EDST 391-083
Color-Blind Nation: Worthy or Worthless Ideal?

Course Objectives

This course is a Freshman Honors Colloquium. As such, it emphasizes class discussion and requires considerable writing. The aim is to develop your thinking and writing skills while sharing an intellectual journey into a realm of heated national debate--race, affirmative action, and the social integration versus voluntary separation of racial-ethnic groups.

Should employers, colleges, and government agencies treat individuals without regard to color, or would it be fairer to weigh race and ethnicity in their decisions about whom to hire and fire, admit and educate, and award business? Thirty years ago this seemed to be a settled question, but it is now a matter of raging national debate. Black intellectuals argue among themselves, one branch of the federal government wars with another or with the electorate, and citizens get mixed messages about whether racial integration is such a good idea after all. We will read recent works by thinkers on different sides of the debate, and also monitor various news sources for coverage of on-going controversies and court cases. The course will emphasize the social and philosophical issues underlying the debate and how its resolution one way versus another could fundamentally change what it means to be an American.

I want us to explore all points of view and questions, so I encourage discussion and debate. Please also feel free to share any questions, concerns, suggestions, and insights with me, whether via email, anonymous electronic suggestion box, telephone, or a visit to my office. I use email a lot to communicate with the class, so please check your mail regularly.

Readings (Note: Some may be deleted or added.)

• Thernstrom, S., & Thernstrom, A. (1997). America in black and white: One nation, indivisible. New York: Simon and Schuster. We will read only about 6 chapters, most devoted to the pre-1970s history of race in America.

• Mills, N. (Ed.) (1994). Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity, and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta. Note: Only a limited number of used copies are for sale because the book is out of print. These articles are also on regular and electronic reserve in the Morris Library. You will read the following chapters.
  • Bond, J. The Civil Rights Act: White men's hope, pp. 126-128.
  • Chavez, L. Just say Latino, pp. 174-179.
  • Dinh, V. D. Multiracial affirmative action, pp. 280-289.
  • Kennedy, R. Persuasion and distrust: The affirmative action debate, pp. 48-67.
  • Krikorian, M. Affirmative action and immigration, pp. 300-303.
  • Mills, N. Introduction: To look like America, pp. 1-17, 26-32.
  • Steele, S. A negative vote on affirmative action, pp. 37-47.
  • Tien, C.-L. Diversity and excellence in higher education, pp. 237-246.

• Barnes , J. E. (1997, December 22). A surprising turn on minority enrollments. U.S. News & World Report.
• Barnes , J. E. (1997, December 22). (Re) Affirming admissions policies. U.S. News & World Report.
• Cohen, C. (1997, December 17). Race the criterion? The corruption that is group preference. Presentation in the panel "Would the Abolition of Race and Sex Preferences Be Good for Higher Education?" National Association of Scholars, New Orleans. (Recommended only)
• Commentary Magazine, March 1998. This is a set of several dozen short articles on affirmative action, some by authors we are reading for this class. (Recommended only)
• Daley, Beth, Doreen Iudica Vigue, and Kate Zernike (1999, February 9). LESSON PLAN Coming to Boston: a program that builds campus diversity. Boston Globe.
• Douglas, Stephen The World Book
• Glazer, N. (1997, December 14). Race the criterion? For racial dispensation in admissions. Presentation in the panel "Would the Abolition of Race and Sex Preferences Be Good for Higher Education?" National Association of Scholars, New Orleans. (Recommended only)
• Kaufman, J. (1998, October 27). Prison life is all around for a girl growing up in downtown Baltimore. The Wall Street Journal.
• Text of Proposition 209

