Comparative Racial Inequality
Introduction to the sociological study of racial orders in comparative and historical perspective, focusing on the American experience and patterns in South Africa and Brazil.
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Explore some of the effects the past has had on present day circumstances, perceptions of, and disparities in, race, both specifically in the U.S., and in comparison with other countries marked by racial disparities.
Recognize and question cultural assumptions, rules, biases, and knowledge claims as they relate to race and ethnicity.
Examine questions and make decisions with consideration for the cultural perspectives and worldviews of others.
Use historical comparison to strengthen what CW Mills calls the ‘sociological imagination,’ especially by exploring similarities and differences across historical contexts.
Explore theories of social change, with a focus on how transnational social movements can alter local political dynamics.
Apply course content to their lives outside the classroom by respectfully participating in our multicultural society.
Source: UW Guide
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Prerequisites
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- Junior standing
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Student experience
the class
An introduction to the sociological study of racial orders in comparative and historical perspective. As W.E.B. Du Bois famously wrote, "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line," but as he also insisted, the social meaning of race is shaped by specific historical and economic contexts. Half of the content focuses on the American experience, especially over the last 50 years, exploring historical and contemporary meanings of race in America, and how racial dynamics have changed (and not changed) across time. The other half continues to explore the American experience, but now using a comparative historical approach, discussing patterns of racial inequality and social change in South Africa and Brazil, both to understand how these issues have played out in those contexts, and to gain new insights into our experiences in the United States.
difficulty & workload
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Topics
- Historical and contemporary meanings of race in the American experience over the last 50 years.
- Comparative historical analysis of racial inequality and social change in South Africa and Brazil.
- Effects of the past on present-day race circumstances, perceptions, and disparities in the U.S. and other countries.
Skills
- Recognizing and questioning cultural assumptions, rules, biases, and knowledge claims related to race and ethnicity.
- Using historical comparison to develop the sociological imagination by exploring similarities and differences across historical contexts.
- Exploring theories of social change and the impact of transnational social movements on local political dynamics.
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
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Model & dataset provenance
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