Mixed Race Studies

Anthropology 324L/American Studies 321: The Black Indian Experience in the United States

University of Texas, Austin
Fall 2011

Circe Dawn Sturm, Associate Professor of Anthropology
University of Texas, Austin

This course explores the entwined histories, cultures and identities of African American and Native American people in the United States. Long neglected in popular and scholarly accounts, the Black Indian experience sheds light on comparative histories and legacies of racial formation, as well as the conjoined role that these two groups played in the emergence of the United States as an independent nation. Students will be exposed to a range of voices, including Black Indian artists, scholars and activists, as well as other scholars working in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, history, Native American Studies, African American Studies, American Studies and women’s studies. The readings will range from primary historical documents and ethnographies, to creative and autobiographical accounts. Course content will cover key issues and topics critical to Black Indian communities, such as US settler colonialism, American Indian slaveholding, cultural and linguistic exchange, kinship practices, forms of resistance, and ongoing struggles for tribal citizenship, with an in depth focus on several different tribes as they are represented in the required texts. Throughout the course, we will focus particular attention on how American race making practices have shaped Native American and African American views of one another and overshadowed the contexts in which they have interacted. Students are also required to consider how their own perceptions of race, culture, and indigeneity might limit their understanding of how American Indians, African Americans, and those of both heritages, answer the question, “Who am I,” for themselves.

Educational Disadvantages Associated with Race Still Persist in Brazil Despite Improvements, New Study Shows

University of Texas, Austin
Department of Sociology
2012-01-19

Despite notable improvements in educational levels and opportunity during the past three decades, disadvantages associated with race still persist in Brazil, according to new research at The University of Texas at Austin.

Although educational advantages for white over black and pardo (mixed-race) adolescents declined considerably in Brazil, the gap is still significant, with whites completing nearly one year more of education.

Sociologist and Population Research Center affiliate Leticia Marteleto investigated educational inequalities using the nationally representative data from Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios from 1982 to 2007. Her findings will be published in the February issue of the journal Demography.

“Although the educational advantage of whites has persisted over this period, I found that the significance of race as it relates to education has changed in important ways,” Marteleto said.

By 2007, adolescents who identified themselves as blacks and pardos became more similar in their education levels, whereas in the past blacks had greater disadvantages, according to the study. Marteleto tested two possible explanations for this shift: structural changes in income levels and parents’ education, and shifts in racial classification…

…The second potential explanation for the closing educational gap between pardo and black Brazilians is a shift in racial identity. Children of college-educated black fathers and mothers have a greater probability of being identified by their family as black in 2007, while in 1982 these associations were still considered negative. This seems to explain — at least in part — some of the increases in the educational attainment of those identified as black in relation to pardo, since highly educated Brazilians now have a disproportionately higher likelihood of identifying their children as black rather than either white or pardo…

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RTF 386 – Beyond Binaries: Mixed Race Representation and Critical Theory

University of Texas, Austin
Spring 2012

Mary Beltrán, Associate Professor of Media Studies

This graduate seminar surveys historical and critical and cultural studies scholarship on the evolution of mixed race in U.S. film and media culture. American histories, cultures, and identities have traditionally been understood through rubrics of racial binaries and negations. Given this tradition, characters of mixed racial and ethnic heritage and interracial romances have served as powerful symbols within mediated story worlds, while mixed-race actors also seen be seen to highlight fault lines in the nation’s and Hollywood’s construction of race. We’ll explore the growing body of scholarship analyzing the evolution of mixed-race representation within film, media, and celebrity culture and its implications with respect to past and contemporary notions of race and the increasingly diverse U.S. audience.

AAS 310: Mixed Race And The Media

University of Texas, Austin
Center for Asian American Studies
Spring 2012

Alexander Cho, Assistant Instructor

What is “race,” and what does it mean to be “mixed”? How is mass media responsible for channeling fears, desires, and anxieties about “mixed” bodies? Why are “mixed race” bodies suddenly desirable and chic? Can one exist in two or more categories at the same time? How do people think of “mixedness” in the U.S., and how is it different in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Brazil? Why do people care so much? Why do categories matter? Isn’t everyone “mixed” somehow? Where do you fit in?
 
This course will give students the tools to critically respond to these questions via a comparative, historically situated study of the representation of “mixed-race” people in popular media. Major attention will be paid to special concerns for Asian American populations; it includes substantial attention to African American and Latino populations. Chiefly U.S.-centered, but with a large transnational comparative component analyzing “mixed” racial formation in: North America, Latin America, Caribbean, Brazil.

