American Studies 268 - Rethinking Race and Class in Rural America

(Offered as AMST 268 and SOCI 268) This course will bring a sociological lens to contemporary race and class relations in rural America. Drawing from social-historical analyses, ethnography, interview-based research, and memoir, we will look at the social forces at the base of shifting rural demographics, as well as how these shifts are being experienced in rural daily life. Central to the course will be an analysis of how place shapes the relationship between race and class, and how these place-based relationships in turn shape individual and collective identity. Throughout the course we will reflect on what anti-racist, equitable community building might look like in rural America and beyond.

Fall semester.  Professor Schmalzbauer.

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Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: emphasis on written work; readings; in-depth discussion; and small group seminar presentations.