CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY FALL SEMESTER 1999
COLLEGE OF URBAN AFFAIRS VERSION (8/99)
DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES
UST 302 - CONTEMPORARY URBAN ISSUES (Section 480)
MEETING TIME: Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm MC 326
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Harry L. Margulis
Office: Room 266, Chester Building
Phone: 216-687-2163
E-mail: h.margulis@popmail.csuohio.edu
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, 1:30-2:30 and by appointment
NEW CURRICULUM: This course fulfills the WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM in the new university requirements. Students must earn a grade of C or better in their concept paper writing assignment in order to apply UST 302 toward this requirement. This course also fulfills the AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE grouping of the new curriculum.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: An attendance sheet shall be circulated precisely at 9:15 p.m. Please make sure that you sign the sheet. Lateness or failure to sign the attendance sheet shall count as an absence. You may have three excused absences. For each absence thereafter students shall lose seven and one-half percent of the assigned attendance grade. In brief, five absences shall result in the receipt of a zero for the attendance grade.
Do not enter the classroom late. Late entry disturbs the continuity of the lecture; it is disrespectful to the instructor and to students who are conscientious. If students persist in arriving late, the instructor shall lock the door precisely at 9:20 p.m.
EXAMINATION POLICY: All take-home examinations must be submitted on the assigned dates as listed in the Recommended Reading Schedule and in the CSU Course Selection Bulletin. Failure to submit a midterm examination on time shall result in a full grade reduction for each day the examination is late. Missed examinations cannot be made up and no incomplete grades shall be assigned in this course. All examinations must be hand delivered in hard copy to the instructor. Electronic delivery of examinations (e-mail or zip file) is unacceptable. The midterm examination is due October 9th.
All final examinations must be administered during the period assigned in the Bulletin and must follow the approved time schedule as designed by the Administration. In classes where take-home finals are assigned, the take-home examination is due on the day and time of the regularly scheduled final (Article 11, 11.2 A(1), Page 14, Agreement, CSU and American Association of University Professors, CSU Chapter, Effective October 1, 1997).
For all examination questions present the author(s) arguments; do not argue you own position - personal feelings, streams of consciousness, quotes from texts other than those used in the class - should be avoided. The instructor needs to know that you have read and understand the required texts.
In-class lecture, discussion and bonus examination answers can be argumentative, informative, or persuasive; they must contain supporting evidence (facts, statistics, examples, or authoritative opinion). Use a structure that helps you organize your answer(s), for example, arrange ideas by time, importance, by problem and solution. Make sure you summarize the main points in your conclusions. Avoid plagiarism, cite to sources correctly and use quotation marks where appropriate. You may argue you own position, but you must document the validity, correctness or truthfulness of that position. Cite in-text references correctly especially if they refer to non-class sources and be sure to include a full alphabetically listed reference section. Undocumented answers with which the instructor disagrees shall lose points; in case of conflict over an answer, the instructor wins. Make sure your position is sustainable.
Please write clearly. Indicate the part and number of the question answered at the top of the first page of each essay. Use grammatically correct, standard English. Questions are graded on the basis of content and writing quality. Points shall be deducted for errors of logic, grammar and syntax. Please word-process your answers (double-space, 12 point font size). Handwritten examinations shall not be accepted. You must write at least three pages for each question; try to avoid writing more than three pages, but points shall not be deduced if you exceed the three page requirement. Keep quotes to a minimum. Short quotes should be imbedded in the text; longer quotes indented and single-spaced.
Each examination should have a cover page indicating your name, the part(s) and question(s) answered. Stable the pages together in the upper left-hand corner. Do not submit the examination(s) in a folder or binder.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A festering question consistently avoided by urban policy makers is the divisiveness of race and what can be done to bring cohesiveness to confrontational politics and society in general. Exploitation and violence, as well as the politics of race, are haunting America's central cities. What has emerged are serious tensions between rights and responsibilities in legal responses to crime, work place discrimination, and residential segregation. Why are there persisting tensions between the goals of social separation from whites and inclusion within the broader society? Why are coalitions with other racial and ethnic minorities so important for achieving legislative and administrative changes? As West(1)
notes, "Race is the most explosive issue in American life precisely because it forces us to confront the tragic facts of poverty and paranoia, despair and distrust. In short, a candid examination of race matters takes us to the core of the crisis of American democracy." Inevitably we must ask ourselves the pinnacle question -- what kind of nation do we desire? -- one of equality or injustice, one offering opportunity to all, or one in which opportunity exists only for the few.