Between Two Worlds: Consequences of Dual-Group Membership among Children

University of Texas, Austin
May 2008
98 pages

Katherine Vera Aumer-Ryan

Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Increasing numbers of individuals are simultaneously members of two or more social categories. To investigate the effects of single- versus dual-identity status on children’s group views and intergroup attitudes, elementary-school-age children (N = 91) attending a summer school program were assigned to novel color groups that included single-identity (“blue” and “red”) and dual-identity (“bicolored,” or half red and half blue) members. The degree to which dual-identity status was verified by the authority members was also manipulated: teachers in some classrooms were instructed to label and make use of three social groups (“blues,” “reds,” “bicolors”) to organize their classrooms, whereas teachers in other classrooms were instructed to label and make use of only the two “mono-colored” groups (“blues” and “reds”). After several weeks in their classrooms, children’s (a) views of group membership (i.e., importance, satisfaction, perceived similarity, group preference), (b) intergroup attitudes (i.e., traits ratings, group evaluations, peer preferences), and (c) categorization complexity (i.e., tendency to sort individuals along multiple dimensions simultaneously) were assessed. Results varied across measures but, in general, indicated that dual-identity status affected children’s views of their ingroup. Specifically, dual-identity children in classrooms in which their status was not verified were more likely to (a) perceive themselves as similar to other ingroup members (i.e., bicolored children), (b) want to keep their shirt color, and (c) assume that a new student would want their shirt color more than their single-identity peers. They also showed higher levels of ingroup bias in their competency ratings of groups than their single-identity peers, and demonstrated greater cognitive flexibility when thinking about social categories than their single-identity peers. Overall, these results suggest that dual-identity children experience identity issues differently than their single-identity peers and that additional theories are needed to address the complexities of social membership and bias among children with dual memberships.

Table of Contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Chapter One: Introduction and Literature Review
  • Introduction
  • Theoretical Background
  • Single- Versus Dual-Group Identity
  • Contextual, Individual Differences and Developmental Factors
• Chapter Two: Method
  • Participants
  • Overview of Procedure
  • Experimental Conditions
  • Posttest Measures
  • Views of Group Membership
  • Categorization Complexity
  • Conformity
• Chapter Three: Results
  • Overview
  • Effects of Identity Status and Condition on Views of Group Membership
  • Effects of Identity Status on Intergroup Attitudes
  • Categorization Task
  • Individual and Developmental Differences
• Chapter Four: Discussion
• Figure
• Tables
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Intergroup Outcome Measures
  • Appendix B: Conformity
  • Appendix C: Sample of Presidential Poster
  • Appendix D: Novel Categorization Stimuli
• References
• Vita

List of Figures

• Figure 1: Average Scores of Similarity to a Child’s In-Group Across Conditions and Identities

List of Tables

• Table 1: Participant Characteristics Across Conditions
• Table 2: Means (and Standard Deviations) for Posttest Measures Across Conditions and Identities
• Table 3: HLM Results for the Predictors of Children’s Ratings for Group Importance, Happiness, and Similarity
• Table 4: HLM Results for the Interactions of Predictors of Children’s Ratings of Similarity
• Table 5: HLM Results for Predictors of Children’s Ratings for Peer Preferences and Traits
• Table 6: HLM Results for Predictors of Children’s Ratings of Group Competencies
• Table 7: HLM Results for Predictors of Children’s Novel Categorization Task
• Table 8: Percentage of Children who Desired to Change their Shirt to Red, Blue, or Bicolored Across Identities
• Table 9: Percentage of Children who Desired to Change their Shirt to Red, Blue, or Bicolored Across Conditions
• Table 10: Percentage of Children Wanting to Keep their Group Membership
• Table 11: Percentage of Children Wanting to Keep their Group Membership Across Conditions
• Table 12: Percentage of Children Predicting a New Student’s Preference of Shirt Color Across Identities
• Table 13: Percentage of Children by Condition Predicting a New Student’s Preference of Shirt Color Across Conditions
• Table 14: Percentage of Children Predicting a New Student’s Preference of Shirt Color Across Conditions and Identities
• Table 15 Means and Standard Errors of Self-Group Similarity Across Identity
• Table 16: Means and Standard Errors of In-Group Peer Preference Across Conditions
• Table 17: Intergroup Correlation Matrix
• Table 18: Betas of Age, Conformity, and Manipulation on Dependent Variables

Read the entire dissertation here.

