Psych 354 / Soc 326                                                                                       Dr. Chuck Hill

Diverse Identities                                                                                           Spring 2010

 

 

COURSE MEETS:     11:00-11:50  MWF in Science 204 for lectures and discussions

                                    and 7:00-9:00 PM Wed. in Deihl 118 for films

 

OFFICE HOURS:      3:00-4:00 TuTh in Science 205, or by appointment

                                    (email chill@whittier.edu or call 562-907-4805)

 

           

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

            Theory and research on processes of identity formation and change. Topics include gender, ethnic, racial, national, religious, social class, geographic, school, occupational, sexual, family, health, age, political, and other identities.  Analyzes stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and conflict from a global perspective. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or SOC 100 or junior standing.  One semester, 3 credits.

 

COURSE GOALS:

 

            1.  To understand processes of identity formation and change.

            2.   To appreciate the identities of others.

            3.  To understand ones own identities.

 

            The course satisfies the cross-cultural option of the Cultures Liberal Education requirement.

 

            To accomplish these goals, we will read and discuss theories, research, and personal experiences, and watch films related to various identities.

 

TEXTBOOKS:

            Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th edition

            Reading Summaries written by the instructor

 

ON RESERVE:

            First Person Accounts on reading list

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

 

a.  Attend class regularly and participate in class discussion.  Two points will be awarded for each dayÕs attendance.  Be sure to sign the attendance sheet on days when there is no class exercise form, as well as on Wednesday evenings for the films.  Please arrive on time, turn off cell phones, and use laptop computers only for taking notes.

 

b.  Complete all class exercise forms assigned in class.  Two points will be awarded for each form in addition to the two points for attendance.

 

c.  Do the assigned readings before coming to class. You are expected to read all of the assigned chapters in the textbook and all reading summaries, plus those First Person Accounts for which you signed up.

 

d. Sign up as a expert for four of the First Person Accounts.  All four must be for different dates, and should include identities different than your own as well as identities similar to your own. You will hand in a typed one-page reaction to each reading on the day that the reading is discussed in class. In your paper, discuss identity issues raised by the reading; name a theoretical concept that is relevant, and explain how it applies to the reading. Be prepared to discuss the reading in class.  Each reading reaction is worth up to 5 points.

 

e. Watch evening films.  Films relevant to the course will be shown on Wednesdays at 7 PM in Deihl 118. The dates of specific films are attached to this syllabus.  Film sessions will count for attendance, so sign the attendance sheet before you leave.

            Write a one-page reaction to each film in which you discuss identity issues raised by the film. Name a theoretical concept that is relevant, and explain how it applies to the film.  Each film reaction is worth up to 5 points and is due within one week after the film is shown.  You are required to write a reaction paper for each of the 12 films.

 

f.  There will be two exams:

 

            MIDTERM    Friday April 24    8:00-10:00   (review May 17)

 

g.  Complete the Study Questions prior to the review sessions.  Before each exam there will be a review session to discuss study questions which you had difficulty answering. But there will not be time to discuss all study questions, so come knowing which questions you can already answer.  The study question answers will be collected before each exam; up to 10 points will be awarded for each set that is complete.  You must write out the answers yourself.  Xeroxed answers and multiple printouts of the same or very similar computer files will get zero points.

 

h.  There will be two longer papers in addition to the class exercise forms and one-page reaction papers. The papers are described below, and are due on the following dates:

 

            JOURNAL ARTICLE PAPER          Monday March 22

            SELF IDENTITY PAPER                 Friday May 14

 

i.  Journal Article Paper:

            Find a journal article that reports research on some aspect of identity.  The article must describe the results of a research study, and must be published in a professional journal.  It must have been published in the past year.

            You will need to find the article online, since the college library no longer gets new journals in print. You can browse electronic journals, or you can search Psych Info or Socio Abs to find an abstract, then find the specific article. Electronic journals and abstracts are available from the Whittier College library homepage, using any computer on campus that has Internet access.  Download the entire article, including ALL of the references, not just the abstract. 

            Write up a 2-3 page paper in which you do the following:

(i)  Give the complete citation for the article.

(ii)  Identify the theoretical perspective and the hypotheses tested.

(iii)  Describe the research methodology, including the size and characteristics of the sample, the procedures, and the measurement of the independent and dependent variables.

(iv)  Summarize the findings.

(v)  Explain what was most interesting about the article.

