School of Public Affairs and Governance

Silliman University

SYLLABUS

In

FOA 16: Ethno-Political Landscape

Prepared by: Regan P. Jomao-as

Silliman University
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Vision:
To be a leading Christian institution committed to total human
development for the well-being of society and environment

Mission:
1.
Infuse into the academic learning the Christian faith anchored on the
gospel of Jesus Christ; provide an environment where Christian fellowship
and relationship can be nurtured and promoted.
2.
Provide opportunities for growth and excellence in every dimension of
University life in order to strengthen character, competence and faith.
3.
Instill in all members of the University community an enlightened
social consciousness and a deep sense of justice and compassion.
4.

Promote unity among peoples and contribute to national development.

Meetings: 5:30 am 7:00 pm, TTH, KH21

Instructor: Regan P. Jomao-as
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Office Phone number: 422-6002 local 355

Email address: reganj68@yahoo.com
Course Description: ETHNO-POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
This course attempts to examine the role of ethnic groups in political
analysis. It is structured around questions that suggest some of the major
themes that we will consider in this course. These questions include: What
are ethnic (racial, national, etc.) groups and why might they matter for
political behavior? What are the sources of ethnic identity, and what are the
political consequences of ethnic divisions? What are the consequences of
variation in ethnic demographies on political outcomes? And how do political
institutions in turn shape, constrain or foment ethnic conflict?
To
develop
possible
answers
to
these
questions,
discussions/presentations will include theoretical treatments as well as case
studies mainly from Southeast Asia as well as South Asia and Africa. One
objective of this course is to compare and contrast the strengths and
limitations of distinct approaches to understanding ethnicity and to analyzing
its political consequences. We will begin by discussing different approaches
to defining and conceptualizing ethnic identity, including those that stress
the enduring and fixed nature of ethnic groups (sometimes called
primordial approaches) and those that emphasize that ethnic identities
may be shaped and changed by various social and political processes (e.g.
constructivist approach). At times we will construe ethnicity broadly,
discussing sectarian divisions based on language, race, and even religion.
We will also focus to some extent on armed conflict and civil war between
ethnic groups as one possible pole of ethnic relations and as the continuation
of ethnic politics by other means.
Objectives:
At the end of course, the student will be able to:
1. Know the attributes/elements of ethnicity;
2. Identify the major ethnic groups in selected countries in Southeast
Asia, South Asia, and Africa;
3. Determine the connection between ethnicity and politics;
4. Understand the tensions created between ethnic groups and its
political impact.
Course Structure/Approach:

Class
sessions
consist
of
lectures,
discussions
of
readings,
presentation/discussion of audio-visual material, and possible student
presentations/reports. This course requires active participation, thus,
attendance is important and is expected. Assignments will be given regularly
to promote participation.
Readings:
(Listed in the course outline)
Requirements:
1. Reading: The Course Outline lists the required readings for this course per
topic. You will be expected to have completed all the required readings
before class to the point where you can be called on to critique or defend any
reading. The reading loads are not especially heavy but you should aim to
read them carefully and reflectively. Skim over the reading to get a sense of
the themes it covers, and, before reading further, jot down what questions
you hope the reading will be able to answer for you. Then ask yourself: Are
the claims in the text surprising? Do you believe them? Can you think of
examples of places that do not seem consistent with the logic of the
argument? Is the reading answering the questions you hoped it would
answer? If not, is it answering more or less interesting questions than you
had thought of? Next ask yourself: What types of evidence or arguments
would you need to see in order to be convinced of the results? Now read
through the whole text, checking as you go through how the arguments used
support the claims of the author. It is rare to find a piece of writing that you
agree with entirely. So, as you come across issues that you are not convinced
by, write them down and bring them along to class for discussion. Also note
when you are pleasantly surprised, when the author produced a convincing
argument that you had not thought of. Some of the readings are available
on-line others will be provided by the instructor.
2. Class participation (10%). You will be expected to participate in class each
meeting. You should come prepared to answer and raise questions, argue
and defend assigned and unassigned topics.
3. Reporting/Presentation (25%). You will be expected to write and present
reports on selected topics/case studies related to the course. The
presentations will focus mainly on the ethnic conflicts in the regions covered
by this course. Reporting will either be individual or as a group. The manner
of the presentation will be discussed in detail in class.
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4. Mid-term and final examinations (30%; each worth 15%).