Racial Queer: Multiracial College Students at the Intersection of Identity, Education and Agency

University of Texas, Austin
May 2010
495 pages

Aurora Chang-Ross

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas a Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin

Racial Queer is a qualitative study of Multiracial college students with a critical ethnographic component. The design methods, grounded in Critical Race Methodology and Feminist Thought (both theories that inform Critical Ethnography), include: 1) 25 semi-structured interviews of Multiracial students, 2) of which 5 were expanded into case studies, 3) 3 focus groups, 4) observations of the sole registered student organization for Multiracial students on Central University’s campus, 5) field notes and 6) document analysis. The dissertation examines the following question: How do Multiracial students understand and experience their racialized identities within a large, public, tier-one research university in Texas? In addition, it addresses the following sub-questions: How do Multiracial students experience their racialized identities in their everyday interactions with others, in relation to their own self-perceptions and in response to the way others perceive them to be? How do Multiracial students’ positionalities, as they relate to power, privilege, phenotype and status, guide their behavior in different contexts and situations?

Using Holland et al.’s (1998) social practice theory of self and identity, Chicana Feminist Theory, and tenets of Queer Theory, this study illustrates how Multiracial college students utilize agency as racial queers to construct and negotiate their identities within a context where identity is both self-constructed and produced for them. I introduce the term, racial queer, to frame the unconventional space of the Multiracial individual. I use this term not to convey sexuality, but to convey the parallels of queerness (both as a term of empowerment and derogation) as they pertain to being Multiracial. In other words, queerness denotes a unique individuality as well as a deviation from the norm (Sullivan, 2003; Warner, 1993; Gamson, 2000).

The primary purpose of this study is to illustrate the agentic ways in which Multiracial college students come to understand and experience the complexity of their racialized identity production. Preliminary findings suggest the need to expand the scope of racial discourses to include Multiracial experiences and for further study of Multiracial students. Their counter-narratives access an otherwise invisible student population, providing an opportunity to broaden critical discourses around education and race.

Table of Contents

• Chapter One: Introduction
  • An Autobiographical Preface
  • Overview of Study
  • Research Question
  • Importance of the Topic
  • Outline of Study
• Chapter Two: Literature Review
  • Introduction
  • Critical Race Theory and the Social Construction/Lived Experience of Race
  • The Multiracial Population – The Census: “Check One or More”
  • Historical Origins of Multiraciality in the United States.
  • Multiracials as Underrepresented Group – One Step Forward or Backward?
  • Racial Identity Development Theories and Models – An Overview
  • Multiracial College Students
  • Student Development Theory & Campus Climate
  • Education and Multiracial Students
  • Conceptual Framework
    • Introduction
    • Social Practice Theory of Self and Identity
    • Chicana Feminist Theory
    • Tenets of Queer Theory
    • Racial Queer
• Chapter Three: Methodology
  • Reflections of a Multiracial Researcher
  • Genealogy of Methodology
  • Research Overview
  • Why Qualitative Research?
  • Setting
  • Participants
  • Selection Criteria
  • Counter Storytelling
  • Methods Rooted in Feminist Thought
  • Observations
  • Field Notes
  • Interviews
  • Case Studies
  • Focus Groups
  • Data Management and Analysis
  • Researcher’s Positionality
  • Making Sense of Methods
• Chapter Four: Portraits of Racial Queers
  • Introduction to Participant Narratives
  • Participant Narratives
    • Dee-Dee
    • Solomon
    • May
    • Jonathan
    • Melissa
    • Conclusion
• Chapter Five: Themes – Understanding and Experiencing Multiracial
  • Identity
  • Introduction
  • Racial Rubric – “I don’t have a racial rubric to follow.”
  • Racial Disclosure – “I couldn’t be passive about it. And I just told this girl, No! I am Hispanic!”
  • Identity Fusion – “There’s little way of being able to separate all of those identities out.”
  • Multiracial Entitlement–“ I felt more entitled to the [Multiracial] label.”
  • Development of Portraits/Narratives
  • Discussion
  • Agency
  • Culturally Responsive Teaching and Hidden Curriculum
  • Conclusion
• Chapter Six: Multiracial Students in the Daily Practice of Schooling
  • Introduction
  • Learning the meaning of race at school
  • General Findings
    • Identity
    • Findings Specific to Multiracial Identity
    • The Politics of racial identification terminology
    • Negotiating and Strategizing – Racial Identity and Relationships
    • Phenotype Matters
    • Collective Experiences – Multiracials as Community
    • Skills, Intuition and Perspective – Lessons in Constructing Multiracial Identity
    • Implications and Significance
    • Expansion of Racial Discourses-Challenging Racial
    • Inclusivity
    • Rethinking and Reevaluating of Educational Public Policies
  • Final Thoughts
  • Reflections of a Native Researcher
  • Recommendations for Future Research
  • Lessons Learned
• Appendix
  • -A Brief Genealogy
  • -Email to Participants
  • -Interview Questions and Prompts
  • -Informed Consent to Participate In Research
• References
• Vita

Read the entire dissertation here.

