Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (490-0-22)

Topic

Afrofeminists. Black Women challenging colorblindn

Instructors

Silyane Larcher

Meeting Info

Locy Hall 301: Thurs 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

"Afrofeminism" is the label coined by a new generation of Afrodescendant women, born in Europe (usually non-English-speaking) from African and Caribbean immigrant parents, to define black feminism from their specific positionality. The term aims not only to promote their multiple African heritages in Europe, but also to distinguish themselves from US Black Feminism. This triple gesture - linguistic, psycho-political, and cultural - calls for taking seriously the original formation and expressions of Black feminisms in diasporic and global contexts. It also implies analyzing the enduring consequences of colonialism of former European empires on the very soil of their metropoles through an intersectional perspective.

This course will therefore pay particular attention to the historical and social conditions of the
emergence of black feminist struggles against patriarchy, racial marginalization, and social inequality in a social and political context of white hegemony, where the very notion of "systemic racism" is generally considered as "imported from the United States". The materials and readings will give significant attention to France, approached here as a paradigmatic case of institutionalized race denial. Formerly a slave-owning colonial empire, transformed by the mass immigration of workers from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean in the 1960s, France still maintains ambiguous political and economic ties with these territories, while it actively excludes any reference to race from its official legislation, as it has made colorblindness the bedrock of its national republican ideology on the name of universalism. Students will also explore the impact of everyday racism and colorblindness on Black women in Europe more broadly through readings about Germany and the Netherlands, notably.

Registration Requirements

Attendance at first class in mandatory

Learning Objectives

Develop critical skills (knowledge and thinking) about gender and race in Europe, and develop a global perspective on Black women.

Teaching Method

Class participation, readings, discussion, presentations, seminar style, writing assignments

Evaluation Method

attendance, class participation, writing papers, homework.

Class Materials (Suggested)

books, scholarly articles, movies, and exhibition (tbd)

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration is reserved for Gender & Sexuality Studies students