Politics of Racial Knowledge (304-0-20)

Instructors

Vilna Bashi
Vilna Bashi is the William and Cathy Osborn Professor of Sociology, and Faculty Fellow of the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. She is also a visual artist. She specializes in global inequality, race and ethnicity, and international migration. Bashi is the 2020 recipient of the Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award from the American Sociological Association for scholarship in service to social justice. Her book The Ethnic Project: Transforming Racial Fiction into Ethnic Factions was honored by placement on the Zora Canon, a list of the top 100 books ever written by an African American woman.

Meeting Info

University Hall 102: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course examines historical and contemporary manifestations of racism/ethnocentrism/xenophobia/nationalism, concepts that harken to ideas of ancestry and difference. We will explore together theoretical approaches to understanding the social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of racial social hierarchy. The course centers on racialization (how individuals/groups are sorted into races), global and local racial paradigms (the rules of race-making and racial assignment), and why these denigrating mechanisms are so difficult to eradicate. We also touch on histories of racialized chattel enslavement and colonialism, learn what antiracism is, and ponder whether and how a race-/racism-free society might be achieved.

Learning Objectives

Students will: (1) ...study the science of racialization - racial categories, who is assigned to which ones, and how - and the fallacious justifications for racial differences among humans. (2) ...have a wholly new understanding of the phrase "race is a social construction" that enables them to knowledgeably discuss fallacies in racial thought. (3) … learn ethnicity's role in US racial hierarchy. (4) ...develop an reasoned opinion on what role racial knowledge should play in redressing racial exclusion.

Teaching Method

Lecture and group discussion

Evaluation Method

Participation, quizzes, memos, final paper

Class Materials (Required)

This course will have required books/other materials.

(Note: the NU Library has digital versions of two of these books. The third is available on the course Canvas site.)

Bashi Treitler, Vilna. 2013. The Ethnic Project: Transforming Racial Fiction into Ethnic Factions. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
ISBN-13: 978-0804757720

King, James C. 1981. The Biology of Race. University of California Press. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0520042247

Mills, Charles. 1999. The Racial Contract. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN-13: 978-150176428

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration is reserved for Sociology Majors and Minors.