Professor Pamela Oliver Department of Sociology

Sociology 220: Ethnic Movements in the U.S.

This course uses a social movements and group conflict approach to explore the experiences of African American, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino (especially Mexican American), and Asian American people in the US.  The first half of the course reviews the history of the formation of the United States as a racial state.  The second half focuses on exploring controversial issues in race relations in the US.  This is a wSriting intensive course which meets the communications-b requirement as well as the ethnic studies requirement. The discussion sections are integral to the course.

Spring: Lecture meets Tuesday & Thursday 2:30 - 3:45 pm, Room 5206 Sewell Social Science.

Calendar of Lectures by Date with Links to lecture notes & resources (old schedule from last term, this note will be removed when it is updated)	History, despite its wrenching pain Cannot be unlived, but if faced With courage, need not be lived again. Maya Angelou. 1992. From On the Pulse of Morning
Spring 2008 Syllabus (doc file to download and print)
Seeing Segregation On Line: Guide to Census Mapping Site	If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Frederick Douglass. 1853.
Answers to FAQs about Journal & Course Requirements & "make-ups" etc.
Videos used in class (and others)
Click Here for List of Possible Topics for Second Paper
Click Here for Links to Ethnic Studies Resources Useful for Papers	More quotations: [On History and Struggle] [On Whites Against Racism]
Older Lecture Notes Organized by Topic(Includes other resources not from lectures)
Calendars of Ethnic/Religious Holidays