• Asante, M. K. (1995). The Afrocentric idea in education. In Noll, J. W. (Ed.), Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial educational issues (8th ed.). Guilford, Ct: Dushkin Publishing, pp. 214-226.
• Asante, M. K. (1993). Racism, consciousness and Afrocentricity. In Early, G. (Ed.) Lure and loathing: Essays on race, identity , and the ambivalence of assimilation. New York: Penguin, pp. 127-143.
• Billington, R. A., & Hicks, J. D. (1978). The Missouri Compromise and the Kansas Nebraska Act. World Book.
• Bond, J. (1994). The Civil Rights Act: White men's hope. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 126-128.
• Brooks, R. L. (1996). Integration or separation? A strategy for racial equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.
  • Preface and Part II Introduction (Total Separation)- pp. ix-x, 117-123
  • Part III Introduction (Limited Separation) - pp. 189-197
  • African American Public Schools; Higher Education - pp. 221-243
  • Epilogue - pp. 282-286.
• Bryden, D. P. (1998). The false promise of compromise. The Public Interest, Winter, pp. 50-63.
• Bunzel, J.H. (1997, Oct. 12). Hard facts about falling minority admissions. The Washington Post.
• Carter, S. L. (1993). The black table, the empty seat, and the tie. In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and loathing: Essays on race, identity, and the ambivalence of assimilation. New York: Penguin, pp. 55-79.
• Chavez, L. (1994). Just say Latino. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 174-179.
• Cohen, A. (1997, Nov. 10). The next great battle over affirmative action. Time, pp. 52-55.
• deTocqueville, A. (1863). The three races in the United States. Chapter 18 in Democracy in America: Vol. I. Cambridge: Sever and Francis, pp. 424-431, 456-490.
• Dinh, V. D. (1994). Multiracial affirmative action. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 280-289.
• Hardy, Q. (1997, April 24). School of thought: The unbearable whiteness of being. Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A12.
• Healy, P. (1998, April 3). Admissions law changes equations for students and colleges in Texas. The Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. A29-A31.
• Jefferson, T. (1990). Declaration of Independence. In D. Ravitch (Ed.), An American reader: Words that moved a nation. New York: HarperCollins, pp. 20-23.
• Jeffrey, D. A., & Kennedy, B. T. (1996). A citizen's guide to the affirmative action debate. Claremont, CA: The Claremont Institute. pp. 3-11.
• Kennedy, R. (1997, May). My race problem--and ours. The Atlantic Monthly, pp. 55-56, 58-60, 64-66.
• Kennedy, R. (1994). Persuasion and distrust: The affirmative action debate. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 48-67.
• King, M. L., Jr. (1963, August). The March on Washington Address. In Ravitch, D. (Ed.), The American Reader. New York: Harper Collins, pp. 331-334.
• Krikorian, M. (1994) Affirmative action and immigration. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 300-303.
• Lincoln, A. (1857/1985). The Declaration of Independence includes all men. In R. N. Current (Ed.), The political thought of Abraham Lincoln,. New York: Macmillan, pp. 84-93.
• Loury, G. (1990). Achieving the "dream": A challenge to liberals and to conservatives in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. A speech at the Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC, February 12, pp. 1-11.
• Loury, G. (1995). Individualism before multiculturalism. The Public Interest , Spring, No. 121, pp. 92-106.
• McKnight, R. (1993). Confessions of a wannabe Negro. In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and loathing: Essays on race, identity, and the ambivalence of assimilation. New York: Penguin, pp. 95-112.
• Mills, N. (1994). Introduction: To look like America. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 1-17, 26-32.
• Powell, L. (1978/1991). University of California v. Bakke. In M. Harrison & S. Gilbert (Eds.), Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Vol. 1. Beverly Hills, CA: Excellent Books, pp. 129-157.
• Roberts, P. C., & Stratton, L. M. (1995). The new color line: How quotas and privilege destroy democracy. Washington, DC: Regnery,
  • Introduction - pp. ix-xiv
  • Chapter 2: Progress redefined - pp. 13-20.
• Sanchez, R. (1997, Dec. 5). Final exam for campus affirmative action? The Washington Post, pp. A1, A35, A36.
• Schlesinger, A. M., Jr. (1995). The disuniting of America. In Noll, J. W. (Ed.), Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial educational issues (8th ed.). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing, pp. 227-236.
• Steele, S. (1994). A negative Vote on affirmative action. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 37-47.
• Taney, R. (1857/1991). Dred Scott v. Sandford. In M. Harrison & S. Gilbert (Eds.), Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Vol 2. Beverly Hills, CA: Excellent Books, pp. 14-34.
• Terkel, S. (1992). Campus life. Race: How blacks and whites think and feel about the American obsession. New York: Doubleday, pp. 202-217.
• Tien, C. L. (1994) Diversity and excellence in higher education. In Mills, N. (Ed.) Debating affirmative action: Race, gender, ethnicity and the politics of inclusion. New York: Delta, pp. 237-246.
• Ungar, L. (1997, Nov. 6). Jesse Jackson blasts high court race ruling. The News Journal, p. B1.
• Wolfe, A. (1998, Oct. 25). Affirmative action: The fact gap. New York Times Book Review, pp. 15-16.

