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BISAES 305, Padilla, W23-2.docx

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University of Washington | Bothell | Winter 2023

Power, Dissent, and American Culture (BISAES 305)

Credits: 5 | Areas of Knowledge: A&H, SSC and DIV | SLN# 11848

Class meets in person: Thursdays 11:00-1:00 UW2-031

Professor Padilla's office hours Thursdays 3:30-5:00pm. Click here to sign-up: Link The link will take you to the Canvas calendar. Make sure you have BISAES 305 highlighted on the right-hand menu. Then click "Find Appointment."| By appointment: Email me through Canvas to set up an in person or zoom appointment if my regular office hours don't work for you. My office is in UW1-355.

Course Description

This course invites students to engage with some of the most fundamental questions in American and Ethnic Studies, a field animated by the study of power, dissent, and the creation and transformation of American culture. At its core, this class examines the categories and practices through which power has acted on people’s bodies and communities and how individuals and groups have resisted this exercise of power. We will examine the relationships between power, inequality, resistance and difference in American culture, politics and history. This course studies the idea of “America” through intersecting categories, including but not limited to race, gender, sexuality, class, place, citizenship, nationalism, empire, immigration, and social change. We will explore diverse scholarly methods including historical inquiry and textual interpretation, making connections between past and present conditions.

Power, Dissent and American Culture is the core class required of majors in American and Ethnic Studies. As such, it emphasizes terms, concepts, methodologies, and approaches associated with that field. It is open to students of any major interested in these topics. Although it satisfies the university’s diversity requirement, it is a 300-level class geared toward in-depth explorations of key frameworks in interdisciplinary fields of study. Thus, it is not designed for students looking to satisfy the university’s diversity requirement. Please let me know if you would like recommendations of classes that are more appropriate for that purpose. 

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Develop and apply a critical vocabulary of key terms and concepts relating to the study of race and ethnicity.
  2. Identify and analyze relationships among race, culture, and power and the role of such relationships in producing inequality and shaping contested discourses of American national identity.
  3. Develop analytical capacities in working with a diverse array of sources, including scholarly readings, literary texts, film, music, and images.
  4. Collaborate with others to facilitate collective conversations about key questions of power, dissent and American culture.
  5. Develop nuanced and well-considered positions on these issues and be able to grapple with them both in discussion and through writing.

General Methods of Instruction and In-class Activities

Hybrid Course

Please note that this is a hybrid course, which means that we will meet once a week and conduct the other 50% of our class online. Students often report that hybrid courses are MORE WORK than face-to-face courses, not less work. This format will be a good fit for you if you need flexibility in when and where you complete your coursework. However, it will not be a good fit if your hope is that the hybrid format will require less work. It won't. Before committing to this course, please make sure that you're able to make it to our weekly in-person meetings AND that you'll have sufficient time to do the online portions of the class as well.

As in all college courses in the social sciences and humanities, reading and writing are important in this class. There is little lecture style teaching and we have a lot of small group and whole class discussions; we read scholarly articles and books; we watch documentaries; we read literary texts, memoir, and journalistic accounts; we analyze visual images; we do interactive learning. Overall, we will make our time together stimulating and engaging, and you'll end with a thorough introduction to the exciting field of American and Ethnic studies.

Weekly Assignment Tempo

There is a significant amount of homework in this class. Most weeks you'll submit study guides on Mondays by midnight and Thursdays by 11am. In addition to this weekly schedule, you'll have work due related to other assignments. Keep track of those deadlines on Canvas. 

Recommended Preparation

Students who need help with some writing basics are encouraged to supplement course learning with university services such as the Writing and Communication Center (WaCC).

Because histories of race are histories of both violence and freedom, students are asked to come to class ready to engage a wide range of historical and current-day themes and concepts—including some difficult ones. Because parts of this class are about war and violence, some of the texts will be upsetting. Please practice self-care as needed. 

Assignments and Grading

This is a brief overview of the assignments and how they are weighted. Details, guidelines, and rubrics are in the Canvas assignments and/or in the assignments' guidelines pages.

Contribution (10%)

Your active participation is central to this discussion-based course. Preparing for and coming to class are the most basic levels of participation. Being prepared and participating in class means: constructively taking part in class discussions; engaging with your peers during any group work; listening actively; readings the required text(s) for each class day and arriving in class with the text in hand (either with a hardcopy or electronic copy). You are expected to come to class on time, alert and ready to engage in discussion.

This component of your grade will be based on a wide variety of factors. These include:

  • Individual and group writing exercises
  • Intermittent postings to Canvas
  • In-class worksheets
  • Professor Meeting: Over the course of the quarter, you are required to meet with me at least once. The purpose of this meeting is for me to get to know you outside of the classroom and to discuss any questions/concerns you have about the course. The earlier in the quarter you meet with me the better, but the absolute deadline is Thursday 2/23. If you are unable to meet with me during my office hours, I am happy to arrange a time when we can meet.

I believe in the importance of recognizing effort when assessing grades. Be alert to opportunities to strengthen your grade through assignments that are based on effort. Many of the assignments in the contribution component will be assessed on effort and following instructions.

Study Guides (30%)

The readings and other assigned materials that we engage are central to the class. In fact, we wouldn’t have a class without them. They are our way in to learning about power, dissent, and American culture, and keep us from merely expressing unsubstantiated opinions. The scholarly articles are all based on thorough research, and they come from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, such as ethnic studies, history, gender and sexuality studies, sociology, and law, among others. The creative materials, such as visual culture and literary writings, provide creative modes of knowledge that we will engage just as rigorously.

