This course will investigate the theories that attempt to explain why
race and ethnicity continue to be important determinants of the life
chances of  individuals in the United States.  The experiences of a
number of ethnic groups will be examined, but the course will focus
on relationships between blacks and whites.  We will try to put U.S.
race and ethnic relations in perspective by comparing the experiences
of racial and ethnic groups to each other, by looking at changes in
race and ethnic relations over time, and by comparing race relations
in the U.S. to some non-U.S. cases.  This comparative perspective
will help identify the unique features of the U.S. experience and
provide tests of the generality of the theories examined.

The course will try to provide answers to the following questions:

	1.	What are the determinants of racial and ethnic
identities in the U.S.?  In other words, why do whites and blacks
consider themselves to be members of the white race or black race?
	2.	Why is the race classification system in the U.S.
different that of any other country in the world? Is the U.S. race
classification system changing?
	3.	What are the causes of poverty among blacks and
whites in large cities?
	4.	What are the causes of residential and school
segregation?
	5.	Why are ethnic identities changing in the U.S.?  Is
ethnic identity more voluntary than race identity in the U.S.?
	6.	How do U.S. political institutions affect race and
ethnic relations?

Course grades will be determined by performance on at about two
exams, two short papers, and class participation. Portions of the
following books will be assigned and discussed during the course:

Mary C. Waters,  Ethnic Options, 1990.
F. James Davis. Who is Black?  1990.
Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, American Apartheid, 1993.
Joseph F. Healy.  Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class, 1995.