Fall 2014 Foundations Course!
Diversity in Racial & Ethnic Families
Educational Policy Studies: EPS 421-BAR #42601 EPS 421-BB2 # 54748
Sociology: SOC 421-BAR #42604 SOC 421-BB2 # 54749
Hum Dev & Family Studies: HDFS 424-BAR # 42605 HDFS 424-BB2 #54750
African American Studies: AFRO 421-BAR # 42606 AFRO 421-BB2 # 54751
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Tue 10-11:50am section BAR: EPS 421 #42601 ●SOC 421 #42604 ●HDFS 424 #42605●AFRO 421 #42606
Tue 1-2:50pm section BB2: EPS 421 #54748 ●SOC 421 #54749 ●HDFS 424 #54750●AFRO 421 #54751
Professor: Dr. Bernice McNair Barnett (Ph.D., Sociology) Email: bmbarnet@illinois.edu
ABOUT THE COURSE
This combined Graduate and Advanced Undergraduate (Juniors, Seniors only) 400-level foundations course is a sociological examination of diversity in racial and ethnic families, which are the foundations of education. Understanding how race, gender, class, ethnicity, disability, language, sexuality, immigrant status, age, and other stratifying relations in society influence diversity in families is important, especially for teacher education/preparation and educational policies because families generally are the first agents of education, learning, and socialization of children before they enter schools and because family background and learning styles are related to schooling experiences and achievement. In addition, the nature of relationships between students/parents/families in homes and teachers/administrators/staff in classrooms/schools/colleges/universities can impact educational outcomes. Moreover, local, state, regional, and global population demographics are changing racially/ethnically; thus, families, educators, the public, and policymakers in schools, colleges, universities, and major societal institutions need to be prepared for the racial-ethnic demographic shifts. The objectives of this social foundations course are: (1.) to introduce, survey, and evaluate major sociological theories, approaches, concepts, research, questions, debates, issues, and data on diversity in families; (2.) to develop/strengthen research and analytical skills, especially by critically analyzing the reality vs. the images, ideals, and myths about “typical” racial-ethnic “minority”/“majority” families and their social constructions as “deviant”/“normal;” (3.) to foster an awareness and understanding of cultures/structures/dimensions/patterns of diversity among and within families in the U.S. and the basis of diversity globally; (4.) to consider how families are reciprocally connected to education, economy, politics, religion, and other social institutions; (5) to examine how families are agents of education and how children from diverse family backgrounds with varying home cultures, compositions, resources, practices, traditions, compositions, and environments come of age, grow up, develop identities, experience schooling, achieve in education, react to racial-ethnic differences/similarities, and live/learn/work cooperatively and democratically in a multiracial U.S and global society.
The course analyzes family diversity among and within these U.S. groups: Black African American, Latino/a American, Asian American, Native American as well as White European American and Socio-Religious Ethnic Groups (such as Catholic, Baptist, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Amish). It also explores diversity globally in periphery, semi-periphery, and core regions of the world-economy (such as China, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan, Ghana, Russia, Israel, Kenya, Australia, India, Pakistan, S. Africa, Germany, Iraq, Britain, Cuba, France, Haiti, Jamaica, Ireland). In analyzing diversity, we explore the strengths, adaptations, resiliencies, resources, values, and contributions of all families and their past, present, and future opportunities and challenges. Course Readings: Diversity in American Families,10th edition (2014) by M. Baca Zinn,S. Eitzen; Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations, 5th ed (2011) by R.Wright et al; choice of book about how some children from diverse family backgrounds come of age, develop identities, experience schooling and educational achievement.