One of the key learning objectives in this class is that you refine your skills in different kinds of reading, although we will emphasize learning how to read scholarly work. Reading a scholarly article requires different approaches than reading a poem or viewing a documentary. I will provide a study guide for all of the readings and other materials we engage in class (such as films and images). These guides will help sharpen your reading skills, deepen your understanding of the material, and prepare you for group discussions. They will also help prepare you for the exams. Some of them will require you to work through a reading in great detail, while others will be less time intensive.

I will not be assessing you on whether or not you gave the "right" answer. Instead, what I'm looking for is evidence of careful reading and thinking about the texts, and answers that show that you have seriously engaged them and done your best to communicate your understanding of them. Unwarranted brevity and haphazardly written answers aren’t acceptable. If there is ever a question you can’t answer, explain why the question is giving you trouble. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and clarify points about the study guides during small group discussion and in our large class discussions.

The length of the guides will vary from class to class. Some days there might be as few as 3 questions, others there might be as many as 10. Usually the number will fall somewhere in the middle. I’ll assign a higher number of questions when we’re reading a few different things for one class session. There will be a small number of study guides that will require you to work through a reading at an especially high level of rigor. I will let you know in advance when those will be assigned so that you can manage your time accordingly. Generally speaking, the length of your answers for the study guides will vary from question to question. Sometimes a sentence or two will do. At other times you might need to write a few paragraphs. I’ll be giving you guidance on how you’re doing with your answers through rubrics available on Canvas.

I will grade the guides on a 3-point scale. You must turn them in on time to get full credit. Study guides that are submitted late but within 4 days after the due date will receive a maximum of 2 points. Those submitted within a week will receive a maximum of 1 point. I will not accept study guides after one week.

Midterm (10%) and Final (15%)

The exams will cover material from the readings and class discussions/presentations. The final will be cumulative. Students cannot make up a test unless they notify me in advance of AN EMERGENCY that prevents them from taking it.

Social Justice Organization Research (30%)

You will engage in a quarter-long research project focused on a historical social justice group. I will provide a list of groups to choose from, and you will identify your top three choices. I can’t guarantee that you will get one of your top three, but I will do my best. More detail about this assignment is available on Canvas and will be discussed in class.

  • Research portfolio (25%): You will compile a portfolio of items based on your research.
    • Synopsis, due 1/23
    • Article summary, due 2/10
    • Cultural artifact analysis, due 2017
  • Presentation (5%)

Final Reflection, 750-1000 words (5%)

Thinking back over this quarter, what ideas, issues, questions, and/or conversations complicated or caused you to reconsider a point of view that you held? What did you learn that was new to you? What frustrated you most? What will you do about it? This is an opportunity to review what we’ve studied in the course, to choose the ideas that appeal to you (or shock you) most, and to think creatively about significant social issues. Your papers will be evaluated on clarity, accuracy, depth, and inventiveness rather than on the position you take. Write informally, thinking of me as your audience. No citations are necessary.

You will find information about university policies and services here.

Course Policies 

Technology in the classroom You can use your laptops in class to take notes and access course materials. Occasionally, I will even ask you to use them for in-class activities. However, I highly encourage you to take notes by hand. It has been proven that students retain more information this way. I also encourage you to bring hard copies of the readings when possible. You should use your laptop only for activities that are directly related to class. Using your devices to engage in non-class activities is highly disruptive to your peers and to me, and is disrespectful of our learning environment. If this becomes a problem (meaning that you insist on using your device in disruptive ways), I may ask you to leave the classroom. You should turn off your cell phones before the start of class. Exceptions will be made for people with disabilities, international students using a dictionary, and/or parenting students. Please speak to me in person if you are one of these students.

Check your email and Canvas announcement page daily I expect you to check your UW e-mail account and Canvas page daily so that I can communicate with each of you between classes. If you wish to use another e-mail address as your primary account, set up your UW account to forward to your other address. You can do this through MyUW. 

Assistance outside of class and professional email exchange Do not hesitate to come see me during my office hours or schedule an appointment to discuss any issues related to the class or to your education more generally. If you have a complaint or concern, please come to see me about it in person. Email is not an appropriate forum for anything that requires an extended conversation.

 If you have a logistical question in between class sessions, email is the best way to reach me. Please allow 24 hours for a response, longer if you email me on the weekend. If the answer to your question is clearly addressed in the syllabus or on Canvas, I will refer you there.

When emailing me, please address me as you would any professional colleague. I appreciate the following courtesies: the use of a salutation such as “Dear Professor Padilla,” or “Hello Professor Padilla”; and the practice of concluding an exchange you initiated.

Late assignments All assignments are due by the time and date it says on the weekly schedule. Assignments will be graded down by five points for every day they are late. The penalty will be waived in the case of legitimate emergency. If you find that you will not be able to finish work on time, please contact me ASAP. If you are experiencing something serious which is making it impossible to stay on track academically, do let me know.

Attendance policy Since participation is vital for a successful experience, please arrive on time for class. Late arrivals and early departures interrupt our in-progress discussions. If you must miss a class session, it is your responsibility to get the notes from someone and check Canvas for relevant handouts and announcements.

Syllabus Revisions You are responsible for all materials, updates and announcements covered during class sessions. The schedule of class sessions and assignments will most likely change over time due to unforeseen circumstances; please be sure you are using the most recent version.

Academic integrity You are responsible for knowing what constitutes a violation of the University of Washington Student Code, and you will be held responsible for any such violations whether they were intentional or not. Plagiarism is one of the most common violations of academic integrity, so please pay attention to this information. The library also has an extremely useful website with resources.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due