STANFORD UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

PS 192F, Seminar: Politics of Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.

Winter 1995
Luis Ricardo Fraga, Associate Professor
Office: Bldg. 160, Room 163R; 723-5219

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed as an intensive examination of the phenomenon of the politics of race and ethnicity in the political development of the United States of America. We will begin by posing two questions. What is a minority group? And, what is minority politics? We will also examine major theories which attempt to explain American politics in light of race and ethnicity. The course then focuses upon the historical and contemporary experiences of several groups in American politics. The groups will include white ethnics, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans. Contemporary issues common to a number of groups, with a primary emphasis upon the roles of governmental actors, institutions, and policies, serve as the next general focus of attention. Among the issues to be discussed will be vote dilution, affirmative action, and immigration. We close the course with a look to the future of race and ethnicity in American politics. It is a fundamental premise of this course that an understanding of race and ethnicity is necessary to comprehensively understand American political development and many of the most important issues in contemporary American politics.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The course will be conducted in the seminar format. Assigned readings must be completed before class so that constructive and consistent class participation can occur. The entire class will meet on Tuesdays at the assigned time and will meet again for a mandatory one-hour discussion section on Thursdays. Thursday sections will be from 1:15 to 2:05 and from 2:15 to 3:05.

The final course grade will consist of the following elements:

1. Class participation: 20%

2. Take-home mid-term examination: 30%

3. Take-home final examination: 50%

BOOKS

The following books are available for purchase at the Stanford Bookstore:

1. Bell, Derrick. And We Are Not Saved. Basic Books. 1987.

2. Carter, Stephen L. Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby. Basic Books. 1991.

3. Edsall, Thomas B., and Mary D. Edsall. Chain Reaction. Norton and Co. 1992

4. Schlesinger, Arthur M. The Disuniting of America. Norton and Co. 1992.

5. Takaki, Ronald. Strangers from a Different Shore. Little Brown. 1994

6. West, Cornel. Race Matters. Beacon Press. 1993

7. A Course Reader is also required and is available from the Stanford Bookstore.

Additionally, a copy of the following assigned reading will be available for purchase from the Stanford Center for Chicano research:

Fraga, Luis Ricardo, et.. al., Still Looking for America. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford Center for Chicano Research, 1994.

Fraga, Luis Ricardo, and Bari E. Anhalt. "Ethnic Politics, Public Policy and the Public Interest," Stanford Center For Chicano Research, Working Paper No. 42. (Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC, 1993.)

COURSE SYLLABUS

I. INTRODUCTION

January 17, 19

A. Multiculturalism, diversity, race, and ethnicity

1. Arthur M. Schlesinger. The Disuniting of America. W.W. Norton and Co. 1992. Entire.

2. Cornel West. Race Matters Beacon Press, 1993. Entire.

January 24, 25

B. Theories of Minority Politics: Assimilation, Acculturation, Internal

Colonialism, and Class Analysis

1. Milton M. Gordon. "Toward a General Theory of Racial and Ethnic Group Relations." in Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan, eds. Ethnicity:

Theory and Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,

1975, pp. 84-110.

2. Milton M. Gordon. "Assimilation in American: Theory and Reality." Daedalus. Vol. 90, No. 2 (Spring 1961).

3. Mario Barrera, Carlos Munoz, and Charles Ornelas. "The Barrio as an Internal Colony." in F. Chris Garcia, ed. La Causa Politica:

A Chicano Politics Reader. Notre Dame, IN: The University of

Notre Dame Press, 1974, pp. 281-298.

4. Mario Barrera. Ch. 7. "A Theory of Racial Inequality." in Mario Barrera. Race and Class in the Southwest: A Theory of Racial Inequality. Notre Dame, IN: The University of Notre Dame Press, 1979. pp. 174-219.

5. William Julius Wilson. The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and

Changing American Institutions. Second Edition. Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press. 1980. Chapter 7.

II. MAJOR AMERICAN MINORITY GROUPS

January 31, February 2

A. White European Ethnics: Early Minorities?

1. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan. Beyond the Melting Pot. Boston: MIT and Harvard University Press. 1963. Material on Reserve at Meyer Library.

a. Ch. 3. "The Jews".

b. Ch. 4. "The Italians".

c. Ch. 5. "The Irish".

2. John J. Harrigan. Ch. 3. "Institutionalizing Power in the Pre-World War II City." in John J. Harrigan. Political Change in the Metropolis. Third

Edition. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1985. pp. 47-85.

3. Michael Parenti. "Ethnic Politics and the Persistence of Ethnic

Identification." American Political Science Review. Vol. 61. No. 3 (Sept. 1967): 717-726.

4. Richard D. Alba. "The Twilight of Ethnicity Among American Catholics of European Ancestry."The Annals. Vol. No. 454 (1981).

5. Stanley Lieberson. "A New Ethnic Group in the United States." in Norman R. Yetman ed.,Majority and Minority: The Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in American Life. Fourth Edition. Boston: Alyn and Bacon, Inc., 1985. pp. 443-456.

February 7, 9 (NOTE: Take-Home Mid-Term Begins on Thursday the 9th and is due on Monday, February 13th at noon.)

B. African Americans: The Focus of American Civil Rights Advancement

1. Gunnar Myrdal. "An American Dilemma." In Gunnar Myrdal. An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. New York: Harper and Row. 1944. 1962.

2. Jane H. Bayes. Ch. 3. "The Minority Politics of Black America." in Jane H. Bayes. Minority politics and Ideologies in the United States. Novato, CA: Chandler & Sharp publishers. 1982. pp. 25-63.

3. Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton. Black Power. New York: Vintage Books. 1992, pp. 34-84.

4. Lani Guinier, The Tyranny of the Majority. New York: Free Press, 1994.

Chapter 3.

5. Paul Sniderman and Thomas Piazza. The Scar of Race. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993, Chs. 3, 4, and 5.

February 14, 16

C. Latinos/as: Chicanos/as/Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans

1. Leobardo F. Estrada, F. Chris Garcia, Reynaldo Flores Macias, and Lionel

Maldonado. "Chicanos in the United States: A History of Exploitation and Resistance." Daedalus. Vol. 110, No.2 (Spring 1981).

2. Richard T. Schaefer, Ch. 11. "Puerto Ricans: Divided Between Island and Mainland." in Richard T. Schaefer, Racial and Ethnic Groups. Second

Edition, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1984.

3. James Jennings. "The Puerto Rican Community: Its Political Background." Ch. 2. Puerto Rican Politics and New York City. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1977.

4. Maria de los Angeles Torres. "From Exiles to Minorities: The Politics of Cuban-Americans." in F. Chris Garcia, ed. Latinos and the Political System. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988.

5. Felix M. Padilla. "On the Nature of Latino Ethnicity." in Rodolfo O. de la Garza, Frank D. Bean, Charles Bonjean, Ricardo Romo and Rodolfo Alvarez (eds.), The Mexican American Experience: An Interdisciplinary Anthology. Austin: The University of Texas Press. 1985. pp. 3-32.

6. Rodolpho O. de la Garza, Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, and Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices. San Francisco: Westview Press, 1992 . Ch. 1.

7. Luis Ricardo Fraga, et. al., Still Looking for America. Palo Alto: Stanford Center for Chicano Research, 1994.

February 21, 23

D. Asian-Americans

1. Takaki, Ronald, Strangers from a Different Shore New York: Little Brown, 1994. Selected Chapters.

2. Sucheng Chan, Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. Chapters 5 and 9.

3. Paul Ong and Suzanne J. Hee, "Economic Diversity," in Paul Ong ed., The State of Asian Pacific America: Economic Diversity, Issues and Policies. Los Angeles: Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1994.

4. Stuart Kwoh, "Political Policy," in The State of Asian Pacific America: Policy Issues to the Year 2020. Los Angeles: Asian Pacific Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1993.

III. ISSUES IN AMERICAN MINORITY POLITICS

February 28, March 2

A. Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

1. Mary M. Lepper. "Affirmative Action: A Tool for Effective Personnel Management." in Steven W. Hays and Richard C. Kearney eds. Public Personnel Administration: Problems and Prospects. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1983, pp. 216-245.

2. William Kelso. "Search for a Justifiable Defense of Affirmative Action." in Hays and Kearney (1983). pp. 246-261.

3. Martin Kilson. "Politics of Affirmative Action: Race and Public Policy in American." In Charles Fried, ed. Minorities: Community and Identity. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1983. pp. 353-364.

4. Stephen L. Carter. Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby. Basic Books. 1991. Entire.

5. Kilson, Martin. "Thoughts on Black Conservatism: A Review Essay," in Dissent Magazine, pp. 8-14, circa 1992 Handed out in Class. March 7, 9

B. Minority Vote Dilution

1. Chandler Davidson, "The Voting Rights Act: A Brief History" in Bernard Grofman and Chandler Davidson (eds.) Controversies in Minority Voting. Brookings Institution. 1992. pp. 7-51.

2. Bernard Grofman, Lisa Handley, and Richard G. Niemi. Minority Representation and the Quest for Voting Equality. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992, Chapters 2 and 3.

3. Lani Guinier, The Tyranny of the Majority. New York: Free Press, 1994. Chapter 4.

4. Luis Ricardo Fraga and Bari E. Anhalt. "Ethnic Politics, Public Policy and the Public Interest," Stanford Center For Chicano Research, Working Paper No. 42. (Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC, 1993.) March 14, 16

C. Immigration to the United States: "Undocumented Workers" or "Illegal Aliens"?

1. Rodolfo Acuna. Occupied America: A History of Chicanos. Second Edition. NY: Harper and Row. 1981.

a. Ch. 6. "Greasers Go Home" pp. 123-154

b. Ch. 7. "The Scapegoats: The Mexicans are Coming." pp. 155- 189.

2. Nathan Glazer, ed. Clamor at the Gates: The New American Immigration. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies. 1985.

a. Ch 2. Lawrence Fuchs. pp. 17-48

b. Ch 3. Harris Miller. pp. 49-71

c. Ch 4. Edwin Harwood. pp. 73-91

d. Ch 5. Rodolfo O. de la Garza. pp. 93-105

3. Hing, Bill Ong, "Imigration Policy," in The State of Asian Pacific America:

Policy Issues to the Year 2020. Los Angeles: Asian Pacific Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1993.

Final Session and Review: Time T.B.A.

V. Race and Ethnicity in America's Future

1 Milton M. Gordon. "Models of Pluralism: The New American Dilemma." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. No. 454 (1981).

2. Bell, Derrick. And We Are Not Saved. Basic Books. 1987. Selected Chapters.

3. Edsall, Thomas B., and Mary D. Edsall. Chain Reaction. Norton and Co. 1992. Selected Chapters.

4. Fraga, Luis Ricardo, and Jorge Ruiz-de-Velasco. "The Declining Significance of Rights: Civil Rights in a Multicultural State." Presented at "The 1964 Civil Rights Act: A Thirty Year Perspective," a conference at the Federal Judicial Center, November 11-12, 1994.