In “Contemporary Race and Racisms,” we will read in history, sociology, anthropology, and ethnic studies about the formation of the idea of race and the reproduction of racial hierarchies at the individual and institutional levels. By beginning with the creation of the idea of race in the seventeenth century by Enlightenment scholars, we will learn how the idea of race was created by Europeans, and, consequently, was created to benefit Europeans. Students also will perceive that the benefits accrued to Europeans and their descendants through racial ideologies is constant – even as the idea of race changes over the centuries. This class has at its core the importance of the idea of race in the contemporary United States. We will focus on themes such as mass incarceration, color-blind racism, racial inequality in the education system, racial differences in wealth and income, and how race, class, gender and sexuality work together to define social boundaries in our society.
Readings will include:
Audrey Smedley (2007) Race in North America
Stephen Gould (1996) Mismeasure of Man
Ian Haney-Lopez (2006) White by Law
Matthew Frye-Jacobson (1999) Whiteness of a Different Color
Omi and Winant (1986) Racial Formations
Oliver and Shapiro (2006) Black Wealth/White Wealth
Michele Alexander (2010) The New Jim Crow
Devah Pager (2009) Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration
Ann Arnett Ferguson (2001) Bad Boys
Prudence Carter (2007) Keepin’ It Real
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (2009) Racism without Racists
Patricia Hill Collins (2005) Black Sexual Politics.
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