Understanding Race and Racism

This course examines the history of race and racism—key analytical constructs that express fundamental issues not only of power and inequality, but also of justice, democracy, equity, and emancipation. The study of race in the social sciences and humanities is an established, dynamic, multidisciplinary, and international field. To understand race and racism with a global perspective, it is necessary to have a trans-disciplinary, cross-cultural view to critically read the phenomena that intersect with this variable. Course readings are drawn from the fields of African and African American studies, sociology, history, cultural studies, political science, anthropology, philosophy, journalism, and public health. The vast literature produced by scholars in diverse fields provides evidence of how race is based on narratives created to enslave, subordinate, exploit, and exclude millions of human beings across the globe. Assignments address pressing real-world questions related to race and racism, as well as pedagogically significant areas of intellectual and academic development.