirical evidence.
ENGL089M Madness and Postwar America
Diagnoses of madness have a disciplinary function within the formation of
postwar American culture. As American power becomes increasingly
institutionalized in the 1940s and 50s, marginalized figures of various kinds
fill the culture's imagined and actual mental institutions. In this course, we
study the formation of that discourse of madness, with particular attention to
how it overlaps with the constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in the
period. Is, for example, Plath's madness a discernibly gendered one? In what way
is the invisibility of Ellison's subject a product of his race? And what role
does Ginsberg's sexuality play in the production of his "Howl"?
ENGL089N L.A. Stories
From the original booster myths about Los Angeles and the noir revisions of
those myths in the 1930s and 40s, this course investigates Los Angeles as a city
continually made and remade in its fiction. The Los Angeles Department of Water
and Power finds an analogue, that is to say, in a century's worth of literature,
which itself provides a mythic kind of infrastructure for the city. Class,
ethnicity, gender, and race play important roles in our investigations, as we
ask how those categories make themselves legible in the map of the city drawn by
its literature.
FREN174 The Romantic Other
A study of the construction of self and other in French Romantic novels by Mme
de Staël, Hugo, Balzac and Sand in their post-revolutionary social and political
context. Forms of otherness include gender, race, class, region and historical
period. Prerequisite: FREN044. Reading, writing and discussion in French.
Cross-listed with GWS.
In this course we study how the representation of various kinds of social
difference helped define literary and social norms but also called them and the
power structures around them into question.
GRMT128 Multicultural Germany
A study of Turkish-German historical, biographical, and aesthetic accounts
foregrounds discussions of the intersections between ethnicity, gender, and
socioeconomic background. It also addresses the significant changes migratory,
multicultural, and transnational experiences have undergone over the course of
the last 50 years in Germany.
GRMT134 Advertising the Other: Stereotypes in
Popular and Consumer Culture
Explores the cultural implications of stereotypes on American advertising and
popular culture. Provides analysis, historical overview, and theoretical
background. Focuses on the stereotypical representation of various groups.
Emphasis on depiction of Germans and Germany.
GWS190 Senior Seminar
An overview and integration of work in Women’s Studies/Feminist and Gender
Studies through readings, student-led discussion and analysis of
interdisciplinary issues relevant to students’ thesis topics. Guidance on
research and writing the thesis. Throughout the semester students also meet
individually with the instructor and their thesis director in their specific
discipline and/or department. Students turn in one of the thesis chapters at the
end of the semester as part of the course grade.
HIST017 CH Chicana/o and Latin/o Histories
Examines Chicana/o and Latina/o historical experiences across the span of
several centuries using the lens of “empire.” Analyzes migration and settlement;
the forces shaping community and identity formations; and the roles of race,
gender, class, and sexuality in shaping social, labor, and political histories.
HIST025 CH All Power to the People! Social Movements
for Justice
A survey of twentieth-century movements for change, with a focus on those
created by and for communities of color. Examines issues of race, gender, and
class in the U.S. society while investigating modern debates surrounding equity,
equality, and social justice.
HIST100C CH Chicana/Latina Feminist Histories
Reading seminar analyzing the historical experiences of Chicanas and Latinas.
Foregrounds gender, race, class and sexuality, examining these women’s responses
to conquest, capitalism, racism, and patriarchy. Investigates their struggles
for justice, connections to other “Third World” women, and formations of
feminist theory and practice.
HIST110S CH Latina/o Oral Histories
Explores use of oral histories in historical research of marginalized
communities, investigating issues such as memory and the “body as archive.”
Provides overview
of oral history theory, practice, and ethical concerns. Students apply course
knowledge in research project incorporating Latina/o oral histories.
POLI042 Gender and Politics
This course explores American politics through the multi-focal lens of gender,
race, class, and nationality. During the semester we’ll ask questions such as:
how are the two faces of gender---masculinity and femininity—constructed? What
does it mean to say that political power is gendered? How do women and men, in
all their diversity, experience politics and work for political change? Our
empirical handle for answering these questions is an extended study of the legal
system, political institutions, and political culture of the United States. We
ask how women and men differ as political candidates, office holders and
activists. We also move beyond the orderly boundaries of institutions to
consider the contributions of reformers and radicals working for change through
women’s movements. Finally, we consider the problem of violence against women:
why it occurs and what’s being done about it. Acknowledging the rising force of
globalism, we conclude with a look at transnational violence and global
feminism.
POLI136 Politics of Environmental Justice
This course examines the environmental justice (EJ) movement. EJ is grounded in
the claims that (1) environmental harms are unequally distributed on the basis
of race, class, and gender, and that (2) environmental quality can only be
significantly improved when the traditionally marginalized groups who bear the
brunt of pollution actively challenge existing power structures.
POLI138 Organizational Theory
New models of flexible production have clearly contributed to polarization of
wealth and power within organizations and in society at large. The class, race,
and gender dynamics of this outcome are explored in this course.
POLI139 Politics of Community Design
The design of the things that constitute our everyday material world (e.g.,
software, autos, bombs, cities, cell phones, schools, media images, etc.) is
largely controlled by large corporate and military institutions. This course
examines design processes and outcomes that are driven by communities, with
particular emphasis on the dynamics of socio and bio diversity.
