ASRC 4301 - African Americans, Inequality, and K-16 Education in America [Rabinor Seminar]

(HA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

Co-meets with AMST 4301.

N. Rooks.

This seminar will focus on the role of education in both the production and amelioration of social inequality. A college education has become increasingly important for upward social mobility in the U.S. and a college degree can be linked to societal inequalities in health, income, and other life-chance measures. The chances of a student completing college is deeply tied to the quality of their schooling from kindergarten through high school. In the United States, race and economics matter greatly in determining student success and schools, at all levels, play a central role in social and economic well-being, particularly for women and minority groups, yet educators often fail to address factors in the larger social context that affect schooling. Using film, legal briefs, memoir, and social history, this course will explore the history, present, and future of race and education in America. We will begin by discussing the ways in which such schools are products of the social, economic, and political history that led to the creation of the urban environments in which they reside. We will then look at issues of historical, and contemporary efforts to reform education, and the relationship of school reform movements to social justice movements. Throughout the semester we will explore social, economic, and political issues, with an emphasis on how race and class realities have impacted the access minority and poor students have to the promise of an equal education in the United States.