AAS 310: Constructing and Negotiating Multiracial Identity

University of Texas, Austin
Center for Asian American Studies
Fall 2008

This course serves as an introduction to the experiences of biracial and multiracial people, specifically with a focus on “mixed”/hapa Asian American, African American and Latino people in the U.S., concentrating on theories of race, racial identity formation, culture, media, and social justice struggles. As such, it presents the major themes and issues in a new and growing interdisciplinary field of scholarly research and cultural production.

Throughout the semester, the goal is to foster a classroom environment which will become a community space in which the beliefs and attitudes of all participants are respectfully considered.

For more information, click here.

Race and health care: problems with using race to classify, assess, and treat patients

University of Texas
May 2010
64 pages

Atalie Nitibhon

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Affairs

Though racial classifications may serve as a mechanism for identifying and correcting disparities among various groups, using such classifications in a clinical setting to detect and treat patient needs can be problematic. This report explores how medical professionals and researchers use race in health care for purposes of data collection, risk assessment, and diagnosis and treatment options. Using mixed race individuals as an example, it then discusses some of the problems associated with using race to group individuals, assess risk, and inform patient care. Finally, it discusses how certain components of personalized medicine, such as genetic testing, Electronic Health Records, and Rapid Learning Systems could help address some of the concerns that arise from the application of race in a health care setting.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: Introduction
  • What is Race?
• Chapter 2: Race and Health Care
  • Data Collection/Health Statistics
  • Risk Assessment
  • Diagnosis/Treatment
• Chapter 3: The Case of Mixed Race
• Chapter 4: Addressing the Issue
  • Genetic Testing
  • Genetic Testing Policy
    • Privacy and Security
    • Accuracy
    • Medical Education
    • Access
    • Research
  • Electronic Health Records and Rapid Learning Systems
  • Electronic Health Records Policy
  • Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records
• Chapter 5: Conclusion
• References
• Vita

…Chapter 3: The Case of Mixed Race

As mentioned during the previous discussion entitled “What is Race?”, no such thing as “pure race” exists, so it stands to reason that everyone is, to some degree, “multiracial” or of “mixed race.” However, for the purposes of this discussion, the terms “multiracial,” “mixed race,” and “mixed heritage” refer to individuals with parents who are classified as being from two distinct racial or ethnic categories. Mixed heritage individuals described by such a definition provide an excellent example of some of the problems associated with relying on race to classify individuals, assess risk, or inform patient care.

Racial identification, either on the part of the individual or by an external actor (e.g., a medical professional) is an area of concern, particularly in terms of the reliability of using race to assess health risk. For example, an individual who has one black parent and one Hispanic parent may self-identify as only one or the other. If she identifies as black and does not think to share the racial or ethnic identities of both of her parents with the medical professionals administering care, how comprehensive will the patient assessment be? Or, if a patient has one Asian parent and one white parent, but a medical professional identifies her as Hispanic, what effects does that external misidentification have on the adequacy, accuracy, and equitability of the physician’s assessment of the patient? Furthermore, patients do not inform health care professionals that they believe they have disease X, thus allowing the clinician to then administer exams to confirm that diagnosis. Instead, patients present a list of symptoms to their physician, and then expect a diagnosis and treatment. While most physicians will follow proper medical protocol in assessing and diagnosing a patient, her beliefs and biases, however well-meaning they may be, could influence the type of treatment the patient receives. Thus, if the physician believes the Asian/White patient to be Hispanic, the physician’s perceptions about Hispanics in the health care setting may subconsciously influence her assessment and care of the patient…

…In general, the absence of options for multiethnic or multiracial individuals reveals part of the problem in using race as a risk assessment tool: it neglects to account for the extent of genetic variation that underlies the concept of race. Thus, not only does it disregard a number of people who do not fit neatly into any of the given categories, but it may also misgauge the genetic contributions of individuals who do select a specific race or ethnicity with which they identify socially….

…The 2000 Census marked the first time individuals had the option to “mark one or more” race; the resulting data reveal that nearly 7-million individuals self-identified as multiple races. Another study projects that individuals who self-identify as mixed race will make up 21 percent of the population by 2050. The growing number of individuals who self-identify as multiracial indicates that the “traditional” methods of grouping people according to race need reassessment. Similarly, the manner in which medical professionals consider race to inform patient care needs reassessment. Nonetheless, inclusion of the option to mark one or more on the Census does not mean that mixed heritage individuals are a new “phenomenon.” Recalling the idea that nobody is purely one race, it stands to reason that doctors have been treating “mixed heritage” patients for quite some time now. In some respects, that illustrates the notion that the actual “race” of an individual is irrelevant; the only way to treat the patient is to treat the patient…

Read the entire thesis here.