Welcome & "Get Your Feet Wet Exercise"

Welcome to this blog that I have set up for Sociology 240: Race and Ethnic Relations. We will be using this blog for a variety of activities and exercises throughout the semester, the first of which I post below. In addition to having you post comments on this blog, I will also use it from time to time to post some lecture notes (if I get behind in class), or to post a significant passage I may quote in class from sources other than the required reading. To save paper, I may use this blog to post descriptions of some of the short essays you'll be asked to write. This blog will be instrumental in your preparation for the midterm and final exams because the questions that you make up for these exams will appear on this blog (along with the answers, of course). I will be sure to mention in class if any new material has been posted, but I would suggest that you get in the habit of checking this blog once or twice a week to see if there is any new material you need to pay attention to.


"GET YOUR FEET WET EXERCISE"

I want everyone to do a little digging on the Internet or other sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) for information about someone who was much in the news during the latter part of July, Shirley Sherrod. Many of you may already know something about her story, but even if you do I'd like you to try to get a rounded or whole picture of the incident Ms. Sherrod was the focal point of. Then, I'd like you to post a ONE or TWO PARAGRAPH comment identifying a lesson that you believe can be drawn from this incident which has relevance for this class on race and ethnic relations. Note: you do NOT have to cite any sources as you would in a paper and there is NO ONE CORRECT ANSWER that I am looking for; the lesson you draw may touch on different aspects of this incident. The only thing that I ask is that you make an effort to get the whole story and base your observations on that.

This exercise is worth 5 points, and please try to post your comments NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPT. 17TH.