IGESSIGESS (Institute for Global Economics and Social Sciences)

This class sees our society through the lens of race, class and gender to understand how privilege and inequality are produced, maintained, naturalized and challenged. The course will look at how various inequalities are connected to one another through examining global, national and local issues. Students will learn to analyze how race, class, gender, and sexuality are connected to each other as intersecting inequalities in a society and the world, and on that basis, consider the possibility of an equal but diverse world.

Through lectures, discussion and written assignments, students will learn concepts and theories to analyze how race, class, gender and sexuality affect individuals and society. They will learn to apply these analytical tools and knowledge to form critical opinions on current issues related to various bases of inequalities. Students will acquire skills in critical thinking, analysis and writing that can be applied in other academic fields as well as future careers.

英語 / English

This course is taught through a combination of lectures, documentary-viewings, and small-group discussions and presentations. Verbal and written feedback will be given on assignments.

あり / Yes

なし / No

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1：Overview: Identities and Inequalities

In-class activity

2：Foundation:
“Inequality”

“2. Some Principles of Stratification”
“3. Inequality by Design”

3：Foundation: “Social Class”

Is “color” still “5. Classes in Capitalism and Pre-Capitalism”

4：Social Class in the United States

“12. Who Rules America?”
“19. American Apartheid”

5：Social Class in Japan

David H. Slater, “The ‘new working class’ of urban Japan: Socialization and contradiction from middle school to the labor market” (2009)

6：Foundation:
“Race and Ethnicity”

“24. Racial Formation”
“30. The Continuing Significance of Race”
Peggy McIntosh (2003) “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination (pp. 191-196).

7：Differential Inclusion into the Society

Yen Le Espiritu, “Chapter 3: ‘Positively No Filipinos Allowed’” Differential Inclusion and Homelessness” Home Bound: Filipino American Lives across Cultures, Communities, and Countries. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.

8：Defining Japaneseness

Film: Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan (2013)

9：Foundation:
“Gender”

“36. The Social Construction of Gender”

10：Gender Inequality in Workplace

Christine Williams, “The Glass Escalator, Revisited: Gender Inequality in Neoliberal Times, SWS Feminist Lecturer” Gender & Society, vol. 27 no. 5, 2013: 609-629

11：Gender Inequality in Japan

Jennifer L. Hirsch, “Culture, Gender, and Work in Japan: A Case Study of a Woman in Management” Ethos, vol. 28, no. 2, 2000: 248-269

12：Foundation: “Intersectionality”

“Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice” (pp. 1-5)
Haengja Chung, “Gender and Ethnicity at Work: Korean ‘Hostess’ Club Rose in Japan” in Gender and Labour in Korea and Japan, London and New York: Routledge, 2009.

13：Prepare for Final Paper

Students prepare for final paper

14：Wrap up and Review

Review of the concepts and case studies

In addition to preparing for discussions and presentations, students are expected to review class materials after each class, note down reflections on the videos shown in class, and do the prescribed readings. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each. Verbal and written feedback will be given on assignments.

No textbook will be used. Readings and other materials will be distributed in class and/or uploaded on the course website.

None.

Participation:20%
Current Issue Presentation:10%
Small Assignments:20%
Group Presentation:20%
Final Paper:30%

Students have generally found the class interesting, informative and thought-provoking. However, some in the past have also indicated that the workload was heavy. Changes have been made to the assignments and exercises to make the workload more manageable.

None. Students are welcome to bring a laptop to take notes.

Students are strongly encouraged to take Race, Class and Gender II after completing Race, Class, Gender I. Students who have passed Race, Class and Gender I will be given admission priority to the seminar, Intersectionality: Multiple Inequalities.
Our goal in this class will not be to memorize or master a series of clear-cut answers; rather, by engaging in lively discussions, we aim to hone our ability to ask critical questions so as to further develop our skills as writers, readers and thinkers. In order to create such a learning environment, students should speak to each other and the instructor with respect. Abusive and harsh language will not be tolerated. Students with special needs should notify the instructor as early as possible, no later than the third week of the semester.

Students who intend to enroll in this class are expected to have passed Introduction to Sociology. This prerequisite may be waived if students have taken courses in Cultural Studies or Cultural Anthropology.