            Your paper should be double-spaced, and should use side headings.  Do not use a cover sheet.  Put your name on the BACK of the last page.  Attach a printout of the journal article.  Keep a copy of the paper on your hard drive or a flash memory drive, in case it is lost. Points will be awarded for each of section of the paper, plus writing technique.

 

j.  Self Identity Paper

            Think about your various identities.  Think about ways in which your identities have changed, and identity issues that you have dealt with or are still dealing with. Think about theories and theoretical concepts that do or do not fit each of your identities and identity issues.

            Write a 10 page paper in which you do the following for EACH type of identity discussed in class -- gender, ethnic/racial/national, religious, social class, geographic, school, occupational (including career goals), sexual, family, disability/illness, age, political, hidden/false/lost.

a.  Identity the type of identity.

b.  Discuss your various identities in that category.

c.  Describe any ways in which your identities in that category have changed, or you would like to change or expect to change in the future.

d. Identify issues in that category that you have dealt with or are still dealing with.

e.  Identity theories and theoretical concepts that might apply to your identities in that category. For each theory that you identity, explain how it does or does not apply to you.  Pay particular attention to alternatives and steps.  Illustrate theoretical concepts with examples from your life.

f.  For each category mention how reference groups (such as relatives, friends, classmates, teammates, or others) relate to your identities in that category.

            If you do not feel comfortable discussing a particular identity, think about why you are uncomfortable about it.  If you feel strongly about it, try to discuss as much as you do feel comfortable about.  If you wish, you may state that you prefer not to discuss it further, so that it is clear that you have thought about it.  But you must mention the identity or you will lose points.

g.  At the end of your paper, add a paragraph in which you discuss ways in which this course has helped you to understand your identities better.

            Your paper should be double-spaced, and should use a side heading for each type of identity.  Do not use a cover sheet.  Put your name on the BACK of the last page.  Keep a copy of the paper on your hard drive or a flash memory drive in case the paper is lost. Points will be awarded for each section of the paper, plus writing technique.

 

 

 

k.  Diverse Identities Week

            You are required to attend three events of your choice during Di

verse Identities Week.  The dates and possible events will be announced in class.

You may attend up to three additional sessions of your choice for extra-credit.  For each event you attend, write a one-page reaction paper in which you describe the event, your reactions to it, and how it relates to the course.   Each event reaction paper is worth 2 points.

            Additional events for extra-credit during the semester may be announced in class. 

 

 

GRADING:

            The possible points for each activity will be approximately as follows, depending on the length of the exams and the number of class exercise forms:

            Midterm                                    60                 

            Final exam                                 85                 

            Journal article paper                 20                             

            Self identity paper                    20     

            First Person reactions               20

            Film reactions                           60

            Diverse Identities Week              6

            Study Questions                       20     

            Attendance                                98                 

            Class exercise forms                  36                 

            TOTAL POSSIBLE               425

=============================================================

 

           

READING ASSIGNMENTS

*  Textbook chapters (read before class)  

#   In Reading Summaries (read summaries before class)

$   First Person Accounts (on reserve; sign up for four)

 

            Note that the readings reflect the views of particular persons, and do not necessarily represent everyone with that identity.  If you have that identity, or know other persons with that identity, reflect on ways in which the readings do or do not apply to your experience or to the experiences of people you know.  Share these reflections in class discussions.

 

2/11     INTRODUCTION

(Syllabus)

 

2/15     IDENTITY FORMATION

#Cahill, Inside social life, 6th ed.:

            ch. 5  Mead, The self as social structure

#Brown, The Self, 3rd. ed.:

            ch. 4  Self Development

#Hormuth, Ecology of the Self, 1991

            ch. 6 Sociological approaches to the self-concept and change

 

2/11     IDENTITY CHANGE: THOUGHT REFORM

(Conformity,  Social Comparison Theory, Reference groups)

#Schein, Brainwashing, from Bennis et al, Interpersonal dynamics, 1968

#Goffman, Characteristics of total institutions, from Asylums, 1961, p. 14-35

 

2/19     IDENTITY CHANGE: RELIGIOUS CONVERSION

(Name changes)

#Kanter, Commitment and social organization, ASR 33(4):499-517

#Lofland, Doomsday cult, 1966

            ch. 3 Dispositions

            ch. 4 Situations

#7 Denzin, The recovering alcoholic self, ch. 7 in Cahill 2nd ed.