COURSE METHOD
This course uses an interactive teaching approach consisting of lectures, discussion, student presentations and debate methods.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT
REQUIRED WRITTEN WORK: The 2500 word eight page concept paper (the required cover page, abstract, biography, and references cited are in addition to the 2500 word count) shall be submitted on the designated date. You may have the opportunity to rewrite the concept paper and raise your grade, but the original paper (as close to final form as possible) must be submitted on the due date. For each day it is late one full letter grade shall be deducted. The reduced grade shall be the starting grade for the rewritten paper. The first draft is due October 2nd. You may resubmit papers up until November 20th. No paper shall be accepted this due date..
In-text citations and the reference format should follow the Urban Affairs Review manuscript style. A hand-out of the manuscript style shall be provided by your instructor.
Handwritten papers shall not be accepted. Keep quotes to a minimum. Do not string quotes together; paraphrase and cite correctly. Short quotes should be imbedded in the text; longer quotes indented and single-spaced (quotation marks are unnecessary when the text is blocked).
Stable the pages together in the upper left-hand corner. Do not submit papers in a folder or binder.
OPTIONAL BONUS ESSAY: A five page 15-point bonus essay or mass media paper may be submitted on the designated due date. You may have the opportunity to rewrite the paper and raise your grade, but the original paper must be submitted on the designated due date. The first draft is due September 25th; the final draft is due November 13th. You may resubmit papers up until the final due date. No paper shall be accepted after the final due date.
When citing to a secondary source in Campbell's books, use the following form (Van Dijk as cited by Campbell 1995, 27).
Using Campbell's book, Race, Myth and the New as a guide and using the interpretive approach, analyze several media "texts" (newspapers; weekly news magazines, i.e., Times, Newsweek or Business Week, or television news programs) in the context of larger cultural meanings. All news media discussed in your paper must be properly cited (dates, time viewed, section(s) of newspaper, inclusive page numbers). You may contrast several news items or you may want to contrast a single news story as it unfolds over a period of time, or you may want to discuss a single news story as carried in several news reports. Answer at least three of the following seven questions in your paper:
1. What myths about race are being reflected in the news?
2. How do those myths stand up against the realities of racism?
3. How do the values, ideology and traditions of journalism contribute to the myths?
4. Does the very nature of news as a purveyor of "common sense" diminish the ability of journalist to portray society in a representative manner that offers true perspective?
5. Why is it that well-intentioned journalist - of all colors - advance the racial myths that so many white Americans cling to?
6. How are public perceptions affected by those myths?
7. How do the attitudes identified in research on contemporary racism - including modern, aversive, everyday and enlightened racism, as well as the assimilationist mythology of prime-time television - surface in the news?
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism will result in the student receiving a failing grade for the piece of work involved. Please cite carefully and appropriately.
FINAL GRADES
Final grades shall be determined on the following basis:
Percentage Points Letter Grade
assigned assigned
Attendance 15% 15 90% or better A
Midterm 30% 50 80 - 89 B
Final 30% 50 70 - 79 C
Concept paper assignment 25% 50 60 - 69 D
Less than 60% F
Total........................ 100% 165 Base
Media writing assignment 15
Final examination bonus questions 15
REQUIRED TEXTS
Campbell, C.P. 1995. Race, Myth and the New Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. (Camp)
Cose, E. 1993. The Rage of a Privileged Class - Why Are Middle-Class Blacks Angry? Why Should America
Care? New York: Harper-Collins Publishers. Required (Cose)
Kellogg, W. 1996. African Americans in Urban America - Contemporary Experiences. Dubuque, Iowa:
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. -Recommended-Not Required (K)
Toliver, S.D. 1998. Black Families in Corporate America Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. (T)
West, C. 1994. Race Matters. New York: Vintage Books. (West)
RECOMMENDED READINGS SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 Introduction -- The organization of the course.