Frequently Asked Questions About Journals
Longer comments	Books & Book Comments	Lecture Comments, Missed Class	Other Activities	Grading
Grading
Question: You handed out a summary of journal procedures worksheet that says there is a total of 94 points. I was just wondering if you could clarify this for me because Iwas just trying to figure out what all needs to be done to receive an A. I'm assuming that you must do 6 'other activities' in addition to the daily lecture reactions, longer comments, and book reactions to receive full credit. Well if you could email me back and let me know i'd greatly appreciate it. Answer: Grading system assumes people can do basic math. The journal is worth 40%. There are a total of 94 points. If you earn less than half the total points (i.e. less than 47), you will receive a 0 on the journal. Beyond that, each point adds .08617 to your journal grade, for a maximum journal grade of 4.05 (A+). Grades are calculated on the standard 4-point scale: A=4, AB=3.5, B=3, BC=2.5, C=2, D=1, F=0. It is the numerical grade equivalent that goes into your course grade and is averaged with the grades you receive on papers. At the end of the term, cutting points are half way between grades, i.e. the cutting point between an A and an AB is 3.75. All grades near the cutting point (i.e. within +/- .05) are inspected to see which grade is fairest. If you substitute 3.75 (cutting point between and A and an AB on the journal) into the formula, you will discover that 90.5 points is about a 3.75, right on the border between an A and an AB. If you want to get an A+ on the journal, you need to earn 94 points. If you add up the points, 30 (daily) + 40 (book) + 10 (longer) = 80. A total of 8 points are available for "effort," and we assume that ordinary effort (doing all that is required seriously but not standing out in effort) will give you 5.6 points or 85.6 total, which calculates to a 3.33, an AB. If you add the six activity points, you get 91.6, which yields 3.84, a solid A. If your writing and thinking effort in the journal stands out, you may get an A+ on the journal. Other benchmarks: 88 points is 3.5 an AB, 82 points is 3.06, a B; 76 points is 2.5, a BC; 70 points is 1.98 a C; 59 points is 1.03, a D.
Question: So what are these efforts points anyway? Answer: The typical student will get 75% of the effort points (6 out of 8), which will ensure an A on the journal if you do everything. Typical effort involves doing everything, missing no or very few classes, occasionally writing more than the minimum words, and having content in your writing that shows you are thinking about the issues, not just going through the motions of doing the assignments. The last 2 points are to reward people who show unusually high effort. Less than 6 points are awarded to people who are nominally fulfilling the assignments but putting very little into them. If your effort is so low and your mental disengagement is so complete that you are awarded 0 effort points, this will reduce your journal grade by half a grade. It is very rare for 0 effort points to be awarded, but the option needs to be available for students who deserve it. The more usual "low effort" situations involve earning 4 or 5 effort points instead of the usual 6.
Longer Comments (This has changed from previous semesters)
How do I submit my longer comments? Answer: Electronic upload to Learn@UW including a word count PLUS paper copy to the journal folders for Prof. Oliver to read.
When are longer comments due? Answer: One within each of five three-week periods in the class: 1/23-2/5, 2/7-2/26, 2/28-3/25, 3/27-4/15, 4/17-5/6. You can submit any time during this three-week period. If you "forget" you can have a two-day grace period to the end of each week, but that is it. You cannot save these up and do all of them at the end. Nor can you get ahead on them.
How long do my "longer comments" have to be? Answer: 300 words minimum
What are the "longer comments" about? Answer: Your FIRST “longer comment” should introduce yourself to me in terms of your own ethnic/racial background and the experiences and ideas you bring to the class. IDEALLY you will do this in the first week. Your LAST “longer comment” will sum up your experience in the course: what you feel you learned. This can also be a critique of the course. Ideally you will do this in the LAST week or two of class. These are not graded, but the idea is that you take a little time to reflect on an issue relevant to this class. It should be somewhat more thought out than your lecture comment, which is always written rapidly in the middle of class. The other comments should be spaced throughout the term. Here are some suggestions of things to write about: Something you learned in class that has changed your way of thinking. What you used to think and how your thinking has been affected. An explanation of why you disagree with something from the class. Do your best to summarize the point of view you disagree with and then explain your own thinking. A discussion of a difficult experience you have had with something relative to ethnic/racial movements or relations. A discussion of a social or political issue relevant to ethnic/racial politics or movements in which you try to understand the different points of view, especially as they would differ depending on a person’s background and experiences. A discussion of how people might go about working to change some problem related to ethnic/racial issues in the US Attend some event where you are not already a member or insider of the group and where the majority of people there are of a different racial/ethnic group from you and write about the experience.
Do you accept late "longer comments"? Answer: After the two day grace period, generally no. The exception will be circumstances beyond your control.
Can I "get ahead" on the longer comments? Answer: Within each three week period, yes, you can submit any time during the three-week period. But you must space them out across the five parts of the course.Notice that the answer is different for the book comments.
I forgot to turn in my comment? Can I email it to you? Leave it in your mailbox? Give it to my TA? Drop it off at your office? Come to your house? Answer: NO, NO, NO, NO!! Paper copies of comments should ONLY be turned in to the folders. This is how I avoid losing them. If you miss class or forget to turn it in, just bring it to the next class. If the computer copy has been uploaded on time, you will get full credit.
Missed Class, Late Comments Etc.
