Marcelo J. P. Paixão, PhD

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The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

Please check back for updates.

The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

 “Measuring Racial Inequality” is an introductory course for the analysis of racial inequality through social statistics. The main objectives are: i) to understand the complexity of racial or ethnic variables used in demographic databases, like Census, household surveys, etc.; ii) to reflect about the concept of racial inequality hinged to its parallel conceptual dimensions: race, discrimination and theory of racial discrimination; iii) to study some statistical methods for the analysis of racial and ethnic inequality.

Coherently to these objectives, the course is split into two parts.

In the first one, the students will be in touch with selected problems related to how social scientists may understand demographic statistics disaggregated by race and ethnicity. This section is important so that the students can avoid an essentialist understanding on this matter. Or, in other words, we believe that it is necessary that the students can reflect on issues related to the complexity of the variables race and ethnicity for social statistics.

In the second part of the course, the students will be introduced to some of the most well known quantitative methods of analysis of social and racial inequality in the social sciences. The course will focuses on statistical concept and reasoning/interpretation rather than mathematics. Explanation will be based on simple example using Excel.

Each week the Instructor will give extra class exercises comprehending: i) researches on national statistical bureaus; ii) analysis of pre-tabulated demographic information; and iii) mechanisms for accessing data and micro data sets of social researches.

The Instructor is expecting that the students attending the course have different academic and personal background. As it is an introductory course, the objective is that even students with a basic level of knowledge of mathematics and statistics can attend class. Anyway, the Instructor is expecting that every student already has some previous understanding of elementary concepts as well as openness to study this kind of subject.

Finally, it is important to note that the course “Measuring Racial Inequality” is part of the process of setting out the Laboratory for the Study of Ethnic and Racial Equity (LAESER), placed at The University of Texas, Austin (LAESER’s office is located in SRH, Office 3105) and coordinated by Prof. Marcelo Paixão. As such, one of the objectives of the course is to raise interest of UT undergraduate students for the subject. Depending on mutual interest, capacity and resources, the possibility to join LAESER is welcomed.

Grading

First exam: 30%

Second exam: 30%

Research Paper: 20%

Weekly summaries: 10%

Presentation: 10%

The course will debate the problem of the ethnic and racial relations in Latin America region

The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

Currently, one of the most important issues in the social sciences is the problem of social inequality. The question covers several aspects like the causes of disparities, ethical and normative dimensions, public policies addressing the problem, and tools and methodologies for measuring social inequality.
Nevertheless, the specific matter of racial and ethnic inequality is as important as the problem of social inequality in general. Because it does not only include all the aspects listed above, but because it incorporates new complexities related to the relations and connections between ethnic-racial groups, social classes, and gender; as well as the means for measuring this kind of inequality.
The course Measuring Ethnic-Racial Inequality will cover the following topics: i) social and racial inequality - concepts and theory ii) how to measure ethnic and racial inequality - main methods and limits; iii) sources of statistical information.

Course Description:

Latin America is known as one of the most unequal continents around the globe. But, unlike the latter, the majority of Latin American countries gained their independence about 200 years ago. Also, for several periods, Latin America underwent significant economic prosperity, high rates of growth and intensive urbanization processes.

So, the main question we will consider in this course is: why at the beginning of the 21st century does Latin America continue to experience such economic setbacks and high levels of social inequality? How do we link these problems to ethnic and racial injustice? What is the role of structural and cultural variables to explain this situation? How can we analyze the current stage of social, ethnic and racial inequality in the Latin American region using social indicators? Which are the methods to conceptualize social indicators? And how can we use them to study racial, ethnic, gender and social inequalities in Latin America as well as around the world?

The course is based on introductory readings on those topics. We will debate the set of questions above analyzing the following issues: i) race and ethnic diversity in Latin American countries and the national discourses of nation-building, citizenship and development; ii) economic, social, ethnic and racial profile of contemporary Latin America (in the industrialization period, during the foreign debt crisis, and in the neoliberalism era); iii) public policies to combat poverty and to implement affirmative action, and new contradictions within the Latin American societies; iv) the use of demographic statistics to analyze ethnic and racial inequalities in Latin America.

