It’s February already! We are fully into the new SPRING 2020 semester and I am very delighted to be teaching my regular spring course – Race and Ethnic Relations: Discovering New Solutions! This is still a relatively new class that I started to teach in 2017 for the Department of Anthropology and it continues to be one of the most engaging, challenging, interactive, and culturally-sensitive undergraduate class throughout the year.
Not surprisingly, my students in this class are taking on many of these controversial issues directly and willing to discuss, debate and solve these race and ethnic relations now – not later. That’s what I am finding as truly a delight and joy to see today’s students wanting to confront these sensitive issues directly and have a professional discussion with their peers about these issues.
Here is a photo of my class:
On average, I normally have about 20 – 25 students in this class. It’s not easy to fill a class like this up to high enrollments simply because of the topic so many students shy aware from this course. Yet those students who do take this class, they are usually ready to discuss and debate these culturally and politically-sensitive topics with me and their peers.
The major course objectives of this class are:
- Review the major concepts and theories associated with race and ethnic relations
- Highlight the major race and ethnic relations issues locally in eastern North Carolina, each region of the United States, and the United States in general.
- Review anthropological techniques to collect cultural data on specific issues on race and ethnic relations.
- Provide a framework for students to develop individual and/or group race and ethnic relations solutions.
It’s only February and my class has already covered a number of culturally and politically-sensitive topics as they relate to race and ethnic relations. I can’t wait to see what type of SOLUTIONS that they will present at the end of the class. STAY TUNED!