Grassroots Democracy: Race, Politics and the American Promise

Applied and theoretical learning for students of social justice, this course will examine race, culture and contradictions in the ideal of the American Dream through a comparative analysis of American experiences of migration. Particular emphasis will be on the historical experiences of European immigrants, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Asian Americans. The course will also discuss the contemporary social and cultural implications of the migration process. Using a multidisciplinary social science approach, attention will be given to issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and ecology as well as the role of the state (policy) to the process of migration and immigration.