Readings (subject to change):

• Esping-Andersen, G. The three worlds of the Welfare State. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.
• Ferranti, D.; Perry, G.; Ferreira, F.; Walton, M. Inequality in Latin America: breaking with history?. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2004.
• Fernandes, F. The Negro in Brazilian society. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
• Gino G. Marginality. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1980.
• Graham, R. (ed.) The idea of race in Latin American, 1870-1940. Austin, Texas: Texas University Press, 2006 [1990].
• Hasenbalg, C. “Race and socioeconomic inequalities in Brazil”. In: Pierre-Michel Fontaine (Editor). Race, class, and power in Brazil. Los Angeles: Center for Afro-American Studies, University of California, 1985 (p. 25-41).
• Marques, G.; Chong, A.; Duryea, S.; Mazza, J.; Ñopo, H. (coords.) Outsiders? The changing patterns of exclusion in Latin American and Caribbean. Washington D.C: Inter-American Development Bank, 2008.
• Ñopo, H. New centuries, old disparities: gender and ethnic earnings gaps in Latin American and the Caribbean. Washington D.C.: IDB, 2012.
• Sen, A. Development as freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.
• Telles, E. Race in another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. Princeton / Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2006.
• Telles, E; PERLA research team - Pigmentocracies: ethnicity, race, and color in Latin America. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2014.
• Weber, Max. “Class, status and Party”. In: From Max Weber: essays in sociology. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Grading:

Presence and participation (10%)

Weekly reaction papers (10%)

Two sets of in-class essay questions (80%)

Description:

The course will debate the problem of the ethnic and racial relations in Latin America region. As such, the seminars will cover these questions: i) comparative studies of ethnic and racial models in Latin American countries; ii) ethnic and racial inequality and tools of measuring; iii) new legal framework, public policies and affirmative action in the Latin America region.

 Readings:

• Esping-Andersen, G. – The three worlds of the Welfare State. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990
• Ferranti, D.; Perry, G.; Ferreira, F.; Walton, M.. Inequality in Latin America: breaking with history?. Washington D.C. The World Bank, 2004
• Fernandes, F. The Negro in Brazilian society. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969. (Chapter 2, pp. 55-130; if possible, please read Chapter 3, pp. 131-186)
• Gino G. Marginality. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1980. (Part II, pp. 49-90)
• Graham, R. (ed.) – The idea of race in Latin American, 1870-1940. Austin, Texas: Texas University Press, 2006 [1990]
• Friedman, M. – Capitalism and freedom. Chicago / London: Chicago University Press, 2002 [1962]
• Hasenbalg, C. “Race and socioeconomic inequalities in Brazil”. In: Pierre-Michel Fontaine (Editor). Race, class, and power in Brazil. Los Angeles: Center for Afro-American Studies, University of California, 1985
• Marques, G.; Chong, A.; Duryea, S.; Mazza, J.; Ñopo, H. (coords.) – Outsiders? The changing patterns of exclusion in Latin American and Caribbean. Washington D.C: Inter-American Development Bank, 2008
• Nobles, Melissa. Shades of citizenship: Race and the census in modern politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000
• Ñopo, H. – New centuries, old disparities: gender and ethnic earnings gaps in Latin American and the Caribbean. Washington D.C.: IDB, 2012, 

The Solidarity Economy movement in Latin America arose from the crisis of the labor market in this region after the 1980s. The movement has been seeking alternatives forms of socioeconomic survival for the unemployed and people marginalized from the formal labor market, including Afro-descendants and indigenous groups. Some examples of these alternatives are cooperative enterprise, solidarity currency, coalitions of popular entrepreneurship, microfinance to communities, and solidarity collateral.

Explores policy-related issues related to race and gender in the African diaspora, from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives