Instructor: Dr./Professor Jasmine Hill (she, her)
Email: [email protected]
Office: Public Affairs 6359
Office hours: By appointment here
Lecture: T 4-6:50pm (Winter 2023)
Classroom: Rolfe 3105
Evolving Course Playlist here
Why does racial inequality exist and persist? And what do Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and theories of structural racism or settler colonialism have to say about it? What do all these concepts have to say to modern policy problems?
This course is for students who wish to explore the causes of racial inequalities and the theories that help us understand those inequalities. We will study several leading ideological approaches which seek to explain disparate racial outcomes and uncover what solutions they offer for the social problems of our time. Most importantly, students will learn to discern and critique some of the ideological underpinnings around race and racial inequality which drive modern policy making. It is intended that students will gain tools to sharpen and challenge their own thinking on racial inequality and learn to glean policy solutions, on issues of their choice, from various theoretical traditions.
Outcome #1: Students will develop a nuanced and critiqued understanding of several prominent theories of racial inequality. (Why does racial inequality exist and how do we solve it?)
Outcome #2: Students will build capacity to see discourses of racial inequality in the public sphere. (Why are "they" saying that and what does it mean?)
Outcome #3: Students will gain skills to craft compelling, well-researched and theoretically based policy op-eds. (Based on what I learned, what do I think and how do I convince others?)
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📌 This course schedule provides a complete list of weekly topics, readings, assignments, and exams. To access the reading list, hover over any item and click ⤢ OPEN to see additional info like a link. Click All to switch to week, exam, or calendar view.
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‼️ Required Texts: Davis, Angela Y., Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie. Abolition. Feminism. Now. Vol. 2. Haymarket Books, 2022. (available at the UCLA bookstore & online; as paperback, e-book and audiobook)
Calculate Your Grade (spreadsheet)
Group Presentation: Up to 25 points
📌 In-Class Participation: Up to 10 points
Perusall Annotations (Ongoing): Up to 3 points each
Submit Your Op-Ed for Publication: 5 points
Propose & Do Your Own Assignment: up to 15 points
Create a Quiz or Study Guide: Up to 10 points
Take Home Exam: Up to 20 points
A 90-100 points B 80-89 points C 70-79 points D 60-69 points F < 60 points