 

2/22     IDENTITY NEGOTIATION

(Stereotyping)

#Cahill, Inside social life, 6th ed.

            ch. 12 Goffman, Presentation of Self

            ch. 16 Goffman, Facework

#Goffman, Cooling the Mark, from Bennis, Interpersonal dynamics, 1968

 

2/24     STIGMA

(Teasing, harassment)

#Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity, 1986

            ch. 1 Stigma and social identity

            ch. 2 Information control and personal identity

 

2/26     SOCIAL EXCHANGE

#Blau, Exchange & Power in Social Life, 1984, p. 115-125

#Goldberger & Veroff, The culture and psychology reader, 1995

            ch. 19 Fiske, Controlling other people: the impact of power on stereotyping

#Hochschild, Emotion work and feeling rules, ch. 10 in Cahill, 2nd. ed.

 

3/1       GENDER IDENTITIES

(Money, Freud, Kohlberg, Skinner, Bandura)

#Cahill, Fashioning gender identity, ch.6 in Cahill, 2nd ed.

#Cahill, Inside social life, 6th ed.

            ch. 29 Thorne, Borderwork among girls and boys     

#Lott & Maluso, The social psychology of interpersonal discrimination, 1993

            ch. 1 Introduction

            ch. 2 Sexism

 

3/3       CULTURAL DIMENSIONS I

#Smith & Bond, Social psychology across cultures, 1994

             ch. 3 Culture

#Goldberger & Veroff, The culture & psychology reader, 1995

            ch. 15 Triandis, The self and social behavior in differing social contexts

 

3/5       CULTURAL DIMENSIONS II

#Gudykunst et al, Culture and interpersonal communication, 1988

            ch. 2 Cultural Variability

 

3/8       CULTURE & IDENTITY

#Phinney, Ethnic Identity in Adolescents and Adults: Review of Research,

             Psych Bull 108(3):499-514, 1990

#Goldberger & Veroff, The culture & psychology reader, 1995

            ch. 20 Berry, The psychology of acculturation

           

3/10     ETHNIC PREJUDICE

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.

            ch. 1 Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations

            ch. 2 Explaining Ethnic Relations

            ch. 3 The Anglo-Saxon Core and Ethnic Antagonism

 

3/12     THE MYTH OF RACE

#Lieberman, ÒRaceÓ 3rd. ed. and 2001: A race odyssey, Am. Anthro. Assn., 3rd. ed.

#Root, Racially mixed people in America, 1992

            ch. 2 Spickard, The illogic of American racial categories

#Calvalli-Sforza et al, The great human diasporas, 1996:

            ch. 5  How different are we?

 

3/15     AFRICAN AMERICAN IDENTITIES

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.

             ch. 5 African Americans

#Cahill, Inside social life, 6th ed.

            ch. 30 Anderson, The black male in public

Schoem, Inside separate worlds, 1991

            $Gordon, A history of survival p. 64-92;

            $Campbell, An individual perspective 110-126,

            $Fair, Me--Who I am proud of 127-141,

            $Hall, Susu, and menÕs voices, too 142-162,

            $Reynolds, A conflict of soul, 163-180,

            $Diamond, Inner strength, 181-202,

            $Austin, Reflections 235-252

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995

             ch. 6 Choney et al, The Psychology of Nigresence: revising the Cross model

 

3/17     NATIVE AMERICAN IDENTITIES

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.

            ch. 6 Native Americans

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995

             ch. 5 Ivey, The Acculturation of American Indians

#Lerch & Bullers, Powwows as identity markers, Human Organization 55(4):390-395,

            1996

Divakaruni, Multitude: Cross-Cultural Readings for Writers:

            $Allen, Where I come from is like this, p. 410-416

Garrod, Adolescent portraits, 1992:

            $Case 4: Someday my elders will be proud

 

3/19     LATINO IDENTITIES

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.:

            ch. 7 Latinos

Shoem, Inside separate worlds, 3rd. ed.:

            $Valdez, Surviving in the barrio p. 21-33,

             $Manjarrez, Mis palabras 50-63,

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995:

            ch. 8 Sodowsky et al, Hispanic Identity Development

#Peplau & Taylor, Sociocultural perspectives in social psychology, 3rd. ed.:

            ch. 11 Ethier & Deaux, Negotiating social identity when contexts change

 

3/22     JOURNAL ARTICLE PAPER DUE

 

3/22     ASIAN AMERICAN IDENTITIES

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.:

            ch. 8 Asian and Pacific Island Americans

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995:

            ch. 7 Cross, Ethnic Identity of Asians in the United States

Kirszner & Mandell, Common Ground, 1993:

