Average Asian [Video]

There are so many stereotypes about Asians - but like most stereotypes, one size does NOT fit all. Despite this, few people talk about those stereotypes influence Asian's identity and sense of self.  Additionally, some people feel that Asian jokes are okay. But are they? A few videos to get the conversation going. The first video is a parody called "Asian but not smart" The second link is from MAD TV's. They produced a series of sketches called the "Average Asian". The song and the skits are over the top, but can certainly start a discussion on these topics.

Global Census [Interactive Feature]

The concept of race as a social construction can be hard for many students to grasp. One thing that helps them understand this concept a bit better is when they see how race is categorized differently in different parts of the world.

The RACE Project put together a cool interactive activity to help people understand this. The Global Census allows students to take the Census in 9 different nations.  This activity is a great way to talk to students about how and why we construct race categories the way that we do.

http://www.understandingrace.org/lived/global_census.html

The site also has an interactive timeline that gives some insight on race and history and a number of other interactive activities including those shown in the image file above. I will likely write about some of those features as I use them in class. [ Click through to this link to get to that page: http://www.understandingrace.org/lived/game/index.html ]