Race & Society

Interdisciplinary Themes

Bass Connections projects, courses and summer programs are aligned with the following themes:

Led by the Social Science Research Institute

Nearly every facet of society and our lives — including how and where we live, learn, work and play — is shaped by race. While extensive research has revealed that race is a biological fiction, the social construct of race has very real consequences. Growing evidence shows that deep and broad racial inequities in our society are the results of historical and contemporary racism embedded in ideologies, norms, spaces, structures, and institutional policies and practices.

Bass Connections in Race & Society supports interdisciplinary teams of faculty, students and external partners in their exploration of race-related issues, ultimately contributing to solutions that bring about more racially equitable societies. We encourage projects that investigate how race intersects with various aspects of society and lived experience (e.g., environment, human development, immigration, health and healthcare, music, art, literature, history, education, economy, gender and sexuality, work, religion, STEM, policy, community life).

Race & Society Project Teams

Image: team members sharing a meal around a table at a restaurant. Photo by Courtney Crumpler, used with permission.

This project will bring together scholars, artists and students from Duke, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Instituto Enraizados, and the Federal Rural University in Rio de Janeiro to investigate key forms of activism and cultural organizing ranging from Black, women’s and LGBTQ+ movements... Read more about Activism, Culture and Education for Citizenship in Brazil and the U.S. (2024-2025) »


Image from Health and Environment Scholars @Duke website https://sites.duke.edu/hesp/

This project seeks to diversify STEM fields by providing educational modules and mentorship for high school students and providing teachers with training on how to use our curriculum in their own classrooms. Read more about Enhancing Diversity in STEM Careers Through Mentored Training (2024-2025) »


Information.

This project team will conduct a comprehensive inventory and analysis of race-based information inequalities. Read more about Information Inequalities and Public Policy (2024-2025) »


Surgery.

This project team will characterize clinical details for return to the ED within 30 to 90 days after orthopaedic surgery, and adjust clinical practice and discharge counseling in order to help combat any underlying racial disparity.   Read more about Racial Disparities in Emergency Department Return After Orthopaedic Surgery (2024-2025) »


Image from SALUD website https://sites.duke.edu/salud/

This project team will conduct a program evaluation of SALUD that will use qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum as well as the program’s acceptability and feasibility. Read more about Scholar Academy for Latinxs United for Diversity (SALUD) (2024-2025) »


Food.

This project team will explore Durham's organizational and resident barriers and facilitators to addressing food insecurity with a focus on federal programs and funding use. Read more about Tracing the Roots of Nutrition Access: University to Community (2024-2025) »


Neck.

This project team will evaluate the association of social determinants of health with racial and ethnic disparities in follow-up care for head and neck cancer patients, using both national and local data. Read more about Understanding Disparities to Follow-Up Care in Head and Neck Cancer (2024-2025) »


Image: At the 2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, by 2022-23 project team

This team will aim to understand how undergraduate computer science students, both inside and outside of the U.S., conceptualize, perceive and experience race within their university departments. Read more about Understanding Perceptions of Race Among Computer Science Undergraduates (2024-2025) »


Image: From 2022-23 project team, by Jamie Eaton

This project team will study how universities can better prepare their students for engagement with public schools, paying particular attention to equity, diversity and antiracist education. Read more about University-Assisted Community Schools (2024-2025) »


Race & Society Courses

Gateway Courses

EDUC 101: Reimaging Public Education

Fall 2024
Instructor: Amy Anderson

This course is an interdisciplinary examination of issues confronting the U.S. education system, incorporating historical, political, economical, philosophical and social perspectives. Students explore how cultural influences and differences have shaped public schools and participate in structured... Read more about Reimaging Public Education »


EDUC 101: Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Spring 2024
Instructor: Javier Wallace

This course is an interdisciplinary examination of issues confronting American education, incorporating historical, political, economical, philosophical and social perspectives. Students explore how cultural influences and differences have shaped public schools and participate in structured service... Read more about Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education »


Other Undergraduate Courses

EDUC 307S: Issues of Education and Immigration

Spring 2024
Instructor: Rebecca Amelia Ewing

This course explores topics such as Latino/a/x identities, educational pathways for Spanish-speakers in our community, relevant public policy and legislation, and social action. Read more about Issues of Education and Immigration »


SOCIOL 222: Just Laws: Inequalities in the U.S. Legal System

Fall 2024
Instructor: Jenifer Hamil-Luker

This course provides an overview of the inner workings and ethics of the United States criminal justice process, including criminal legislation, police procedures, courts and corrections. Students will explore case studies, empirical research, film, theories and policies to understand and evaluate... Read more about Just Laws: Inequalities in the U.S. Legal System »


SPANISH 316S: Global Humanities in Spanish

Fall 2024
Instructor: Joseph Mulligan

This course examines key humanistic contributions in peninsular, Latin American and Latinx contexts, as organized around comparative themes, regions and eras. Topics range from colonial/indigenous encounter to border studies, Cervantes to José Martí and Rosario Castellanos to Sandra Cisneros,... Read more about Global Humanities in Spanish »


SPANISH 316S: Global Humanities in Spanish

Spring 2024
Instructor: Joseph Mulligan

This course examines key humanistic contributions in peninsular, Latin American and Latinx contexts, as organized around comparative themes, regions and eras. Topics range from colonial/indigenous encounter to border studies, Cervantes to José Martí and Rosario Castellanos to Sandra Cisneros,... Read more about Global Humanities in Spanish »


Graduate Courses

BCS 806: Segregated Sundays: Church, Race, Class and Caste

Fall 2024
Instructor: Valerie Cooper

In this course, students undertake an interdisciplinary exploration of the racial dynamics of Protestant Christian worship in the United States. Read more about Segregated Sundays: Church, Race, Class and Caste »