{"ModuleCode":"SC3203","ModuleTitle":"Race and Ethnic Relations","Department":"Sociology","ModuleDescription":"Concepts of race and ethnicity and theories/models of inter-group relations provide the tools for understanding and analyzing race/ethnic relations and ethnicity in selected societies. This module will refer to Malaysia/Singapore, Southeast Asian, and other societies where relevant. The topics explored also include race/ethnicity and the nation-state; ethnicity and citizenship/multiculturalism; ethnic identity; gender and ethnicity; race/ethnicity and its representations; race/ethnicity and crime. This module will appeal to students who are interested in understanding how race/ethnicity influences our perceptions of and responses to other races/ethnic groups, and why it continues to be a source of tension and conflict in societies.","ModuleCredit":"4","Workload":"2-1-0-3-4","ExamDate":"2015-05-06T09:00+0800","ExamDuration":"P2H","ExamVenue":"MPSH1-A","Types":["Module","UEM"],"Lecturers":["Tang Ser Wei Shawna","Tang Ser Wei Shawna"],"IVLE":[{"Announcements":null,"Forums":[],"Workbins":[],"Webcasts":[],"Gradebooks":[],"Polls":[],"Multimedia":[],"LessonPlan":[],"ID":"f179a0f3-1ba4-4ae0-854b-ea8f12d2fcb7","CourseLevel":"1","CourseCode":"SC3203","CourseName":"RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS","CourseDepartment":"","CourseSemester":"Semester 2","CourseAcadYear":"2014/2015","CourseOpenDate":"/Date(1417968000000+0800)/","CourseOpenDate_js":"2014-12-08T00:00:00","CourseCloseDate":"/Date(1433001540000+0800)/","CourseCloseDate_js":"2015-05-30T23:59:00","CourseMC":"0","isActive":"N","Permission":"S","Creator":{"UserID":null,"Name":"Tang Ser Wei Shawna","Email":null,"Title":null,"UserGuid":"949bb1a4-f351-4811-9d73-f1fdb424f822","AccountType":null},"hasGradebookItems":false,"hasTimetableItems":true,"hasGroupsItems":false,"hasClassGroupsForSignUp":false,"hasGuestRosterItems":false,"hasClassRosterItems":true,"hasWeblinkItems":false,"hasLecturerItems":true,"hasDescriptionItems":true,"hasReadingItems":false,"hasAnnouncementItems":false,"hasProjectGroupItems":false,"hasProjectGroupsForSignUp":false,"hasConsultationItems":false,"hasConsultationSlotsForSignUp":false,"hasLessonPlanItems":true,"Badge":0,"BadgeAnnouncement":0,"WebLinks":[],"Lecturers":[{"ID":"010ef89c-c96f-4bb6-b349-2dfe1b6795a9","User":{"UserID":null,"Name":"Tang Ser Wei Shawna","Email":null,"Title":null,"UserGuid":"949bb1a4-f351-4811-9d73-f1fdb424f822","AccountType":null},"Role":"Lecturer ","Order":1,"ConsultHrs":null},{"ID":"3111c296-9cd0-4eb7-985b-457e0dad154c","User":{"UserID":null,"Name":"Tang Ser Wei Shawna","Email":null,"Title":null,"UserGuid":"3bd6efec-e8d2-4bbc-b121-9c00852585ed","AccountType":null},"Role":"Lecturer ","Order":2,"ConsultHrs":null}],"Descriptions":[{"ID":"5e5f053b-8835-4692-be49-41f07234cfff","Title":"Synopsis","Description":"This course will explore the socio-historical construction of race and ethnicity, the consequences of socially constructed divisions between social groups along racial and ethnic lines, the structuring and practices of racism by individuals and institutions, the representation and perception of race, and the connections between inequality and advantage experienced by different groups. We will focus on racial and ethnic constructs in Singapore and draw comparative analyses from other countries, as well as pay attention to the intersections of race with other inequalities such as class, gender and sexuality in the local and global context.
\n","Order":3},{"ID":"6e5f053b-8835-4692-be49-41f07234cfff","Title":"Syllabus","Description":"Week 1, January 12: Race and Ethnicity – Introduction
\nThis introductory discussion will clarify the meanings of and distinctions between race and ethnicity, then situate the development and deployment of these concepts within particular historical and discursive contexts, including that of Singapore’s. It will also identify conceptual relatives and issues at stake in the sociological study of race and ethnicity, and highlight how race and ethnicity intersects with other social categories including class, nation gender and sexuality.
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\nReadings
\nHirschman, Charles. 1989. The Making of Race in Colonial Malaya: Political Economy and Racial Ideology, Sociological Forum 1(2): 330-61.
