Race and Ethnicity Studies

This course is an introduction to using the sociological perspective as a method of social inquiry. Students explore such basic concepts as culture, socialization, social structure, social interaction, and social change. They study and apply the theories and research methodologies used to investigate human social interaction. These concepts are applied to social topics such as race, class, gender, family, crime, population, environment, and others.
(Normally offered each semester.)

See SOC 2330 Race Relations and Minority Groups.

This course focuses on social privilege and its impact on the meaning and significance of race and ethnicity. It features strong student involvement focused on emerging community issues. Responsibility for classroom activity will be shared by students and instructor. Potential topics covered include such things as minority group-specific studies, white privilege, racism, and intersectional analysis of social identities. This course also serves as a capstone for the American Minority Studies minor.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology

The study of cultural differences that influence the exchange of meaning between individuals and groups of different cultural and/or racial backgrounds. The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the uniqueness of cultures and the resulting variations in communication styles and preferences, and to provide strategies and skills for successfully communicating across cultural barriers. Students will spend at least 20 hours during the semester working with community agencies serving clients from different cultures.

(Normally offered each semester.)

This course helps future teachers and coaches recognize and understand biases experienced by groups and individuals due to race, ethnicity, gender, social class, religion, exceptionality, sexual orientation, and language background to help them work effectively with a diverse student or student-athlete population. This course meets the Nebraska Human Relations Training requirement for teacher certification and for the NSAA coaching certification
Pre or Corequisite(s): EDUC 1010 Introduction to Education in the United States or declared Coaching minor, or permission of instructor.
(Normally offered each semester.)

This course supplements the basic American survey course. Its aim is to acquaint students with representative autobiography, fiction, drama, poetry, literary criticism, and essays by African-American writers from Frederick Douglass to Toni Morrison.
Prerequisite(s): First Year Writing and Sophomore standing.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

This course will explore the history and experiences different racial and ethnic communities at Nebraska Wesleyan. Using archival resources, oral history interviews, and research in secondary literature, students in the course will reconstruct the experiences of a particular racial/ethnic group, and present their findings in a website as well as in a public presentation. Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

A study of movements for racial justice in the United States since 1900, this course focuses on the ideas, strategies, tactics and participants in movements which sought to counter racial discrimination, violence and oppression directed at African Americans, Latino/a Americans, American Indian nations, Asian Americans and various immigrant populations sometimes defined as "racial" groups. Attention also will be given to the interaction of the movements with other movements,such as LGBTQ+ or Feminist movements. No P/F.

An overview of American Indian history from precontact to the present. It will explore numerous themes including cultural diversity, initial contact with Europeans, the different styles of interactions (Spanish/English/French), accommodation and dispossession, the U.S. treaty process, concentration, wardship, education, land allotment, termination and relocation, and modern American Indian issues. Utilizing assigned readings, discussion, and some short films, this class will eradicate misconceptions about American Indians and therefore help to eliminate the roots of discrimination and prejudice against the original Americans. No P/F.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Gives students an introduction to the wide variety of literature written in Spanish in the United States within its greater cultural and historical context. Students will enhance their reading skills, vocabulary and background knowledge in order to comprehend, summarize, discuss and analyze these literary works in Spanish. Relevant historical and cultural readings are also included to aid students in their comprehension of the distinct perspectives (native, exile, immigrant) from which these works were written and that relationship within the greater context of U.S. society. Primary emphasis will be on the short story, but students will also be exposed to poetry and excerpts from other genres. Students at the 4460 level are also required to read a novel or play and do a related reflective paper and presentation.  MSPAN 4460 meets with MSPAN 3460, with differentiated assignment lengths and expectations by level.
Prerequisite(s): 6 credits from MSPAN 3000-level coursework or instructor permission.

See MSPAN 3460 U.S. Hispanic Literature and Society.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission.

Most Americans have some understanding of how the categories of race and gender influence our personal and social identities. Yet many Americans also assume that race and gender are "natural," i.e., that we are born into a certain race and naturally embody a certain sex. In this course, we will examine these assumptions by reading, discussing, and critically assessing the arguments for and against the "naturalness" of race and gender. We will consider how categories of race and gender position us, historically and philosophically, as a person of a certain "type" from whom certain behaviors are expected. We will look at socio-economic conditions and philosophic positions that support or challenge racism, sexism, classism, segregation, and violence.
Cross listed with GEND 2300P.
(Normally offered alternate years.)

This course introduces students to the intricate relationship between race, ethnicity, and American politics. Through the analysis of pivotal historical events, legislation, social movements, and policy debates, students will gain a deeper understanding of the key challenges and opportunities associated with race and politics in the United States. This course aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools to participate in meaningful discussions on racial equality, social justice, and the future of American democracy.

This class explores the questions that arise when people cross borders, structured by conversations of citizenship. Who is considered to be a member of a particular country? Under what circumstances should we prohibit people from crossing a border? Should certain groups of people be afforded different types of rights? How should a country incorporate or assimilate immigrants into the nation? To explore these questions, this class examines how the United States has responded to these ethical, political, economic and social debates over citizenship. Specifically, we will study historical and contemporary motivations driving skilled, undocumented, asylum, refugee, and guest work immigration; if and how the US has regulated and enforced borders; the historical and normative evolution of patterns of assimilation, integration, and exclusion; regulation over pathways to citizenship; current political debates about immigration and how immigration matters in our local communities.