Introduction: Race Matters, 3-13 (West)
Nihilism in Black America, 17-31 (West)
Sept 5 The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning, 35-49 (West)
The Crisis of Black Leadership, 53-70 (West)
Demystifying the New Black Conservatism, 73-90 (West)
Sept 11 Beyond Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity, 93-99 (West)
On Black-Jewish Relations, 103-116 (West)
Black Sexuality: The Taboo Subject, 119-131 (West)
Malcolm X and Black Rage, 135-151 (West)
Sept 18 Introduction Chapter 1: 1-10 (Camp)
Common Sense, Myth, News and Racism, Chapter 2: 1- 34 (Camp)
A Myth of Marginality: Traditional Racism and the News, Chapter 3: 35-58 (Camp)
A Myth of Difference: Racial Stereotypes and the News, Chapter 4: 59-61 (Camp)
A Myth of Assimilation: "Enlighten" Racism and the News, Chapter 5: 85-112 (Camp)
Race, Myth and the Newspaper: How the Daily Press Covered King Day, Chapter 6: 113-130 (Camp)
Conclusion, Chapter 7: 131-136 (Camp)
See Student Discussion Questions, page 8.
Sept 25 Introduction: Shouts and Whispers, 1-10 (Cose)
Why Successful People Cry the Blues, Chapter 1: 11-26 (Cose)
Tiptoeing Around the Truth, Chapter 2: 27-52 (Cose)
A Dozen Demons, Chapter 3: 53-72 (Cose)
A Hostile and Welcoming Workplace, Chapter 4: 73-92 (Cose)
First Draft Due, Myth and the News
Oct 2 Crime, Class, and Clichés, Chapter 5: 93-110 (Cose)
Affirmative Action and the Dilemma of the "Qualified", Chapter 6: 111-134 (Cose)
Young People, Old Ideas, Chapter 7: 135-152 (Cose)
White Racism, Black Racism, and the Search for Our Better Selves, Chapter 8: 153-180 (Cose)
No More White Guilt, Chapter 9: (Cose)
First Draft, Concept Paper Due
Oct 9 Background and State of the Problem 1-17 (T)
The Data 45-65 (T)
Women, Work, and Interpersonal Relationships 66-87 (T)
Relocation: Families on the Move 87-100 (T)
Skip pages 18-44
Midterm Examination Due
Oct 16 The Incorporation of Wives in Husbands' Work 101-120 (T)
Child Rearing: Black Middle-Class Issues and Concerns 121-143 (T)
Inside-Outside: Themes of Marginality 144-156 (T)
Summary, Conclusions, and Discussions 157-170 (T)
Oct 23 - Instructor's Lectures - Theoretical and Policy Issues (Source: Burman, S. 1995. The Black Progress
Oct 30 Question - Explaining the African American Predicament. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
The Inevitability of Antinomy
These Things Take Time: The Liberal Tradition and Black Progress
Black Progress - America Right or Wrong: The Neoconservative Response
Everything and Nothing: Marxism, Capitalism, and Black Progress
Been Down So Long: Race, Culture, and Black Nationalism
Bonus Examination Questions: 1. Compare and contrast liberal, conservative, and Marxist concepts of black progress. Why do they fail to provide satisfactory explanations for black progress?
2. The distinctive contribution of neo-conservatism is to provide not an answer to the question
of Black progress but an intellectual rationale for a reconciliation of liberal principles and white self-interest in the face of Black's attempt to progress.3. In analyzing their own identity and role in American society, African Americans are led ineluctably
to a nationalist response to their predicament. But for the cultural approach, the solution is inconsistent with the diagnosis of the problem, and it offers neither an intellectual nor a practical solution to the African American predicament.
4. The principal contribution of the Marxist model is to show that a problem appearing to be
one of race is determined in its outcome by factors that are not solely racial.
Nov 6- Instructor's Lectures - Unresolved Issues (Source: Cose, E. 1997. Color-Blind (Seeing Beyond Race
Nov 13 in a Race Obsessed World. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers.
Introduction - Trapped in the dominant dialogue
Can a new race surmount old prejudices?
If destiny is not all in the genes, why do we keep looking there?
The limits of desegregation
Should affirmative action be kicked out of college?
Does affirmative action have a future?
