The modern political system organizes the world into countries, and countries are often identified as belonging to nations. Nationalism is an expression of belonging to a state, it roughly defines the land, people, and institutions that constitute the members of the state, according to that state. Ethnicity is an organizing mechanism that operates somewhat differently. It too is an expression of belonging, and is composed of elements of culture, history, and identity that make its members distinct, but ethnicity is a cultural force that usually operates at a scale smaller than a state, and an ethnic group can exist in multiple states simultaneously, and within a state with other ethnic groups. This course will address the powerful human constructs of nationalism and ethnicity, and examine the dynamics that mark societies that are made up of more than one ethnic group, as well as the increasingly rare parts of the world in which there are more monolithic societies. It will focus on the tensions that individuals, families, communities, cultures, and countries experience when national and ethnicity are in tension. Significant attention will be given to the experience(s) of the United States, and additional cases from around the world will be introduced. Through readings, exercises, writing, and dialogue, students will learn about the some of the effects of nationalism and ethnicity in our own lives, and the lives of those around us.
Educational opportunities inside Oregon prisons and in the community