Texts for Course on Race, Class, & Gender in U.S.

The following file offers suggestions for texts that discuss gender
issues fully and can be used for a Sociology course on "Race, Class,
and Gender in the U.S."  The suggestions appeared on WMST-L in
March/April 2004.  For additional WMST-L files now available on the
Web, see the WMST-L File Collection.

Hello all,
I am looking for a very specific type of text and I'm
hoping someone here might have some suggestions.

I am currently teaching the first "Race, Class, and
Gender in the U.S." course at my institution.  This is
my first time teaching this course as a "gender"
rather than Women's Studies course.  It's also my
first time teaching it as a Sociology course rather
than an interdisciplinary course.  What I'm finding,
as well, is that texts that are not designed for
Women's Studies classes don't discuss gender issues as
fully as I would like them to.  I've had to reshape
the course in ways that I'm not too happy with, and
I'm trying to find a text for next time that will
allow me to do what I need to do and still stick to
the course plan that I prefer.

I would like to follow this plan: first, look
historically at how different groups have been
incorporated into America; then look conceptually at
sexism, racism, etc.; then look at contemporary issues
in light of what we've studied so far (health,
violence, sexuality, work, etc.).  I have always had
to supplement the text I've chosen, but I'm hoping to
find a text that will lend itself to this approach.  A
perfect text would spotlight contemporary issues and
also contain either the historical information or the
conceptual information.

I'm currently using Rosenblum and Travis' The Meaning
of Difference:  American Constructions of Race, Sex
and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation.  I
had also considered Paula Rothenberg's Race Class and
Gender, but I then learned that the newest edition
left out several of the essays that drew me to the
text in the first place.

Please reply privately.  Thanks!

Jessica Nathanson

Jessica Nathanson, Ph.D. American Studies
Concentration, Women's Studies
Adjunct Instructor, Liberal Arts, Kilian Community College
janathanson  AT  yahoo.com

Not really anthologies in the way you describe, but for these issues
in relation to sociology in particular, I rec. any of Nancy Naples
texts; http://sociology.uconn.edu/faculty/naples/publications.htm

Her work is very good and incredibly readable/accessible



Jen Boyle (jboyle  AT  hollins.edu)
Assistant Professor
English, Hollins University
PO Box 9582
Roanoke, VA 24020
540-362-6433
http://members.cox.net/jenboyle

I've taught our interdisciplinary race class and gender course using
Rothenberg, both 5th and 6th editions, and find she offers a very solid set
of readings on gender. A number of classic texts are there, including Peggy
McIntosh, Marilyn Frye, Judith Lorber and Allan Johnson, among others. And
as an American historian, I especially appreciate her selection of primary
sources, mostly Supreme Court decisions and the Seneca Falls Declaration.

Mary Todd
Concordia University
River Forest, Illinois

I've taught "Race, Class, and Gender" as a Philosophy course
since 1994.  I've used Rothenberg's book many times; I think
it's strong on gender. I also supplemented it with other
texts--for gender, I've sometimes used Marilyn Frye's "The
Politics of Reality." As I developed the course, it's a lower
level social/polit. philosophy course focused on American
ideas/issues. Rothenberg's section "How It Happened"--court
rulings and legislation--is really good and students respond
well to it (but I wish it included something on legis. related
to class). The course is accepted as a general education course
for diversity at Towson University. Overall, it's been
successful.

 Jo-Ann Pilardi, Towson U., MD
 jpilardi  AT  towson.edu

One text to consider is an anthology edited by Tracy Ore, THE SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION OF DIFFERENCE AND INEQUALITY, published by McGraw-Hill. I've
used it once in an introductory level social problems class, and at least
for that purpose it has enough theoretical articles but also some first
person narratives which students found interesting.

Eira Juntti
Ph.D. Candidate
Binghamton University
bf80165  AT  binghamton.edu

I'll second the recommendation of Tracey Ore's text.  I've used it
for an introductory Women's Studies in the Social Sciences course and
found it quite useful.  From your description of what you'd like to
do -- a historical analysis followed by conceptual examination -- I
think it would be a useful text.  At least worth taking a look at.

--
Ann Haugo
School of Theatre
Campus Box 5700
Illinois State University
Normal IL 61790

Hello,
Here are some early writings that may be useful.-
Race/ racism/ Gender/ inequality
        Sacks, Karen Brodkin (1989).  "Toward a unified theory of class,
race, and gender".
American Ethnologist 16 (3): 534-550.

See also.-

Reiter, R.R.  (1977).  "The search for origins: unraveling the threads of
gender hierarchy".
Critique of Anthropology 3(9 & 10): 5-25.

Other texts.-
Edholm, F., O. Harris, K. Young (1977).  "Conceptualising women". Critique
of Anthropology 3 (9
& 10):  101-130.
Frank, B. (1987).  "Hegemonic heterosexual masculinity".  Studies in
Political Economy 24:
159-170.
Muller, V. (1985).  "Origins of class and gender hierarchy in northwest
Europe".  Dialectical
Anthropology (10): 93-105.
Other Readings:
Butler, Judith & Joan W. Scott (eds.) (1992). Feminists theorize the
political. New York:
Routledge.
Lancaster, Roger N. & M. di Leonardo (eds.) (1997). The gender/ sexuality
reader: culture,
history, political economy. London: Routledge. GN 479.65/ G475.

