Blog Four: Cluster Connections

As a transfer student I was a bit surprised when I went to new student registration and was handed a packet of pre sorted classes with assigned times and a common theme. As I looked through the different options Race and Culture was among the few that caught my eye.  I was curious about how this idea of the cluster classes would work out and now that we are about halfway through the semester I understand why cluster courses are successful. All of my classes are interrelated and focus on basically the same core principle. This connection has been extremely helpful with understanding all the material and being able to make connection even helps participation grades. At the same time each class and professor takes this common theme and further elaborates in different aspects. Overall we came across several common key words and ideologies in all our classes. One common idea among the three classes is that Race is not in fact a biological concept. Instead it is a cultural logic that we use to classify one another. In all three classes we discuss racial discrimination and power in different areas and towards different groups of people. In Slave and Citizen, Tannenbaum provides evidence of the slave system in areas outside of America such as Portugal, Brazil and Spain. In Cultural Anthropology we read a few articles that focus on African Americans during and post slavery adapting to several countries such as “ The Black Diaspora in Costa Rica” and “Blessed Anastacia”. The connection among the courses really offered insight because one of the predominant issues is that race is not real and we created it. I find it interesting that we ourselves created this elusive barrier of race that is responsible for much of the injustice throughout history and present in the world. I’ve acknowledged the fact that we ultimately may never be color blind because we live by this set of rules that involve a hierarchy based on race and gender. I am pleasantly surprised at how effective the cluster courses can be and believe it would be beneficial for freshman and new students to experience this during their first semester to help with the transition process. What I enjoy about these courses the most is that they pose challenging questions such as how we would describe ourselves when asked about our ethnicity or race. Another thing I find extremely refreshing is that our professors give us information and news that most people are not aware of. As students we appreciate not being taught simply based on a syllabus. We like receiving other information such as global/internal affairs or the hidden support of drug cartels in governments because it makes us feel as if receiving this information is a sign that we are respected not just as students but also as adults and intellectual minds. This would be ideal if it were part of each student’s college experience in every class all throughout America.