POLI190B Senior Seminar in Comparative and
International Politics
This seminar focuses on the politics of collective identity. Our work is
organized around two questions: how can we understand ethnicity, nationalism,
and religious fundamentalism as political influences around the world? What, if
anything, can be done to resolve----peacefully, if possible---the conflicts they
fuel? Our goal for the semester is to read, write, and argue about these
questions from multiple perspectives. After an introduction to establish key
concepts and definitions, we’ll tackle theoretical issues in Part I, which
focuses on the nature of political identity and the impact of government
policies on shaping the politics of identity groups. Part II zooms in on
identity politics in the Middle East, a region too little understood in the
United States. Up for debate will be several questions at the heart of current
U.S. foreign policy: What is global Islam and why do terrorists target the U.S.
and other western countries in its name? How can we understand and address the
struggle between Israelis and Palestinians? What is the likely future of Iraq?
In Part III, we move to the “what can be done?” question: what tools exist to
reduce identity-based conflict? How might U.S. foreign policy adapt to the
realities of a world in which identity as well as ideology and interest shape
political action?
PPA 190 Internship and Thesis Seminar
Students take this senior seminar while completing a half time Public Affairs
internship for credit. They directly experience power dynamics within their host
organizations, and between these organizations and their clients, partners, and
sponsors. These power dynamics are examined by way of discussion, readings, and
written assignments in the seminar.
RLST128 The Religion of Islam
This course examines the lenses through which Islam as a religion and Muslims as
human citizens have been viewed by western discourses in the past and which
continue to have an impact on how Islam and Muslims are viewed today. The course
will then continue to investigate the key figures, texts, practices,
institutions, and discourses within the Islamic tradition and pay special
attention to gender as a category of analysis within Muslim societies. As such,
the course examines power differentials between the west and Muslim societies,
and between male elites and women in Muslim societies.
RLST164 Engendering and Experience: Women in the Islamic Tradition
This course examines the power inherent in the capacity to interpret sacred
texts and inscribe them into social institutions such as the legal regime which
then perpetuate and legitimize pre-Islamic patriarchal systems of organizing and
governing society. Special attention is paid in this course to Muslim women's
attempts at dismantling such interpretive regimes and exploring alternatives.
RLST166A The Divine Body: Religion and the Environment
This course examines the deleterious impact on the environment caused by
globalization, overuse of fossil fuels, cultural (including religious)
discourses that set up hierarchies (male/female, civilization/nature,
white/colored, first world/two-thirds world, etc.), monocultures, toxins and
nuclear wastes, etc. As such the course investigates the
responsibility/stewardship contained within the human power to dominate the
earth and its resources for human gain at the expense of a sustainable
environment.
SOC 126 AA Immigration and Second Generation
This course focuses on the post-1965 children of immigrants and/or immigrant
children in Asia America. It examines diverse childhood experiences, including
"brain drain" children, "parachute" children and transnational and "refugee"
children. The course emphasizes gender, class, ethnicity, intergenerational
relations, education, sexuality, popular culture, and globalization.
SOC 162 Mapping Inequality
The substantive focus of the course is inequality, which sociologists
conceptualize primarily as an issue of injustice or inequity, although it is
also possible to consider inequality as a more neutral or even desirable
concept, for example, diversity. As a class we will be constructing and
analyzing maps of U.S. counties, as well as considering counties in California.
We will also look at cities and neighborhoods, or census tracts in southern
California. The specific topics of inequality we will cover this semester
include residential segregation, income, home values, health, schools, and
politics.
THEA001B Acting and Activism
This is a beginning acting class whose basis is exercises from the precepts of
“theatre for social justice”. Various devised final class projects have included
topics such as “Blogs from Iraq", “How I Learned About Sex”, “I No Longer Feel
Safe Anymore” about 9/11, and “Terrorism”. Field trips round out the range of
topics.
THEA005 Introduction to Chicano Theater and Performance
This course, a seminar and workshop format, is designed to introduce students to
the art of acting and theater using the plays, theory, history and performance
aesthetic of Chicano Theater as the foundation for this theoretical and
practical examination . The class will look at the history of Chicano Theater
beginning with its founding in 1965, by Luis Valdez, as an organizing arm of the
United Farm Workers Union (UFW), its dramatic rise between 1969 and 1974 and its
continuing presence and importance as a vital American Theater genre.
The course will look at how the syncretism of post colonial Aztec/Mayan
indigeniety and Catholicism greatly influenced the ideological foundation of the
early Chicano Theater movement and how this, in turn, defined the power dynamics
of national identity formation, gender and sexuality within Chicano dramatic
texts and performance.
THEA051C Theatre Performance
Students can receive ¼ to 1 credit by performing in faculty directed production.
Due to the nature of theatre, power dynamics and difference appear in every
production on many levels as the basis of the plays’ central conflict. For
example, the 2007-2008 season included Melancholy Play (gender, cultural
difference, psychological violence, lesbianism); The Miser (class difference,
repression of women and the poor, cross-casting); Bunbury (homosexuality, class
differences, marginalized populations, historical revisionism) and Zoot Suit
(ethnicity, local history, repression). The 2008-2009 season so far includes The
Dragon (a political Russian “fairy tale") directed by Betty Bernhard. The
remaining three shows directed by Leonard Pronko, Thomas Leabhart, and a guest
director, are yet to be announced.
THEA115 Women Playwrights
This class reads, discusses, and performs plays by women writers from medieval
times to the present with a global perspective. Students explore various
theoretical feminist frameworks to critique the scripts and productions. The
subjects of the plays deal with sexism, racism, patriarchy, and economics of
sexual politics, ethnicity, and disability. The playwrights represent many
ethnicities.
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