\nDikotter, Frank. 2002. Race in China. In A companion to racial and ethnic studies (pp.495-510), edited by D.T. Goldberg & J. Solomos. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers.
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\nWeek 2, January 19: Theorising Race and Ethnic Relations
\nThe discussion will introduce sociological theories of race and ethnic relations, then unpack the ways in which race and ethnic relations can be understood under different theoretical lens. It addresses the relevance and contributions of various academic disciplines to the study of race and ethnicity, examining the debates and the development of concepts from an interdisciplinary field while underlining sociology’s distinctive contribution to the study of race and ethnicity.
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\nReadings
\nWallerstein, Immanuel. 1991. The Construction of Peoplehood: Racism, Nationalism, Ethnicity. In Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities (pp.71-85), edited by E. Balibar and I. Wallerstein. London: Verson.
\nBonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 1997. Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation, American Sociological Review 62(3): 465-80.
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\nWeek 3, January 26: Multiculturalism
\nMulticulturalism is commonly represented and perceived as a value-free recognition of cultural diversity, a ‘naturally-occurring’ phenomenon due to past and present migration processes in the formation of societies. In this topic, we critically interrogate the concept of multiculturalism, using the context of postcolonial Singapore to explore the construction and deployment of multiculturalism in the management of societal diversity, and its consequences on people’s lives.
\n
\nReadings
\nChua Beng Huat. 2003. Multiculturalism in Singapore: An Instrument of Social Control, Race and Class, 44: 58-77.
\nPurushotam, Nirmala .1998. Disciplining differences: ‘race’ in Singapore. In Southeast Asian identities: culture and the politics of representation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (pp. 51-94; you may skip pp. 68-88), edited by Joel S. Kahn. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
\nGoh, Daniel P.S. 2011. State carnivals and the subvention of multiculturalism in Singapore, The British Journal of Sociology 62(1).
\n
\nWeek 4, February 2: Race, Ethnicity and Intimate Life
\nWhat is intimate life and what does it tell us about race and ethnicity? In this lecture, we discuss how ethnic traditions, beliefs and norms shape gender identities, family configurations and relationship practices. We look at how different family forms reflect racial inequalities, and how the institution of the family can be complicit in sustaining inequality. It also takes a transnational perspective by looking at how families are central sites for reproducing ethnic and racial differences and reinforcing hierarchies on a global scale.
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\nReadings
\nSims, Jessica M. 2012. Beyond the Stereotype of the ‘Thai Bride’: Visibility, Invisibility and Community. In Transnational Marriage: New perspectives from Europe and Beyond (pp.161-74), edited by K. Charsley. New York, London: Routledge.
\nKibria, Nazli. 1997 The Construction of ‘Asian American’: Reflections on Intermarriage and Ethnic Identity among Second-Generation Chinese and Korean Americans, Ethnic and Racial Studies 20 (3): 523–44.
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\nWeek 5, February 9: Race and Ethnicity in Everyday Life
\nRace, ethnicity and everyday life are complex concepts involving power relations and its effects. How do we encounter race and ethnicity in our everyday lives? Why is it important to become conscious of our race and ethnic identifications in relation to others? As students of race and ethnicity, how might we observe, uncover and understand the operation of these constructs in our everyday lives?
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\nReadings
\nTan, Kenneth Paul. 2009. Racial stereotypes in Singapore films: Commercial value and critical possibilities. In Race and Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore (pp.124-40), edited by D. Goh et. al. USA and Canada: Routledge.
\n Chua Beng Huat and Ananda, R. 2003. Food, Ethnicity, and Nation. In Life is not complete without shopping: Consumption culture in Singapore (pp. 93-117), Singapore: Singapore University Press.
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\nWeek 6, February 16: No lecture, Chinese New Year
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\nWeek 7, March 2: Racism
\nThis lecture foregrounds the question of racism. Racism recedes from sociological theorizing when perceived as a personal bias, which has specific effects and can be identified and corrected relatively easily. Acts of racism, for instance, are commonly called out and the offender disciplined, providing the assurance that the problem of racism can be resolved by contemporary sensibilities and individual transformations. But racism is inherent in broader economic, social and political contexts. How do we apprehend and account for institutional racism, which can be invisible, have lasting effects and grounded more in inertia than in intent? Is there a ‘new’ racial politics that confronts us today?
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\nReadings
\nVelayutham, Selvaraj. 2009. Everyday racism in Singapore. In Everyday multiculturalism, edited by A. Wise and S. Velayutham (pp. 255-73), Bassingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
\nAhmed, Sara. 2012. Speaking about Racism. In On being included: racism and diversity in institutional life (pp.141-171), Durham, London: Duke University Press.
