UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY

                                                                              Sociology 665
                                                         Racial and Ethnic Demography
                                                                                 Fall 2004
                                                                                Call #6125

PROFESSOR                                               OFFICE HOURSE                                  CLASS MEETINGS
Dr. H.D. Horton                                                    MT 4-5:30 p.m.                                            M 5:45-8:35 p.m.
AS 320 and by appointment BA 210
442-4907
Email:hdh@albany.edu

Personal website:www.albany.edu/~hdh
Critical Demography (CD) website:www.albany.edu/~hdh/criticaldemography

                                     “In sociology, we think that we lay bricks until someone comes along, huffs and puffs,
                                      and demonstrates that we were only laying straw.”

                                                                                                       --Hayward Derrick Horton, July 9, 1996.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an in-depth understanding of the relationship of social and demographic phenomena relative to racial and ethnic populations. Specifically, the course emphasizes the nature of the social structure and how it differentiates between dominant and subordinate populations in society. Thus, population size, structure, distribution, change and policies will be placed in the context of the prevailing racial order. Consequently, the concept racism will be central to the analyses presented. Moreover, the course introduces the paradigm critical demography to facilitate an understanding and analyses of contemporary demographic trends relative to race and ethnicity in the United States and throughout the world. Finally, students will have an opportunity to analyze 2000 data from the U.S. Census relative to racial and ethnic populations.

TEXTS: Bean, Frank D. and Gillian Stevens. 2003 America’s Newcomers and the Dynamics of Diversity.
                     Perlmann, Joel and Mary C. Waters. 2002. The New Race Question.
                     Roberts, Dorothy. 1997. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction and the Meaning of Liberty.
                     Waters, Mary C. 1999. Black Identities.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

A. Research Paper. A paper on a topic of your choosing within the broad area of racial and ethnic demography is required. The paper must meet the following standards:

1. A 2-3 page proposal for the paper must be submitted and approved prior to working thereon. Deadline: September 20, 2004;
2. ASR format;
3. 15-20 pages in length (excluding references, tables, figures);
4. Deadline for Paper: November 22, 2004.

B. Take-Home Midterm: October 11, 2004

C. Take-Home Final: December 6, 2004.

C. Group Presentations: Students will be organized into groups for the purpose of presenting and leading discussions on the assigned readings and projects.

D. Paper Presentations: Each student will be responsible for giving an oral presentation of her/his research paper.

E. Prerequisites: This is a Ph.D. level special topics course in sociology. Consequently, it is expected that students have already taken, at a minimum, one graduate course in demography. This background is necessary to gain full benefit of what this course has to offer. Students without this background should consult with the professor as to the advisability of their remaining in the course.

GRADING:

Research Paper 25%
Mid-term Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Group Presentations 15%
Paper Presentation 10%

COURSE OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTION

A. The Critical Demography Paradigm

Roberts, 1997. Killing the Black Body (in its entirety).

Horton, Hayward Derrick. 2002. “Rethinking Diversity: Conceptual and Theoretical Challenges for Racial and Ethnic Demography” (CD website)

Horton forthcoming“Toward A Critical Demography of Race and Ethnicity: Introduction of the ‘R’ Word.” CD website


B. Overview of Racial and Ethnic Demography

Curran, Sara R. and Estela Rivero-Fuentes. 2003. “Engendering Migrant Networks: The Case of Mexican Migration.” Demography 40(2):289-307.

Hayward, Mark and Melonie Heron. 1999. “Racial Inequality in Active Life Among Adult Americans.” Demography 36(1):77-91

Horton et al. 2000. “Lost in the Storm: The Sociology of the Black Working Class, 1850-1990.” American Sociological Review 65(1): 128-137.

Gundersesn, Craig and James P. Ziliak. 2004. “Poverty, and Macroeconomic Performance Across Space, Race and Family Structure.” Demography 41(1):61-86.

Johnson, Nan. 2000. “The Racial Crossover in Comorbidity, Disability, and Mortality.” Demography 37(3):267-283.

Lauderdale, Diane S. and Bert Kestenbaum. 2002. “Mortality Rates of Elderly Asian American Populations Based on Medicare and Social Security Data.” Demography 39(3):529-540.

Sakato, Arthur et al. 2000. “The Declining Significance of Race Among African American Men During the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century.” Demography 37(1): 41-51.

Sastrey, Narayan and Jon M. Hussey. 2003. “An Investigation of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Weight in Chicago Neighborhoods.” Demography 40(3):569-587.

II. DEMOGRAPHY AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF RACE

Perlman and Waters, The New Race Question (in its entirety)

Hirschman, Charles et al. 2000. “The Meaning and Measurement of Race in the U. S. Census: Glimpses into the Future.” Demography 37(3):381-393.

III. MID-TERM EXAM

IV. THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC DEMOGRAPHY

Bean and Stevens, America’s Newcomers and the Dynamics of Diversity (in its entirety).

Elo, Irma. 2001. “New African American Life Tables from 1935-1940 to 1985-1990.” Demography 38(1):97-114.

Fischer, Claude S. et al. 2004. “ Distinguishing The Geographic Levels and Social Dimensions of U.S. Metropolitan Segregation, 1960-2000.” Demography 41(1): 37-59.

Goldschieder, Frances K. and Regina M. Bures. 2003. “The Racial Crossover Effect in Family Complexity in the United States.” Demography 40(3):569-587.

Jonsson, Stefan Hrafn and Michael S. Randall. 2004. “The Fertility Contribution of Mexican Immigration to the United States.” Demography 40(3):569-597.

Logan, John R. et al. 2004. “Segregation of Minorities in the Metropolis: Two Decades of Change.” Demography 41(1):1-22.

Van Den Oord, Edwin J.C.G. 2000. “Racial Differences in Birth Health Risk: A Quantitative Genetic Approach.” Demography 37(3):285-298.

Wilkes, Rima and John Iceland. 2004. “Hypersegregation in the 21st Century.” Demography 41(1):23-36.

V. THE DEMOGRAPHY OF RACIAL IDENTITIES

Waters, Black Identities (in its entirety)

Fu, Vincent Kang. 2001. “Racial Intermarriage Pairings.” Demography 38(2): 147-159.

Model, Suzanne and Gene Fisher. 2001. “Black-White Unions: West Indians and African Americans Compared.” Demography 38(2):177-185.

Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2001. “The Salience of Pan-National Hispanic and Asian Identities in U.S. Marriage Markets.” Demography 38(2):161-175.

VI. STUDENT PAPER PRESENTATIONS

VII. FINAL EXAM