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Note:

I.   POWER

A.  Liberalism

John Locke, selection from The Second Treatise on Government (1680) (CP).

Questions on Locke

B. Pluralism and Elitism

Gary Wasserman, "Who Wins, Who Loses: Pluralism versus Elitism," (PPP), 532-539.

C. Wright Mills, "The Higher Circles," pp. 540-560.

Questions on the Wasserman and C.W. Mills readings

Supplemental:

• Robert Dahl, "Describing Influence," (PPP), 9-43.
• Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz, "Two Faces of Power," in Bias of Pluralism, ed. William Connolly (New York: Atherton Press, 1969): 51-64. (OR)

Immanuel Ness, "The Three Dimensional Introduction to Power and Authority," (PPP),   50-57.

C. Marxism

George R. Vickers, "Karl Marx and the Process of Change," (PPP), 104-108.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "Manifesto of the Communist Party (PPP), 109-118.

Questions on Marx

Read online notes on the transition from socialism to communism

Supplemental:

• Marx on Wage Labour and Capital (off site)
• See also this site for many of Marx and Engels's writings

D. Weber's Critique of Marx

Sidney Aronson, "Max Weber and Social Stratification," pp. 119-125.

Max Weber, "Postscript: The Concepts of Status Groups and Classes,"  pp. 126-130.

Questions on Weber

E. The Fourth Dimension of Power

William Chafe, "Sex and Race: The Analogy of Social Control," (PPP), 517-531.

Questions on the Chafe reading

Stephen Steinberg, "The Underclass: A Case of Color Blindness" (CP).

Questions on Steinberg

Jonathan Ned Katz, "The Heterosexual Comes Out" (CP).

Questions on the Katz reading

Michel Foucault, "Truth and Power" (CP).

Questions on the Foucault reading

Supplemental:

• Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge (OR)
• Ruth Frankenberg, "Whiteness and Americanness" (CP).
• Michel-Rolph Trouillot, "Culture, Color, and Politics in Haiti," (in Race, edited by Sanjek and Gregory) (OR)

Lawrence Mishel, Jared Bernstein and John Schmitt, "Family Income: Slow Growth, Rising Inequality," (PPP), 75-88.

Lawrence Mishel, Jared Bernstein and John Schmitt, "More for the Wealthy, Financial Decline and Insecurity for the Majority," (PPP) 88-103.

Supplemental:

• Doug Henwood, "The Boom Years," The Nation March 29, 1999, p. 10. (handed out in class.)

Sally Avery Bermanzohn, "What is Welfare: A Brief History of U.S. Social Welfare," (PPP) 131-152.

Roslyn Feldberg, "Comparable Worth: Toward Theory and Practice in the United States," (PPP), 304-320.

B. Race, Racism, and Discrimination:

Joseph Wilson, "Introduction," (PPP), 171-176.

Questions on Wilson

Supplemental:

• The African American Odyssey, preview of an exhibition of the Library of Congress: documents and photos.

Lerone Bennett, Jr., "Before the Mayflower," (PPP), 177-196.

Questions on Bennett

W.E.B. Du Bois, "The Conservation of the Races (PPP), 197-202.

Questions on Du Bois

Supplemental:

• James Baldwin, "On Being `White'...and Other Lies," (1984), handed out in class and on reserve (OR)
• W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (full text on line -- off site)

Joe Feagin and Clairece Feagin, "Theories of Discrimination," (PPP), 209-214.

Questions on the Feagins' reading
Just what is an "institution"

Supplemental:

• Elizabeth Kolbert, "The Perils of Safety: Did crime-fighting tactics put Amadou Diallo at risk?" The New Yorker, March 22, 1999, handed out in class and on reserve (OR)

Manning Marable, "The Paradox of Integration," (PPP), 203-208.

Questions on the Marable reading

The Supreme Court of the United States, Dred Scott v. Sandford, (PPP), 251-255.

To see pictures of actual New York Evening Post slave ads: click here.

Important Legal Enactments on Race

Go to Hermes to find the full texts of these important cases:

• Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Plessy v. Ferguson
• Brown v. Board of Education

Supplemental:

• Read online the important part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Read online what a pro-segregation Southern Governor has to say about the Civil Rights Movement: "Fraud, Sham, and Hoax": a speech by George C. Wallace
• Read online: What are civil rights?

 In-class video: The Road to Brown

Questions on "The Road to Brown"

United States Supreme Court, Korematsu v. United States: read online by going to Hermes to find the full text of Korematsu v. U.S.

 

C. Multicultural Perspectives

Stephen Steinberg, "The Ignominious Origins of Ethnic Pluralism in America," (PPP) 215-242.

Bill Ong Hing, "A Nation of Immigrants, a History of Nativism," (CP).

Questions on Hing

Richard Schaefer, "Puerto Ricans: Divided Between Island and Mainland," (PPP).

Clara Rodríguez, "Challenging Racial Hegemony: Puerto Ricans in the United States" (CP).

Questions on Rodríguez

Nicholas de Lange, "The Origins of Anti-Semitism: Ancient Evidence and Modern Interpretations" (CP)

Leonard Dinnerstein, "Antisemitism in Times of Crisis in the United States," (CP).

Questions on de Lange and Dinnerstein

 D.  Gender and Sexuality

Suzanne J. Kessler and Wendy McKenna, selection from Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach (CP).

Phyllis Burke, selections from Gender Shock (CP).

Questions on Kessler/McKenna and Burke

Alison Jaggar and Paula Rothenberg, "Theories of Women's Oppression," (PPP) 293-303.

Supplemental:

• Sondra Farganis, "Contemporary Feminist Theory," in Sondra Farganis, Situating Feminism (OR).

Read online the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, 1848

Gerald Meyer, "Gay/Lesbian Liberation Movement," (PPP) 614-624.

Supplemental:

• John D’Emlio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities (OR)

In-class video: A Question of Equality

The U.S. Supreme Court decision, Bowers v. Hardwick, 1986 (CP) .

A.  The U.S. Constitution:

Read the Declaration of Independence online at: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core3/documents.htm

Read the Articles of Confederation online at: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core3/documents.htm

The U.S. Constitution (CP).

Dan Claster, "An Overview of the Major Provisions of the U.S. Constitution," (PPP) 396-401.

B.  The Federalist Papers

Sydney Aronson, "Introduction to the Federalist Papers," (PPP), 388-395.

James Madison, "The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction," (Federalist #10),  (PPP),  402-407. 

James Madison, "Checks and Balances," (Federalist #51), (PPP) 408-411.

Questions on Madison

Supplemental:

• Full text of the Federalist Papers (offsite, online)

Charles Beard, "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States," (PPP), 365-370.

Questions on Beard

C. Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville, "Political Association in the United States," (PPP) 412-424.

Questions on Tocqueville

Supplemental:

• Full text of Tocqueville's Democracy in America (online, offsite)

D.  Social Movements (if time)

Angela Y. Davis, "Racism, Birth Control, and Reproductive Rights," (PPP) 335-350.

Read online the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1948HUMRIGHT.html

Mark Ungar, "Human Rights," (PPP) 581-589.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century" (CP).