Suggested additional readings:
Hooks, Bell / E185.615.H66/  (1990).  Yearning: race, gender, and cultural
politics.  Toronto:
Between the lines.
Vorst, Jesse & al. (eds.) (1990).  Race, class, gender:  Bonds and
barriers.  Society forSocialist
Studies, no. 5.

There is also Sherry B. Ortner's "Reading America" in Fox, R. (ed) (1990).
Recapturing Anthropology.

Best wishes,

Sima
-----

Sima Aprahamian, Ph.D.
Sociology-Anthropology &
Simone de Beauvoir Institute
Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve W.
Montreal (Quebec)
H3G 1M8
E-mail: aprhsma  AT  alcor.concordia.ca

Thanks to all who suggested texts for a Race, Class,
and Gender (not Women's Studies) course.  Your
responses were really very helpful, and I appreciate
them.  As promised, here are the titles, organized
into three sections:
I.      The Top Three
II.     Other Text Recommendations
III.    Custom Texts
My apologies if I've inadvertently omitted anything.
If you would like the comments-inclusive version of
this list, please email me privately.

I.  The Top Three
The top three texts recommended were:
Anderson and Hill Collins, Race, Class and Gender
(Wadsworth, 5th ed.);
Ore, The Social Construction of Difference and
Inequality:  Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0767429281/ ;
and Rothenberg, Race, Class, and Gender in the U.S.
(now in its 6th ed).

II.  Other Text Recommendations

Estelle Disch's "Reconstructing Gender: A
Multicultural Anthology.

Virginia Cyrus's EXPERIENCING RACE, CLASS AND GENDER
IN THE U.S. (Wadsworth)

for these issues in relation to sociology in
particular, I rec. any of Nancy Naples texts;
http://sociology.uconn.edu/faculty/naples/publications.htm

Susan Ferguson's "Mapping the Social Landscape:
Readings in Sociology"

the 6th edition of Feminist Frontiers by Laurel
Richardson, Verta Taylor, and Nancy Whittier (McGraw
Hill 2003).

Lynn Weber, Understanding Race, Class, Gender and
Sexuality (McGrawHill)

The dynamics of inequality: Race, class, gender, and
sexuality in the United States. -- Gagne, P., &
Tewksbury, R. Prentice Hall, 2002

"Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class" by Joseph F.
Healey (through Pine Forge Press.)

I think the best way is to use several texts. For
example, Paul Kivel's Uprooting
racism, bell hooks Feminist Theory, Maybe Dorothy
Allison book about class
(forget the title) and finish off with Allen Johnson's
priivlege power and difference.

Here are some early writings that may be useful.-
Sacks, Karen Brodkin (1989).  "Toward a unified theory
of class, race, and gender".
American Ethnologist 16 (3): 534-550.
Reiter, R.R.  (1977).  "The search for origins:
unraveling the threads of gender hierarchy". Critique
of Anthropology 3(9 & 10): 5-25.
Edholm, F., O. Harris, K. Young (1977).
"Conceptualising women". Critique of Anthropology 3 (9
& 10):  101-130.
Frank, B. (1987).  "Hegemonic heterosexual
masculinity".  Studies in Political Economy 24:
159-170.
Muller, V. (1985).  "Origins of class and gender
hierarchy in northwest Europe".  Dialectical
Anthropology (10): 93-105.
Butler, Judith & Joan W. Scott (eds.) (1992).
Feminists theorize the political. New York:
Routledge.
Lancaster, Roger N. & M. di Leonardo (eds.) (1997).
The gender/ sexuality reader: culture, history,
political economy. London: Routledge. GN 479.65/ G475.
Hooks, Bell / E185.615.H66/  (1990).  Yearning: race,
gender, and cultural politics.
Vorst, Jesse & al. (eds.) (1990).  Race, class,
gender:  Bonds and barriers.  Society forSocialist
Studies, no. 5.

There is also Sherry B. Ortner's "Reading America" in
Fox, R. (ed) (1990).
Recapturing Anthropology.

III.  Custom Texts (available for courses starting in
Spring Æ05)
Betsy Lucal wrote:  I'm co-editing a database on
social inequality and diversity for Pearson Custom
Publishing.  It's one of those things where the
instructor gets to pick the articles they want and
then PCP binds them into a book for the course.  In my
opinion, our db has a great set of
conceptual/theoretical articles, some historical stuff
and sections on seven different forms of inequality,
as well as a chapter on intersections and one on
social movements/activism.

Jessica Nathanson, Ph.D. American Studies
Concentration, Women's Studies
Adjunct Instructor, Liberal Arts, Kilian Community College
janathanson  AT  yahoo.com