            $Wong, The struggle to be an all-American girl, p. 42-44

            $Tan, Mother Tongue, 348-354

Garrod, Adolescent portraits, 1992:

            $Case 5  Distilling my Korean-American identity

 

3/24     WHITE ETHNIC IDENTITIES       

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.:

            ch. 4 White Ethnic Americans (Irish, Italian, Jewish)

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995:

            ch. 9 Helms, An Update of HelmsÕs White

                         and People of Color Racial Identity Models

            ch. 11 Rowe et al., Racial/Ethnic Identity and Racial Consciousness

 

3/26     RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES

*Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 6th. ed.:

            ch. 9 Arab Americans

Schoem, Inside separate worlds, 1991:

            $Wexley, I never quite fit in p. 34-49,

            $Shapiro, Bean soup 95-109,

            $Blonder, Jewish identity 203-222,

            $Goldman, IÕm not really Jewish 253-275

#McCarus, The Development of Arab-American Identity, 1994:

            Haddad, Maintaining the faith of the fathers, p. 61-84

 

 

 

3/29     MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES

#Ponterotto et al, Handbook of multicultural counseling, 1995:

            ch. 10  Kerwin & Ponterotto, Biracial Identity Development

#Goldberger & Veroff, The culture and psychology reader, 1995:

            ch. 24 Root, Resolving ÒotherÓ status: identity development of biracial individuals

#Root, Racially Mixed People In America, 1992:

            ch. 16 Gibbs & Hines, Negotiating ethnic identity:  Issues for Black-White                                     biracial adolescents

            ch. 19 Mass, Interracial Japanese Americans

#Root, The Multiracial Experience, 1996:

            ch. 1 Root, A bill of rights for racially mixed people

Goldberger & Veroff, The culture and psychology reader, 1995:

            $ch. 25 Moraga, La guera

            $ch. 26 Jordan, Report from the Bahamas

            $ch. 27 Madrid, Diversity and its discontents

 

3/31     ADOPTION ISSUES & STEPFAMILIES

#Root et al., The multiracial experience, 1992

            ch. 5 McRoy et al, Transracial adoptions: In whose best interest?

#Kim, International adoption: a case review of Korean children,

             Child Psychiatry & Human Development 25(3):141-154,1995

 

4/2       SOCIAL CLASS IDENTITIES

(Status incongruities; status and forms of address)

#Lott & Maluso, The social psychology of interpersonal discrimination, 1995:

            ch. 5 Bullock, Classism

#Cahill, Inside social life, 1998

            ch. 14 Snow & Anderson, Salvaging the self from homelessness

            ch. 27 MacLeod, The hallway hangers and the brothers

            ch. 23 Anderson, Group and status relations on the corner

 

4/5       SPRING BREAK

 

4/12     REVIEW FOR MIDTERM

 

4/14     MIDTERM

 

4/16     GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITIES

(Nations, hometowns, sports teams, regional accents & stereotypes)

#Donner, Assimilation and localism, Sociological Inquiry 68(1):61-82, 1988

#Stevenson & Alaug, Football in Yemen: Rituals of resistance, integration, and identity,

            International Review for the Sociology of Sport 32(3):251-265, 3rd. ed.

#Hummon, City mouse, country mouse, Qualitative Sociology 9(1):3-25, 1986

#Cuba & Hummon, A place to call home: identification with dwelling, community, and     region, Sociological Quarterly 34(1):111-131, 1993

 

 

 

4/19     GLOBAL ISSUES I

(Causes of conflict)

#Aguirre & Turner, American ethnicity, 3rd. ed. [not in 6th ed.]

            ch. 10 American Ethnic Tension in Global Perspective

#American Psychologist 53(7), July, 1998

            Cairns and Darby, The conflict in Northern Ireland

            Rouhana & Bar-Tel, ...The Israeli-Palestinian case

 

4/21     GLOBAL ISSUES II

(Reducing conflict)

#American Psychologist 53(7), July, 1998

            Smith, The psychocultural roots of genocide: legitimacy and crisis in Rwanda        

            Rogers et al, Sri Lanka: Political violence and ethnic conflict

 

4/23     STUDY ABROAD

(Culture shock, reverse culture shock -- panel discussion)

 

4/26     SCHOOL & ATHLETIC IDENTITIES

(Cliques, friends, athletes, gangs, delinquents)

#Fine, Culture creation and diffusion among preadolescents, ch. 26 in Cahill, 2nd ed.

