Summer 2004
12 month Program
Jeffrey Longhofer, LSW, Ph.D.
Office Phone: (216) 929-0213
E-mail:jxl102@po.cwru.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
SSWM 586: Race and Class: Implications for Social Work Practice
Course Description
This course is aimed at understanding the complex and interrelated effects of race and class on people in the United States. We will explore the effects of structured inequalities on health, life chances, self-concept, and material well being. We will consider how these categories, race and class, are often accepted as givens, even sometimes natural categories. We will, however, focus our attention not only on how race and class produce myriad forms of institutionalized inequality. We will also consider how it affects those with privilege. Overall, our task will be to explore the connections between power and powerlessness, wealth and poverty, confidence and despair. Finally, these issues affect the ways we engage in practice, form policy, conduct research, and develop programs.
This course provides the student with the opportunity to integrate concentration content within a perspective focusing on race and class. Specific attention will be focused on the effects that race and class have on individual, family and community social functioning. Students will explore the manifestations of race and class on critical life areas. These areas include but are not limited to education, housing, health care, and involvement with legal justice system. This course will provide students with opportunities to conceptualize and develop a practice model in response to the influence of these issues—on any level of social work practice—based on research and theory. This course will build on content from the core foundation areas.
Course Objectives
Students completing this course should possess the following:
- A practice model that reflects the integration of culturally competent techniques, research and theory (SWP; CT).
- Ability to identify the impact of effects of race and class on access to opportunity within U.S. society (SWP; CT).
- Understanding and knowledge of strategies used to ameliorate the effects of race and class (CT; C).
- Understanding and knowledge of social work contribution to the amelioration and perpetuation of the effects of race and class (CT; SWP).
- Understanding and knowledge of institutional practices that perpetuate race and class conflict (CT; VE).
- Understanding and knowledge of the effects of race and class on life chances (SWP).
Required Readings
Toni Morrison’s Playing In The Dark : Whiteness And The Literary Imagination (available at the CWRU bookstore)
Readings below are available as PDF files on Blackboard. See course outline (for each week)
Bell Hooks, “Representations of Whiteness in the Black Imagination.”
Kathleen Blee, “100% Cooperation: Political Culture in the Klan.”
Howard Winant, “The Theoretical Status of the Concept Race.”
Jill Quadagno, “Unfinished Democracy.”
Karen Brodkin Sacks, “How Did Jews Become White Folks?”
Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Ethnicity.”
Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formation.” Ivan Hannaford, “In The Beginning.”
Michael Rustin, “Psychoanalysis, Racism, and Anti-Racism.”
Paul Tough, “The Black White Supremacist.”
Scott Sherman, “Fighting Words.”
Stephen Steinberg, “The New Ethnicity in Historical Perspective.”
Van den Berghe, “Does Race Matter?” in J. Hutchinson (ed) 1996. Ethnicity.
Walter Benn Michaels, “Diversity's False Solace.”
Willard Gaylin, “Defining Hatred” and “Rage: The Emotional Core of Hatred.”
IV. Assignments and Attendance
1. You are expected to attend all class sessions (on time), to actively participate, and to complete reading assignments prior to class. An attendance sheet will be circulated during each class. Excused absences (illness with a doctor’s note, documented family emergency, and religious observance) will not be counted against you. Unexcused absences will have a negative effect on the final grade. You are responsible for finding out about any assignments if you were absent. If you must miss a session, you will need to let me know in advance and you will be required to write a 15-20 page paper that addresses the range of questions and issues covered for that day.
2. Prepare an outline (see below) of each reading, to be distributed to the class at the beginning of each class on Thursday. Each Thursday, you’ll need to come with 16 copies, or one for each class member and the instructor (60 points). Each week, depending on our progress, you will be required to submit an outline of the reading for that day (typed--I will not accept them otherwise). From these outlines, someone will be asked to lead a discussion of the reading. Everyone will get at least two such opportunities. Our first objective is to understand the author before we undertake a more critical consideration of the material. This will require thoughtful reading of the material, and frequent re-reading of material. Please post your reviews on Blackboard (at designated site) so others can read and respond. When possible, do this before class on Thursday. This will give others the chance to see how you are thinking about the material.
Outline for reading summaries:
I. Provide a general statement of the central thesis, idea, or object of inquiry. II. What concepts does the author use to theoretically limit or define the object of study? What assumptions does the author make? Discuss the assumptions? III. What kind of evidence (some articles may not use data) does the author use to support the argument? Is the evidence convincing? IV. What conclusions are drawn? V. Are the conclusions consistent with the data (where data is used) and argument? What kinds of causal connections or relationships have been posited? Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why not?