Looking into and behind the color-blind mind
Bonus Examination Questions:
1. Cose raises the following two questions in his discussion of racial classification: (1) Is it possible to divorce any system of racial classification from the practice of racial discrimination? and (2) Is it possible to change the propensity to rank people on the basis of race (aesthetically; professionally; socially; and, most insistently, intellectually)? Discuss.
2. If intelligence is extremely malleable, then why do some scholars engage in a guessing game about genetic inheritance and distribution? Why should we question negative stereotypes that cast suspicions of 'intellectual inferiority' upon any group or race?
1. Are there limits to desegregation? Why is there a pervasive pessimism among blacks about the prospect of achieving racial and economic equality?
1. Why is affirmative action divisive? Is there a better way to design programs to achieve racial and
economic integration?
Nov 13 Final Myth and the News Paper Due
Nov 20 Student Presentations
Final Concept Paper Due
Nov 27 Thanksgiving Recess, No classes
Dec 4 Student Presentations
Last day of instruction
Dec 18 Final Examination Due
Other lecture material sources: Kellogg, W. 1996. African Americans in Urban America - Contemporary
Experiences. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Chapter 8: Urban Crime
The Myth of Black Violence 224-227 (K)
Black Against Black Violence" and "Violence and Crime in the Black Community 228-231 (K)
Crime, Youth Unemployment, and the Black Urban Underclass 232-240 (K)
Politics, Public Policy and Street Crime 241-250 (K)
Chapter 3: Work Force Participation and Equal Access
Black Women in the Workforce 72-79 (K)
Pressure Builds for Retreat on Affirmative Action 79-84 (K)
The War on Equal Opportunity 85-89 (K)
Class, Not Race 89-94 (K)
Ruling Rocks Foundation of Affirmative Action 95-99 (K)
Chapter 4: Community Economic Development
They Myth of Community Development 100-110 (K)
Black Initiative and Governmental Responsibility 110-115 (K)
Empowering Poor Neighborhoods 116-124 (K)
Chapter 5: Urban Education
From No Schools to Separate Schools to Desegregated Schools 126-136 (K)
Independent Neighborhood Schools: A Framework for the Education of African Americans 137-143 (K)
Education and Cultural Diversity in the United States 144- 156 (K)
Chapter 6: Housing
All the Discomforts of Home: The Politics and Economics of Housing 158-173 (K)
The Black Flight to the "Burbs" 174-177 (K)
The Quiet Integration of Suburbia 178-179 (K)
Racially Diverse Communities: A National Necessity 180-201 (K)
MID-TERM EXAMINATION, UST302 CONTEMPORARY URBAN ISSUES, FALL SEMESTER 1999
On the midterm take-home examination you are required to answer two essay questions. One essay must be derived from PART I, the other from PART II.
Please write clearly. Precisely indicate the number of the question answered at the top of the first page of your essay. Use grammatically correct, standard English. If I cannot read your paper, I cannot grade it. Please word-process or type you answers (double-space, 12 point font sizes). Do not write more than (preferably not less than) three pages for each question (a total of six pages). Each question in Part I and II is worth 25 points.
Do not argue you own position - personal feelings, streams of consciousness, quotes from texts other than those used in the class - should be avoided. Demonstrate that you have read the required texts and understand the author's thesis or theses. Do not cite to any authors, books, journal articles, or documents other than those assigned for the course. Confine your answers to the questions asked; do not write an essay that cannot be attribute to the specified author(s). If you quote an author, indicate at the end of the quote the page number where the quote may be found.
Indicate at the top of the page the part and question number answered.
PART I (West)
1. Paranoia, homophobia, xenophobia, patriarchal power, and a fear of cultural hybridity permeate African
American society. Discuss.
1. West acknowledges that black's suffer ontological wounds and emotional scars that are attached to white supremacist beliefs and images that demean black intelligence, ability, beauty, and character; all of which leads to a deep seated anger, a boiling sense of range, and a passionate pessimism regarding America's will to justice. Discuss.
1. West criticizes Black leadership, even the new black conservatives, questioning their
motives, commitments, lack of vision, morality, and their positions on significant issues.
Discuss.
PART II (Campbell)
1. There appears to be a hegemonic consensus about race and class that sustains myths about life outside of white, "mainstream" America. Discuss.