#Cahill, Inside social life, 6th ed.:

                        ch. 13 Adler & Adler, The gloried self

#Lavallee, et al., Retirement from Sport and the loss of athletic identity,

            Journal of Personal and Interpersonal Loss 2(2):129-147,3rd. ed..

#de Klerk & Bosch, Nicknames as sex-role stereotypes, Sex Roles 35(9-10):525(17), 1996

 

4/28     OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITIES & CAREER GOALS

(Professional socialization)

#Cahill, Inside social life, 1998:

            ch. 11 Smith & Kleinman, Managing emotions in medical school

#Vangelisti, Adolescent socialization into the workplace, Youth & Society 19(4):460-484,

            1988

#Kerckhoff, The status attainment process, Social Forces 55(2):368-381, 1976

#Martin et al, Gender and medical socialization, Journal of Health & Social Behavior

            29(4):333-343, 1988

#Mortimer & Simmons, Adult socialization, Annual Review of Sociology

            4:421-454, 1978

 

4/30     SEXUAL IDENTITIES: HETEROSEXUALITY & HOMOSEXUALITY

#Lott & Maluso, The social psychology of interpersonal discrimination, 1995:

            ch. 4 Fernald, Heterosexism

#Horowitz, Passion, submission and motherhood: the negotiation of identity by    unmarried innercity Chicanas, Sociological Quarterly 22(2):241-252, 1981

#Adams, Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? Journal of Abnormal

            Psychology 105(3):440-445, 1996

#Troiden, The formation of homosexual identities, Journal of Homosexuality 17:43-73,

            1989

#Cox & Gallois, Gay & lesbian identity development, Journal of Homosexuality

            30(4):1(30), 1996

#Morales, Ethnic minority families and minority gays and lesbians,

             Marriage & Family Review 14:217-239, 1989

Garrod, Adolescent portraits, 1992:

            $Case 2  Working through my adolescence (heterosexual M)

            $Case 7  To be the best (heterosexual F)

            $Case 8  A step in the only direction (gay M)

            $Case 12 Loving women (lesbian F)          

 

5/3       SEXUAL IDENTITIES: BISEXUALITY & TRANSGENDERISM

(also Homoeroticism in the military; sex in prisons)

#Mason-Schrock, Constructing transsexual selves, ch. 15 in Cahill, 2nd ed.

#McWhirter et al, Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of sexual orientation, 1990:

            ch. 1  Bullough, The Kinsey scale in historical perspective

            ch. 13 Herdt, Developmental discontinuities and sexual orientation across cultures

#Reiss, The social integration of queers and peers, in Becker, The other side, 1964

#Blumstein & Schwartz, Bisexuality, JSI 33(2):30-45, 1977

 

5/5       FAMILY IDENTITIES

(Role conflict in women & men ; becoming a spouse, parent; divorce; name changes)

#Vaughan, Uncoupling, ch. 21 in Cahill, 2nd ed.

#Nippert-Eng, Sculpting the boundary between ÒhomeÓ and Òwork, ch. 30 in Cahill, 2nd ed.

#Lewis & Cooper, Stress in dual-earner families, Women & Work 3:139-168, 1988

 

5/7       DISABILITY, ILLNESS, & IDENTITY

(Body Image)

#Cahill, Inside social life, 1998:

            ch. 18 Cahill & Eggleston, Wheelchair usersÕ interpersonal management

                        of emotions

            ch. 22 Clark, Sympathy biography and relationships

            ch. 33 Goffman, The moral career of the mental patient

            ch. 34 Karp, Taking anti-depressant drugs

            ch. 35 Loseke, The two realities of wife abuse

#Charmaz & Paterniti, Health, Wellness, and Healing, 1998:

            ch. 8 Murphy, The damaged self

Garrod, Adolescent portraits, 1992:

            $Case 14 Forever an awkward adolescent (scoliosis) [ALL SHOULD READ]

Andersen & Collins, Race, class, and gender: An anthology, 1995:

            $ch. 39  Chen, YouÕre short, besides! (handicapped identity)

Garrod, Adolescent portraits, 1992:

            $Case 10 Guilt was everywhere around me (bulimia)

            $Case 13 The simple beauty of a conversation (stutter/abuse)

            $Case 15 Proud of the strength I had (abortion)

#Goldberger & Veroff, The culture and psychology reader, 1995:

            ch. 22 Fine & Asch, Disability beyond stigma, p. 539 only

 

 

5/10     AGE IDENTITIES

#Lott & Maluso, The social psychology of interpersonal discrimination, 1995:

            ch. 6 Ageism

            ch.7 Multiple variables in discrimination

#Settersten & Mayer, The measurement of age, age structuring, and the life course,

            Annual Review of Sociology 23:233-61, 3rd. ed.