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\nWeek 8, March 9: Representation of Race
\nWhat is representation and how do we apply it to a sociological study of race? Drawing on sociology and cultural studies, this discussion provides theorizations of representation that allows us to critically examine the ways in which racial images are transmitted in the media, such as newspapers, film and television. How do such representations influence people’s perceptions of race and ethnic relations? What do these mediations tell us about race and ethnicity?
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\nReadings
\nSuratman, Suriani. 2004. “Problematic Singapore Malays” – The making of a portrayal, NUS Malay Studies Seminar & Occasional Paper Series, No. 36. Available online at: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/malay/publications/working_papers/Problematic%20Singapore%20Malays.pdf
\nRahim, Lily Zubaidah .1998. Perceptions of the Malay Marginality. In The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community (pp. 49-64), Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
\nTan, Kenneth Paul. 2004. Ethnic representation on Singapore film and television. In Beyond rituals and riots: ethnic pluralism and social cohesion in Singapore (pp.289-315), edited by Lai Ah Eng, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
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\nWeek 9, March 16: Marginality and Privilege
\nMarginality and privilege are inherent issues in the study of race and ethnicity, and vice versa. In this topic, we explore socio-historical patterns of economic and social inequality between racial and ethnic groups, and borrow conceptually from ‘white privilege’ to examine racial disparities in Singapore. Although marginality and privilege are often understood as opposite conditions with different sources and roots, this discussion will ask after the interconnections between these two phenomena and examine their connected histories.
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\nReadings
\nMcIntosh, Peggy. 2003. White and Male Privilege. In Privilege: a reader, edited by M. Kimmel and A. Ferber (pp.147-60), Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press
\nRahim, Lily Zubaidah .1998. Understanding the Malay Educational Marginality. In The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community (pp. 184-205), Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
\n(for longer context, read also Rahim’s chapters on ‘Institutionalization of Educated Elitism’ and ‘The Politicization of the Education System’, pp.115-183)
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\nWeek 10, March 23: Identity politics and Essentialism
\nA feature of the politics of race and ethnicity in many societies is the growth of identity politics, which has allowed marginalized groups to assert their voices and reclaim their identities and experiences. In this discussion, we explore the ways in which racial and ethnic groups make identity claims, how these are a response to and a reflection of broader social, economic and political processes, and what is at stake when these forms are based on essentialist notions?
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\nReadings
\nHall, Stuart. 1996. Ethnicity, Identity and Difference. In Becoming National: A Reader, edited by G. Eley & R. Suny, New York: Oxford University Press.
\nHeryanto, Ariel. 1998. Ethnic Identities and Erasure. In Southeast Asian identities: culture and the politics of representation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (pp. 95-114), edited by Joel S. Kahn. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
\nStimpfl, Joseph. 1997. Growing Up Malay in Singapore, Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science 25(2): 117-38.
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\nWeek 11, March 30: No lecture, Good Friday.
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\nWeek 12, April 6: Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, Nationalism, Class, Gender and Sexualities
\nThis topic addresses a theme underlying this course: the intersections between race and ethnicity and other forms of social hierarchy. We shift our analysis centrally to intersectionality, exploring the ways in which race and ethnicity are shaped, and in turn, shape the categories and experiences of class, gender, nation and sexuality in contemporary social processes, such as transnational queer politics.
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\nReadings
\nHeng, Geraldine & Janadas Devan. 1992. State Fatherhood: The Politics of Nationalism, Sexuality, and Race in Singapore in Nationalisms and Sexualities (pp.343-64), edited by A. Parker et al, New York: Routledge.
\nPuar, Jasbir K. 2007. Introduction: homonationalism and biopolitics. In Terrorist assemblages: homonationalism in queer times (pp.1-36), Durham: Duke University Press.
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\nWeek 13, April 13: Review lecture.
\n","Order":6},{"ID":"8e5f053b-8835-4692-be49-41f07234cfff","Title":"Assessment","Description":"Four components:
\ni. Class Participation: 10%
\nii. Individual Reflection Logs: 15%
\niii. Term Group Project: 25%
\niv. Examination: 50%
\n
\ni. Class Participation:
\n-Engage with reading material.
\n-Share reflections in small groups.
\n-Demonstrate understanding of theories and/or findings in readings.
\n-Share personal response to the issues raised.
\n-Connect readings to your observations of race and ethnicity in your everyday life
\n-Raise critical questions for discussion.
\n
\nii. Individual Reflection Logs:
\n