These may be in-class or take-home. Guidelines will be provided one week
before each exam.
5. Other Tests (25%)
There will be four or five regular tests or quizzes. The tests will consist of one
or a combination of the following: multiple choice, true or false, matching,
short identifications, or an essay question covering the content of the
lectures/presentations.
Grading System:
Overall participation in class discussions
Mid-term and Final Examinations (2 x 15%)
Tests/Quizzes
Assignments/Reports/Presentations
Attendance
=
Total

10%
=
30%
25%
25%

=
=
10%
100%

Grading Scale:
90-100% = 3.8-4.0; 80-89% = 3.3-3.7; 70-79% = 2.8-3.2; 60-69% =
2.3-2.7; 50-59% = 1.8-2.2; 40-49% = 1.3-1.7; 35-39% = 1.0-1.2; below 35%
=F

Course Outline
I.

Introduction and overview of the class

Jared Diamond. Speedboat to Polynesia, Guns, germs, and steel: the
fates of human societies. N.Y., USA: W.W. Norton & Co., pp. 336 353.

II.

What is ethnicity and when is it politically important?

A. What is Ethnicity?
1. Chandra, Kanchan. 2006. What is Ethnic Identity and Does it
Matter?
Read pp. 1-29. Available at
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/politics/faculty/chandra/chandra_home.h
tml also available at
http://politics.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/2587/Chandra2006WhatisEthnicIdentity.pdf

2. Rogers Brubaker. Ethnicity without groups. European Journal of

Sociology (2002), 43:
163189
http://bev.berkeley.edu/Ethnic%20Religious%20Conflict/Ethnic%20and
%20Religious%20Conflict/1%20Identity/Ethnicity%20without
%20Groups%20Brubaker.pdf
3. JD Fearon. Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country, Journal of
Economic
Growth (2003).
https://web.stanford.edu/group/fearon-research/cgi-bin/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/Ethnic-and-Cultural-Diversity-by-Country.pdf
Further readings:
Maggie Penn. Citizenship versus ethnicity: The role of institutions in
shaping identity choice, (2007).
http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/epenn/files/Citizenship_Versus_Ethnicity.
pdf?m=1360038867
Robert Kurzban, John Tooby, and Leda Cosmides Robert Kurzban. 2001.
Can race be
erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization.
http://www.pnas.org/content/98/26/15387.full.pdf
B. How does ethnicity shape politics?
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/global_ethics/kenya.ht
m
III.

Ethnic Violence/Conflict
A.

Ethnic Conflict as politics by the other means

One way to view ethnic war, like other wars, might be to call it the
continuation of politics by other means. What is the relationship of
ethnic competition through peaceful institutions like elections under
democracies and the emergence of armed ethnic conflict? Is there
something unique about ethnic wars relative to other kinds of
conflicts?
1. Kalyvas, Stathis. 2006. The Logic of Violence in Civil War.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 173-182; 195-209;
364-392. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.163.6348&rep=rep1&type=pdf
2. James Fearon. Ethnic Mobilization and Ethnic Violence, In Barry R.
Weingast and Donald Wittman, eds., Oxford Handbook of Political
Economy (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
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http://www.stanford.edu/~jfearon/papers/ethreview.pdf or at
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.463.7008&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Further readings:
1. Debraj Ray and J. Esteban, September 2005. A Model of Ethnic
Conflict
http://www.nyu.edu/econ/user/debraj/Papers/EthnicConflict.pdf or at
http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/Papers/EthnicConflict.pdf
2. Debraj Ray, Joan Esteban, and Laura Mayoral Ethnicity and
Conflict: An Empirical Study. American Economic Review (2012),
102(4): 13101342.
http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/Papers/EstebanMayoralRayAE
R.pdf
Film Showing: Hotel Rwanda (open to suggestion)
IV.

Presentation of Reports/Case Studies on Ethnic Conflict/Violence