在《黑人的靈魂》(1903年) 這本書中，偉大的文化批評家W. E. B. Du Bois如是說：「…二十世紀的問題在於種族分歧。」在Du Bois 寫了這段話的一個世紀之後，大多數美國人應該同意，種族分歧在二十一世紀初期依然是我們最迫切的社會問題之一。在本課程中，我們將會藉著研讀有色人種作家所創作或與種族事務相關的作品，以及觀看討論種族問題的影片，以探索美國種族的相關領域，並藉由寫作來觀察我們的生活，包括非正式或正式、私下或公開的場合，如何制約於種族相關的小說和事實。我們將思考種族認同的複雜問題，暴露較被迴避或完全壓抑的過去，以質疑既定的歷史，並研究如何用寫作和閱讀來表達和面對種族的種類、階級、看法。這些相關閱讀雖奇妙卻又叫人不安，而你們的寫作則將增進你們和你們讀者的理解範疇。

In The Souls of Black Folk (1903), the great cultural critic W. E. B. Du Bois wrote that "…the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line." A century after Du Bois penned those words, most Americans would agree that at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the color line remains one of our most pressing social issues. In this course, we will explore the terrain of race in America by reading the works of writers of color and others concerned with the issue of race, by viewing films that address racial issues, and by writing to explore how the fictions and facts of race condition all our lives, social and civic, private and public. We will consider the complex question of racial identity, test the givens of history by uncovering histories that have been more elusive or more thoroughly suppressed, and explore how writing and reading can both reflect and challenge racial categories, hierarchies, and perceptions. The reading is at once wonderful and disturbing, and the writing you will do will open up arenas of increased understanding for both you and your readers.