SOCI-201 Minorities in American Society

This course will introduce students to a sociological investigation of the racial, ethnic, and gender stratification system found in the United States. This course will introduce students to concepts essential to the sociological analysis of the American stratification system such as prejudice, discrimination, minority, race, ethnicity, and gender. This course will examine the historical process through which the American racial and ethnic stratification system was socially constructed, and it will examine the various theoretical perspectives that have emerged in the attempt to understand this historical process. It will also teach students to apply these concepts and theories to an analysis of contemporary social problems and to his or her every day life experiences. Students will be exposed to sociological information and ideas that will help him or her to understand and to critically analyze the world we live in.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ENGL-121

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. 1. Define the concept of minority.
2. 2. Better understand how and why the American experience is defined by cultural diversity.
3. 3. Identify the basic concepts used in the study of minorities, especially race, ethnicity,
   gender, prejudice and discrimination.
4. 4. Identify and describe the major theories of prejudice.
5. 5. Explain the origins of ethnic, racial and gender hierarchies in America.
6. 6. Identify and describe the assimilationist and pluralist perspectives on ethnic interaction in
   a multicultural society.
7. 7. Apply his or her new understanding of minorities to an analysis of a specific minority
   group in America.
8. 8. Clarify his or her own position on the contemporary controversies associated with
   minority groups such as affirmative action and multiculturalism.

Course Objectives

1. 1. Define the concept of minority.
2. 2. Better understand how and why the American experience is defined by cultural diversity.
3. 3. Identify the basic concepts used in the study of minorities, especially race, ethnicity,
   gender, prejudice and discrimination.
4. 4. Identify and describe the major theories of prejudice.
5. 5. Explain the origins of ethnic, racial and gender hierarchies in America.
6. 6. Identify and describe the assimilationist and pluralist perspectives on ethnic interaction in
   a multicultural society.
7. 7. Apply his or her new understanding of minorities to an analysis of a specific minority
   group in America.
8. 8. Clarify his or her own position on the contemporary controversies associated with
   minority groups such as affirmative action and multiculturalism.