Course Requirements

• Papers: There will be three papers. You will rewrite the first two. Rewriting is more than just a cosmetic touch-up. It involves rethinking, too. A Writing Fellow will be available to assist you with all papers, including the rewrites. See the following schedule for when papers and rewrites will be assigned and due.

• Daily P/F assignments: In addition to the graded assignments, there will be daily P/F writing assignments related to the day's readings. You should think about answers to all of them before class, but you need to turn in only 12 out of the 26 P/F assignments. You can pick any 4 of the P/F for classes 1-9, 4 for classes 10-18, and 4 for days 19-27. You can get extra credit for doing the others. I will add up to 5% to your grade depending on how many of the 14 extra you do and how well you do them.

• Weekly "News in Review" by teams: The class will be divided into three or four teams, each of which will be responsible for monitoring a different major news source for news and editorials on race-related issues. The class webpage is linked to a few major newspapers. Members of the team will take turns summarizing that week's news for the class during the 15-minute "week in review" on Thursdays. News articles will be brought to class and maintained in a 3-ring binder kept outside my office.

• Group projects: During the last third of the course, the class will identify topics that it would like to investigate more intensively. Groups will be formed depending on people's interests. The groups will be responsible for researching their chosen topic(s) and presenting their findings to the class during the last few class periods.

• Class participation: You will be expected to attend class, have thought about the daily P/F assignments, done your readings, regularly participate in class discussion, and contribute fully to group projects. Your participation grade is enhanced by a willingness to take intellectual risks in class, asking good questions, facilitating discussion among your classmates, and bringing pertinent news and observations to class. Being prepared also includes bringing the day's readings to class, because we will sometimes turn to them during discussions.

Grading

• 80% Papers
  • 10% Paper 1
  • 20% Rewrite 1
  • 10% Paper 2
  • 20% Rewrite 2
  • 20% Paper 3
• 20% Class participation, including in debates and weekly "News in Review" presentations and group projects.Also includes the requires 12 daily P/F assignments.
• 5% possible extra credit (for 14 non-required P/F assignments)

Daily Assignments

Day 1 (2/9)--Orientation

• video

Day 2 (2/11)--Recent controversies over racial preferences in college admissions

• syllabus
• Cohen ("Next great battle over affirmative action") {ER}
• Barnes ("Surprising") {website}
• Barnes ("(Re)Affirming") {website}
• Sanchez ("Final Exam for Campus Affirmative Action?") {ER}

• Text of Proposition 209 {website}
• Jeffrey & Kennedy ("Citizens guide to the affirmative action debate") {ER}

Day 4 (2/18)--"All men are created equal"

• Jefferson ("Declaration of Independence"){ER}
• Roberts & Stratton, pp. 13-20 ("Progress redefined") {ER}