1. Middle-American common sense about race - well entrenched in the executive offices of American news
organizations - can dictate the tone of coverage that keeps alive America's racial mythology. Discuss how daily newspapers and television analyze and comment upon race issues.
Racial stereotyping is based upon the persistence of predetermined notions about minorities and minority
communities. Among these predetermined notions are the myths of marginality, difference, and
assimilation. Discuss.
FINAL EXAMINATION, UST 302 CONTEMPORARY URBAN ISSUES, FALL SEMESTER, 1999
On the final take-home examination you are required to answer two essay questions, one essay must be derived from PART I, the other from PART II.
Please write clearly. Precisely indicate the number of the question answered at the top of the first page of your essay. Use grammatically correct, standard English. If I cannot read your paper, I cannot grade it. Please word-process or type you answers (double-space, 12 point font sizes). Do not write more than (preferably not less than) three pages for each question (a total of six pages). Each question in Part I and II is worth 25 points.
Do not argue you own position - personal feelings, streams of consciousness, quotes from texts other than those used in the class - should be avoided. Demonstrate that you have read the required texts and understand the author's thesis or theses. Do not cite to any authors, books, journal articles, or documents other than those assigned for the course. Confine your answers to the questions asked; do not write an essay that cannot be attribute to the specified author(s). If you quote an author, indicate at the end of the quote the page number where the quote may be found.
Indicate at the top of the page the part and question number answered.
PART I (Cose)
1. Cose notes that race cannot be treated as a total irrelevancy because the black middle-class confronts a reservoir of despair; that regardless of status, political persuasion, or accomplishment they are forced to bear an incredible burden of living a dual life. Discuss.
1. Cose states that racism is not always just an illogical, detached, and cruel attitude deriving from callous hate
because racism and hate have their genesis in fear. When fear is irrational or unexamined, then racism must be held accountable. Discuss.
3. Corporate America, according to Cose, is playing a cruel trick on African-Americans. A host of other factors, having nothing to do with ability or merit, ultimately dictates how high one can rise and those factors often differ as a function of race. Discuss.
PART II (Tolliver)
1. Discuss black corporate stress and the strengths that allow black corporate families to cope.
1. What are the interactive effects of corporate employment and inter-personal relationships (including family, mate selection for black women managers, relocation experiences, and race marginality)?
3. How are the wives of black managers affected by their husband's employment in corporate
America? What are the special issues of black middle-class parents in child-rearing?
STUDENT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Procedure: Form groups of not less than four students. Spend ten to fifteen minutes discussing the proposition. Refer to Cose's book, The Rage of a Privileged Class for substantive arguments. Jot down five major points that substantiate the argument. What do you think about this argument?
1. Proposition: The black middle-class should be responsible for the well-being of the black underclass and
penalized for transgressions of the black criminal class.
2. Proposition: Abolishing affirmative action would make black intellectual capability easier to prove.
3. Proposition: The state of race relations is bad. The 'next generation' for all its idealism, open-mindedness, and willingness to embrace equality and racial integration, is not even close to mastering the art of how to get along.
1. Proposition: Whatever conditions blacks find themselves in is not the fault - or responsibility - of society at
large, and certainly not of whites, but is primarily attributable to the inherent flaws of blacks and black society.
5. Proposition: People do not have to be racists - or have any malicious intent - in order to make decisions that unfairly harm members of another race.
6. Proposition: Industry no longer believes that race relations is a problem worthy of attention. Why?
1. Proposition: Black middle-class status is provisional; there is a permanent vulnerability suffered by African-
American middle-class professionals that exacts heavy emotional and psychological costs.
1. Proposition: The life chances of individual blacks has more to do with their economic class position than with
their day-to-day encounters with whites.
1. Proposition: Blacks are not necessarily granted a presumption of innocence, competence, or even complete
humanity. Thus, racial demons are allowed free reign as many Americans sow seeds that can only yield bitter fruit.
10. Proposition: The rational response to black crime and violence is estrangement, quarantining, and separation from that community.
1. Proposition: Stereotypes are an exaggeration but nonetheless true depiction of an ethnic group. (As Cose
notes, even many black children raised in suburbia harbor fearful and terrible stereotypes of inner-city
blacks.)
1.