What if I miss class? Can I still get credit? How do I do a lecture make-up? What if I missed class for reasons beyond my control? Answer: For two classes (more only if your absences are excused), you can "make up" a missed lecture by spending a minimum of 20 minutes doing reading, talking to people, or watching videos to find out what you missed and writing what you did to make up the class (what you read, who you talked to) PLUS write a minimum of 100 words describing what happened in the class that you missed. You can get credit for more than two absences if they are due to circumstances truly beyond your control (illness of you or a small dependent child, family death, etc.). Religious holidays are also treated as excused absences. You still have to do a make-up even if the absence is excused. If your absence should be "excused," you need to give the reason in the make-up entry. We will ask for documentation of the circumstances if you are claiming a large number of excused absences. Please note: studying for another class, taking two classes that overlap with each other, having job hours that conflict with class, having a job interview or taking a vacation do NOT count as circumstances beyond your control. While you sometimes have to make difficult choices, they are your choices.
What if I forgot to turn in my lecture comment when I left class? Can I email it to you? Or drop it off at your office? Will I still get credit if it is late? Answer: Do NOT email to me, do NOT drop it off anywhere, do NOT use the on line submission system. The ONLY way I accept any lecture comments is in the folders. If you forget to turn it in, submit it to the folder at the next class with a note on it saying what happened. If this is a rare event, your explanation will be believed. If it happens often, you will need to do something to correct the problem or lose credit.
Books
How do I submit my book comments? You do TWO submissions of the same material. 1) Upload an electronic copy to learn@UW, following the instructions given in class. 2) Put a paper copy in the folders with your other journal material. I will read and respond to the paper copy. The electronic copy will be used to check for plagiarism.
Is there some rule about what books I can read? Answer: Yes. As explained on the syllabus, you must read one book about each of the four major groups: African-American, American Indian, Asian American, and Mexican American. You must choose from among the books on the syllabus. The fifth book is "free choice." You should read books for this class that you have NOT already read for another class. All books should be about US ethnic/racial groups or relations. Instead of a fifth book, you can instead watch 8-10 hours of videos, read 100+ pages of articles, or do 10 hours of service. Rules are explained in the syllabus. You will still write a total of 500 words about any of these options, clearly explaining what you did.
What do I write about for a book comment? Answer: (1) Write your certification that you actually read this book during this semester. (2) Comment IN YOUR OWN WORDS on specific things from at least six different chapters in the book. You can quote things if you wish, but quotes do not contribute to the word total. These comments can be of unequal length, they just need to add up to 500 words. These comments need to make a specific enough reference that I can tell you actually read that chapter, but otherwise can be anything including a summary, a critique, a personal reflection, a comparison to something else, or a combination of these. This should, however, be about the CONTENT of the book. No more than one sentence may be devoted to your complaint or praise about the writing style. This is INFORMAL writing. It will not be graded. We are looking at volume of writing and thought & engagement only, not writing quality. But we do need to believe that you really read the book. (3) Include the word count on the paper.
Can I "get ahead" on the book journal? How does that work, anyway? Answer: Yes, you can get ahead on the book comments. Notice that the answer is different than for the "longer comments." Book comments are counted "by book," not "by week." For a whole book, you need to write 500 words, which need to be submitted at a MINIMUM pace of one every three weeks. If you are ahead on reading, you can skip submission deadlines as long as you stay at or ahead of the required pace. The following work patterns will get FULL CREDIT: (1) Read a book a week for 5 weeks, turn in book comments once a week for 5 weeks. Then you are done and need do no more. (2) Read a book every two weeks: turn in book journals in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 10 (skipping submission deadlines in weeks 3 and 9). You are always ahead of pace. (4) Read two books in one week, submit two book comments about two different books,where you VERY CLEARLY label which comment is about which book.
What is the penalty for late book comments? Answer: The value of the comment drops by 10% for each week it is late to a minimum of 10%. I.e., if you submit the first comment in week 4 instead of week 3, it is worth 90% of the full value. If you submit all five book comments at the end of the term, 1 is worth 100% (it is on time), one is worth 70% (3 weeks late), one is worth 40% (6 weeks late) , two are worth 10% each (9+ weeks late). Thus the average credit would be 46%. This will lower your journal grade substantially and is the equivalent of an F on the book part of the journal, but is still better than a 0 in terms of the total points for the journal. If you get a 0 on the reading, you cannot get higher than an F on the journal no matter how often you come to class. Exception: Once in the term FOR THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS, you may have up to a one-week "grace period" for being late on a book comment. If you are eligible and submit during the grace period, there will be no late penalty. If the submission is more than a week late or if you have already used up your grace period, you will be assessed the full late penalty. NO GRACE PERIOD FOR THE FIFTH BOOK. It is due by the last day of class and that is that.
Other Activities
What things count toward the "other activities" points? Answer: See details on the syllabus. These include going to the diversity dialog, responding to the two class surveys (at the beginning and end of the semester), posting comments to other students' comments on the discussion board in learn@UW (writing a total of 200 words), attending events where you are a minority and don't know people, and long conversations with people you don't know who have different backgrounds or experiences from yours, attend a lecture or forum on a topic relevant to this class.

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Questions or Comments? Email Oliver -at- ssc -dot- wisc -dot- edu. Last updated February 29, 2008 © University of Wisconsin.