• deTocqueville ("The three races in America") {ER}

• Billingham and Hicks ("Missouri Compromise and Kansas Nebraska Act") {ER}
• Taney ("Dred Scott v. Sandford"){ER}
• Lincoln ("The Declaration of Independance includes all men") {ER}
• Douglas (regarding Lincoln-Douglas debates on slavery) {website}
• Paper 1 assigned

Day 7 (3/2)--Life under Jim Crow

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 25-62

Day 8 (3/4)--Debate/discussion on topic to be determined

• Paper 1 due

Day 9 (3/9)--1950's struggle

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 95-121
• video (segments from "Eyes on the Prize")

Day 10 (3/11)--Early 1960's struggle and triumph

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 122-151
• video (segments from "Eyes on the Prize")
• Paper 1 returned

Day 11 (3/16)--The national consensus crumbles

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 158-180
• video (segments from "Eyes on the Prize")

Day 12 (3/18)--Federal pressure for racial balance: From desegregation to integration

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 315-322, 343-347
• Mills, pp. 1-17, 26-32 ("To look like America") {Mills book and ER}
• Rethink 1 due

Day 13 (3/23)--Social-psychological effects

• Steele, pp. 37-47 ("A negative vote on affirmative action") {Mills book and ER}
• Kennedy, only pp. 48-55 ("Persuasion and distrust") {Mills book and ER}

Day 14 (3/25)--Fundamental principles at stake

• Kennedy, pp. 55-67 ("Persuasion and distrust") {Mills book and ER}
• Roberts & Stratton, only pp. ix-xiv ("Introduction") {ER}
• Rethink 1 returned

SPRING BREAK

Day 15 (4/6)--Racial development vs. serfdom

• Loury ("Achieving the 'Dream'") {ER}
• Asante ("Racism, consciousness, and Afrocentricity") {ER}
• Kaufman ("Prison life is all around..."--recommended only) {website}
• Paper 2 assigned

Day 16 (4/8)--Impact

• Thernstroms's America, pp. 386-422
• Tien ("Diversity and excellence in higher education") {Mills book and ER}

• Chavez ("Just say Latino") {Mills book and ER}
• Dinh ("Multiracial affirmative action") {Mills book and ER}
• Krikorian ("Affirmative Action and integration") {Mills book and ER}

Day 18 (4/15)--Interracial perceptions among college students

• Terkel ("Campus Life") {ER}
• finalize project groups and topics
• Paper 2 due

Day 19 (4/20)--Afrocentric education

• Asante ("The Afrocentric idea in education") {ER}
• Schlesinger ("The disuniting of America") {ER}

Day 20 (4/22)-- Racial kinship

• Carter, pp. 55-79 (The black table, the empty seat and the tie") {Mills book and ER}
• Kennedy, 1997 ("My race problem - and ours") {ER}
• Paper 2 returned

Day 21 (4/27)--Caught in the middle

• McKnight ("Confessions of a wannabe Negro") {ER}
• Hardy ("Unbearable whiteness of being") {ER} ,

Day 22 (4/29)--Projects (students run class)

• groups solicit discussion and feedback on their projects
• Rethink 2 due

Day 23 (5/4)--Projects (students run class)

• Brooks (on merits of integration vs. limited separation), only pp. ix-x, 117-123, 189-197 {ER}
• groups solicit discussion and feedback on their projects
• Paper 3 assigned

Day 24 (5/6)--Projects (students run class)

• Brooks (on merits of integration vs. limited separation), only pp. 221-243, 282-286 {ER}
• Rethink 2 returned

Day 25 (5/11)--Projects (students run class)

• groups present project results and answer questions

Day 26 (5/13)--Projects (students run class)

• groups present project results and answer questions

Day 27 (5/18)--Projects (students run class)

One Way to Organize Over Racial Preferences, Identity, Diversity and Related Issues

• groups present project results and answer questions

Paper 3 due by 4:00 in my mailbox on Monday, May 24

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