3. You will also be expected to write a book review (not a report or summary) on a book from the reading list below. The review, three or four pages in length, should follow the format of book reviews found in any of the major social work, sociology, anthropology journals. Take the time to carefully read a selection of reviews from these journals to become familiar with the format and style. See the following website for guidelines on writing reviews: http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/bookreview/write_review.htm. On the final day, we will each take about 15 minutes to present the reviews. Please post your book reviews on Blackboard. (20 points)
4. You are required to view several films and write brief responses to them. See course outline below for films to be viewed. We will have occasion to discuss these films and you are required to submit a one page summary/reaction to the film due on the day shown below. Again, please post your reviews on Blackboard. (20 points)
Course Outline
Day | Topics | Readings |
| Introductions | Film: Race: The Power of Illusion, The Difference Between UsWalter Benn Michaels, “Diversity's False Solace.” |
| May 13 | The Race Concept | Film: 35 UpMichael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formation” |
| May 20 | Ethnic/Ethnicity/Ethnic Relations | Film: Race: The Power of Illusion, The Story We Tell Stephen Steinberg, “The New Ethnicity in Historical Perspective” Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Ethnicity” Scott Sherman, “Fighting Words” On your own, please watch the film, |
| May 27 | Film: Race: The Power of Illusion, The House We Live In | DiscussionWillard Gaylin, “Defining Hatred” and “Rage: The Emotional Core of Hatred” Michael Rustin, “Psychoanalysis, Racism, and Anti-Racism” Karen Brodkin Sacks, “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” Jill Quadagno, “Unfinished Democracy” Kathleen Blee, “100% Cooperation: Political Culture in the Klan.” On your own, please watch the film, |
June 3 | Whiteness | Toni Morrison’s |
Recommended Readings (see instructions for book review). This list also includes articles that you may find useful for your agency assessment:
Alexie, Sherman. 1994. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven. New York:
Harper Perennial.
Anderson, Ellijah. 1990. Street Wise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community. Chicago. University of Chicago.
Anderson, Ellijah. 2000. Code of the Streets: Decency, Violence and the Moral Life of the Inner City. New York: W. W. Norton. Inc.Anderson, Margaret L. and Patricia Hill Collins. 2001. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. 4th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Atkinson, D. R., Morten, G., & Sue, D. W. (1998). Counseling American Minorities, 5th Ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Auletta, K. (1982). The Underclass. NY: Vintage Books.
Blank, R. (1997). It Takes a Nation: A New Agenda for Fighting Poverty. NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Blee, K. 1991. “100% Cooperation: Political Culture in the Klan.” In Women of the Klan. Berkeley: Univ. of Ca. Press. pp.154-74.
Bogle, Donald. 2001. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films.
Chachere, B., Smith, R. C., & Walters, R. W. (1987). Causes for alarm. Society, 24(2), 22-28.
Chau, K. L. (1991). Social work with ethnic minorities: Practice issues and potentials. Journal of Multicultural Social Work 1(1), 23-39.
Cornelius, L. J. & Altman, B. M. (1995). Have we succeeded in reducing barriers to medical care for African and Hispanic Americans with disabilities? Social Work in Health Care, 22(2), 1-17.
Cumming, Scott. 1998. Left Behind in Rosedale: Race Relations and the Collapse of Community Institutions. Boulder: Westview Press.
Curtis, C. M. (1996). The adoption of African American children by whites: A renewed conflict. Families in Society, 77(3) 156-65.
Dalton, H. (1995). Racial Healing: Confronting the Fear Between Blacks and Whites. NY: Doubleday.
Davis, Angela. 1983. Women, Race and Class. New York: Random House.
Davis, L. E. & Proctor, E. K. (1989). Race, Gender, & Class: Guidelines for Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
DeMott, B. (1995). The Trouble with Friendship: Why Americans Can’t Think Straight about Race. NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press.
Dhopper, S. S. & Moore, S. E. (2001). Social Work Practice with Culturally Diverse People. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folks. 1999. New York: New American Library.
Duneier, Mitchell. 1999. Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2001. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Edsall, T. B. & Edsall, M. D. (1991, May). Race. The Atlantic Monthly, 53-86.
Ethnography Unbound. Berkeley: UC Press.
Feagin, Joe R. 2001. “Systematic Racism: A Comprehensive Perspective,” in Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. New York: Routledge Press
Feagin, J. R. & Vera, H. (1995). White Racism: The Basics. NY: Routledge Press.
Films Among American Indians and Anglos.” ASR, 57:725-34.