#Bjelland, Aging and identity management in a Norwegian elderly home,

            Human Relations 38:151-65, 1985

#Charmaz & Paterniti, Health, Wellness, and Healing, 1998:

            ch. 16 Abel, The caregiversÕ perspective

 

5/12     POLITICAL IDENTITIES

#Merelman, The adolescence of political socialization, Sociology of Education

            45(2):134-166, 1972

#Sullivan et al, The development of political ideology, Youth & Society 7(2):148-170,

            1975

#Dalhouse & Frideres, Intergenerational congruency: The role of the family in political      attitudes of youth, Journal of Family Issues 17(2):227-248, 1996

 

5/14     SELF IDENTITY PAPER DUE

 

5/14     HIDDEN, FALSE, OR LOST IDENTITIES

(Deception, con men; acting, stage names; pen names)

(Internet identities, personal ads, phone sex; anonymous sex)

(Death stages, breakups, divorce, lost friendships, unemployment, retirement, assimilation)

#Jacobs, Getting narced: neutralization of undercover identity discreditation,

            Deviant Behavior 14(3):187-208, 1993

#Kellogg, Method Acting, WSP200, 1995

#Honigman, The masked face, Ethos 5(3):263-280, 1977

#Hamers et al, Communication of HIV serostatus between potential sex partners in           personal ads, AIDS Education and Prevention 9(1):42-48, 3rd. ed.

#Earl, Married men and same sex activity: a field study on HIV risk among men who do    not identify as gay or bisexual, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 16(4):251-

257,  1990

 

5/17     REVIEW FOR FINAL

 

5/19     READING DAY (no class)

 

5/24     FINAL EXAM  MONDAY 8:00-10:00 AM

DIVERSE IDENTITIES FILMS                 SPRING 2010

 

All films are shown at 7 PM on Wednesdays in Diehl 118.

 

 

FEBRUARY 17

            A Class Divided -- Follow-up interviews 14 years later with students who participated in Jane Elliott's classroom experiment in which students were given privileges and stereotypes based on having blue eyes or brown eyes. Prejudice.

 

FEBRUARY 24

            Fakin' da funk (1998) -- An Asian American, adopted by an African American family, thinks he is Black, but his new peers in LA treat him differently. Ethnicity, stereotypes.

 

MARCH 3

            Mi Familia (1995) -- Three generations of a family that migrated from Mexico to Los Angeles. Ethnicity, family, prejudice.

 

MARCH 10

            The Joy Luck Club (1993) -- Four Chinese women who immigrated to America, and their daughters raised in America. Ethnicity, gender, friendship, family, and conflicts between cultures.

 

MARCH 17

            American History X (1998) -- A powerful film about a white supremacist, his experiences in prison, and his brother's involvement in a white supremacist group. Prejudice, ethnicity.

 

MARCH 24

            Devil's Arithmetic (1999) -- A contemporary teenage girl who doesn't understand the significance of being Jewish is transported back in time to the Holocaust. Religion, prejudice.

 

MARCH 31

            Mississippi Masala (1992) -- A man of Asian Indian descent raise in Uganda is forced to leave when the Africans gain independence. In the US, his daughter begins dating an African American, creating problems on both sides. Ethnicity, geographic identities, biracial dating.

 

APRIL 14

            Taylor's Campaign -- Documentary about homelessness in Santa Monica.

 

 APRIL 21

            Get Real (1999) -- Sensitive portrayal of the problems of being gay in high school.. Sexuality, school identities.

 

APRIL 28

            Butterflies Are Free (1972) - A blind man, attempting to live independently, and his relationships with the girl next door and his overprotective mother. Disability, family, romance.

 

MAY 5

            On Golden Pond (1969) — Relationships between an eighty-year-old man, who is angry at being old, and his loving wife, a lonely boy, and his resentful daughter. Age, family, friendship.

 

MAY 12

            Priest (1995) — Conflicts between celibacy and sexuality experienced by two Roman Catholic priests in Ireland. Religion, sexuality, hidden identities.