Professor
Karen Kaufmann
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - This class gives an introduction to how US federal policy - both before and after the passage of the Civil Rights Act - engineered, permitted, and maintained residential segregation. It also explained the mechanisms by which segregation intensifies and perpetuates economic and social inequalities. It felt like information that *should* be common knowledge, but might not be. Professor Kaufmann's teaching style was engaging and very accessible. Grading was straightforward, generous, and all expectations were crystal clear -- there was no busywork and to do well on exams you had to understand the main points covered, as emphasized by her lectures, rather than memorize many unimportant details. Because Professor Kaufmann was friendly and supportive, students shared their personal experiences, which made the class even more interesting and thought-provoking.
Fall 2019 - This class gives an introduction to how US federal policy - both before and after the passage of the Civil Rights Act - engineered, permitted, and maintained residential segregation. It also explained the mechanisms by which segregation intensifies and perpetuates economic and social inequalities. It felt like information that *should* be common knowledge, but might not be. Professor Kaufmann's teaching style was engaging and very accessible. Grading was straightforward, generous, and all expectations were crystal clear -- there was no busywork and to do well on exams you had to understand the main points covered, as emphasized by her lectures, rather than memorize many unimportant details. Because Professor Kaufmann was friendly and supportive, students shared their personal experiences, which made the class even more interesting and thought-provoking.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - I did not appreciate the white savior mentality and rhetoric through 1- blaming minorities and their communities for staying in their neighborhoods as if there has not been a history of white hostility that continues to exist, 2- blaming Black men for their community’s outcomes when there have been social and institutional barriers that have put Black people in an unequal and constant state of jeopardy and emergency, 3- the continued rhetoric of observing “ghettos” from the outs as a violent, dangerous, and threatening place as if it is not the home and space of many ethnic minorities, 4- referring to Black people as “blacks” continuously which is outdated and offensive, and so many more instances in which I felt ostracized in a class that studied spaces in which I grew up in.
Spring 2021 - I did not appreciate the white savior mentality and rhetoric through 1- blaming minorities and their communities for staying in their neighborhoods as if there has not been a history of white hostility that continues to exist, 2- blaming Black men for their community’s outcomes when there have been social and institutional barriers that have put Black people in an unequal and constant state of jeopardy and emergency, 3- the continued rhetoric of observing “ghettos” from the outs as a violent, dangerous, and threatening place as if it is not the home and space of many ethnic minorities, 4- referring to Black people as “blacks” continuously which is outdated and offensive, and so many more instances in which I felt ostracized in a class that studied spaces in which I grew up in.
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