Learning Resources

REQUIRED READINGS

Marger, M. N. (2015). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives (10th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

• Chapter 2, “Ethnic Stratification: Majority and Minority” (pp. 27–48)
• Chapter 3, “Tools of Dominance: Prejudice and Discrimination” (pp. 49–78)

Research Resource

Walden University. (2015). SOCI 2001 multicultural dimensions of society course project: Course project. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/soci2001/coursep…

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REQUIRED MEDIA

Ted Conferences (Producer). (2014c). Paul Bloom: Can prejudice ever be a good thing? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_bloom_can_prejudice…
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 16 minutes.
“We often think of bias and prejudice as rooted in ignorance. But as psychologist Paul Bloom seeks to show, prejudice is often natural, rational… even moral. The key, says Bloom, is to understand how our own biases work—so we can take control when they go wrong.”

View the three videos about predisposed tendencies to stereotype groups and individuals.

Understanding Prejudice. (2016b). The lunch date [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/s…

Understanding Prejudice. (2016c). Implicit associations and hidden biases [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/s…

Understanding Prejudice. (2016d). The psychological effects of stereotype threat [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/s…

OPTIONAL RESOURCES

Aja, A. (2013). If not race, then wealth: Why universities should avoid income as proxy for race-based admissions policy. Huffpost College. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-a-aja/college-a…
Why do the authors argue wealth is a better indicator for “class” than income? Why do the authors argue that focusing on the wealth gap will better address racial inequality than focusing on income?

Anti-Middle Eastern Archives. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2016, from http://www.racismreview.com/blog/?cat=22
You can use this website to read articles that discuss anti-Arab sentiment around the world. How does this play out differently in different contexts? Directly compare one incident in the United States to one in another country to make your case.

Muaddi, N. (2013). Halloween costumes unmask cultural stereotypes. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/30/w…
You can use this website to read how racist depictions are a growing trend on campuses.

RT America (Producer). (2013, March 8). Gap between race and wealth widens [Video file]. Retrieved from 
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.
If you watch this video, consider how the current economic crisis has affected the racial wealth gap.

Snodgrass, K. [KennySnod]. (2011). Racial economic inequality in America! [Video file]. Retrieved from 
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 13 minutes.
You can watch Dr. Darrick Hamilton’s Testimony to the Congressional Black Caucus about African Americans and the Racial Wealth Gap. This short video provides detailed economic data about the wealth gap between African Americans and whites, discusses popular explanations for the wealth gap and the role of discrimination in shaping the wealth gap, and proposes policy solutions for addressing the gap.

Assignment: Prejudice and Discrimination

Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.
—Michael Crichton, State of Fear

Prejudice is an underlying complex mix of mental perceptions and associated emotions and attitudes toward members of another group that often result in social distance and manifest in overt acts of discrimination. An important first step in addressing the roots of prejudice and discrimination is to trace the historical sources and the psychological reinforcements.

In this Assignment, you will explore historical examples of prejudice and discrimination, drawing on how prejudice is perpetuated across generations, and analyzing the implications of persistent prejudice in society.

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources.
• Identify one historical example and one contemporary example of discrimination. Consider the underlying causes and the consequences of discrimination in these cases.

BY DAY 7

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper in which you do the following for both your historical example and your contemporary example of discrimination:

• Analyze the major cause(s) of discrimination.
• Analyze how discrimination has been manifested.
• Analyze the consequences of the discrimination. How has discrimination benefitted one group over another?
• Apply one or more of the theories of prejudice and discrimination (covered in Chapter 3 of the course text (Marger, 2015)) to analyze each example.
• Analyze any social policies that have emerged in order to address the acts of discrimination.

Support your assertions by making at least two documented references to your course readings, following the examples of documentation in “Common Reference List Examples” (refer to the Resources for Week 1). Please use proper APA formatting to cite each of your sources.

SUBMISSION AND GRADING INFORMATION

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 2 Assignment link.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.