The second major component of this course explores the construction, blurring, and contest of demographic markers in contemporary life. How do notions of race, class, and gender become communicated in film, literature, public space and popular culture? More intriguingly, how do individuals and groups confront and resist the imposition of demographic boundaries? Exploring these questions, we discuss David Sibley's chapter on the social role and construction of borders. We then apply Sibley's border thesis to brief essays by Minnie Bruce Pratt.

Reading: Sibley's "Border Crossings" and Pratt's "Lunch" and "Bathroom"

Notes: Border Crossings

This week: Form groups for final project