Course Description
Understanding the social significance of race, class, and gender is pivotal to understanding society itself. These social constructions organize our everyday lives and their implications—both independently and in relation to each other—are far-reaching for everyone. As constructions, these dynamic social categories require constant maintenance. This course will explore the roles and functions of these categories, how we maintain them, and their larger implications.
To achieve this objective, strong critical thinking and writing skills are required. Critical analysis goes beyond mere summary of someone else’s idea; it requires an additional level of inquiry based upon a synthesis of multiple perspectives and a deeper reading of the central concepts. Regardless of your current and future interests, the capacity to critically analyze a complex phenomenon and powerfully articulate your idea in written form is indispensable. As a writing-intensive course, the assignments for this course are intended to develop and strengthen your ability to clearly and concisely articulate an original argument with convincing supporting evidence.