Friedman, Lester D. Unspeakable Images: Ethnicity and the American Cinema. Urbana: Illinois, 1991.
Galster, G. C. & Hill, E. W. (Eds.) (1992). The Metropolis in Black & White: Place, Power, and Polarization. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Urban Policy Research.
Gevinson, Alan. Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. Berkeley: California, 1997.
Hacker, A. (1992). Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal. NY: Scribner’s Sons.
Hall, R. E. (1992). Bias among African-Americans regarding skin color: Implications for social work practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 2(4), 479-86.
Harrington, M. (1962). The Other America: Poverty in the United States. NY: Macmillian.
Harvard University Pres.
Howe, N. & Longman P. (1992, April). The next new deal. The Atlantic Monthly, 88-99.
Harden, Jacalyn D. 2003. Double Cross: Japanese Americans in Black and White Chicago. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Haynes, Bruce. 2001. Red Lines, Black Spaces: The Politics of Race and Space in a Black Middle Class Suburb. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Jackson, John H. 2001. Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (hardback)
Kennedy, R. (1997, May). My race problem--and ours. The Atlantic Monthly, 55-66.
Kennedy, Randall. 2002. Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. New York: Pantheon.
Kozol, Jonathan. 1991. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York: Crown Publishers.
Massey, D. S. (1994). America’s apartheid and the urban underclass. Social Service Review, 68(4) 471-487.
McMahon, A. & Allen-Meares, P. (1992). Is social work racist? A content analysis of recent literature. Social Work, 37(6) 533-539.
Miller, Randall M. The Kaleidoscopic Lens: How Hollywood Views Ethnic Groups. Englewood: Ozer, 1980.
Nagel, Joane. 1994. “Constructing Ethnicity: Creating and Re-creating Ethnic Identity and Culture.” Social Problems 41: 152-183.
Newman, Katherine S. 1999. No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner-City. New York: Russell Sage Publications.
O’Brien, D. and S. Fugita. “The Concentration Camp Experience.” in The of 'Dirty Work' by Central American Immigrants." in Burawoy, M. (ed) Palmer, S. & Cooke, W. (1996). Understanding and countering racism with First Nations children in out-of-home care. Child Welfare, 75(6), 209-25.
Patillo-McCoy, Mary. 2000. Black Pickett Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pease, Donald E. National Identities and Post-Americanist Narratives. Durham: Duke, 1994.
Phillips, K. (1990). The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath. NY: Random House.
Pinderhughes, E. (1989). Understanding Race, Ethnicity, & Power: The Key to Efficacy in Clinical Practice. NY: The Free Press.
Rhodes, Jewell Parker. 1997. Magic City. New York: Harper Perennial.
Ricourt, Milagros and Ruby Danta. 2003. Hispana de Queens: Latino Panethnicity in a New York City Neighborhood. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Pardo, Mary S. 1998. Mexican American Women Activists: Identity and Resistance in Two Los Angeles Neighborhoods. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Romero, Mary. 2000. Maid in the U.S.A.: 10th Anniversary Edition. New York: Routledge. 1992.
Roschelle, Anne. 1997. No More Kin: Exploring Race, Class, and Gender in Family Networks. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication.
Rocchio, Vincent. 2000. Reel Racism. Continuum Press.
Roediger, D. R. (1991). The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class. London: Verso.
Roediger, D. R. (1994). Towards the Abolition of Whiteness. London: Verso.
Shively, JoEllen. 1992. “Cowboys and Indians: Perceptions of American
Sociological Inquiry, 63: 64-83.
Spence, S. A. (1993). Rural elderly African Americans and service delivery: A study of health and social service needs and service accessibility. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 20(3/4), 187-202.
Steele, C. M. (1992, April). Race and the school of Black Americans. The Atlantic Monthly, 68-78.
Steinberg, S. (1995). Turning Back: The Retreat from Racial Justice in American Thought and Policy. Boston: Beacon Press.
Swigonski, M. E. (1996). Challenging privilege through Africentric social work practice. Social Work, 41(2), 153-16.
Szumski, B. (Ed.) (1996). Interracial America: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Tidwell, B. J. (Winter 1990-91). More than a Moral Issue: The costs of American racism in the 1990s. The Urban League Review, 14(2), 9-27.
Toplin, Robert Brent. Hollywood as Mirror: Changing Views of "Outsiders" and "Enemies" in American Movies. Westport: Greenwood, 1993.
West, C. (1993). Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1987). The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass and Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1980). The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wilson, William J. 1996. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor.
New York: Random House.