The Historical Origins of Race and Ethnicity

Week Two: The Historical Origins of Race and Ethnicity
Where does the concept of race come from? Is it something that emerged with the evolution of humanity and will continue as long as there are humans on the Earth? Or, is it something that developed at a specific point in history? Why does race matter so much in our society? These are just some of the questions that we will begin to explore this week. Please note that Week Two is a longer than usual week because of the holidays. The week extends across two calendar weeks.
Learning Outcomes
This week, you will learn:
What race and ethnicity are and what is racism
The origins of race and racism and how race is different from the way people were categorized in the distant past.
How the way the founders thought about race and slavery influenced the drafting of the U.S. Constitition
The way that laws such as the Indian Removal Act impacted Native Americans and the role that those laws played in the creation of racial categories
The role of science in the speading of racist ideas.
Activities
Read Textbook Ch. 1
Complete Quiz #1
Read Professor Molina’s Unpacking Race blog and post a comment
Write Origins of Race Blog post
Read and comment on classmates’ blogs

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