Instructor: Lucas Johnson
Time: Tu, Th 9:30 am - 10:59 am
Units: 4
Course Number: 32770
Anthropology of Race, Ethnicity, and Identity The concept of race was once thought to be dead (or at least waning) in the US, but as we can see without really searching the news headlines, race, racialization, and racism impact us all either directly or indirectly. Also, often asserted, some people might claim that if you stop thinking racially or about race, the idea and various effects of race will simply disappear overtime. In reality, actively working to understand race today, its historical roots, global particularities and impacts on individuals and groups proves a recommended approach to learn how we can confront and overcome the negative consequences of racism. As can be seen almost daily, becoming an activist pushing back against the negativity towards diversity requires historically contextualized knowledge. In this course we will talk about various issues through an anthropological lens by looking historically and contextually about how we got to our current racial atmosphere in the US and how race is articulated globally. We ground much of our historical analysis by exploring how race is another way for humans to categorize their world, only this way of categorization can and does have significant negative consequences. Because anthropology thinks globally, we will look at the concept and reality of race in other countries/cultures and therefore explore how race is not necessarily a generalizable concept or perceived in the same way everywhere. In this course, we will talk openly and students will likely reach beyond their comfort zone while assesses texts and various case studies with interrelated topics. In the end, student should have a greater understanding of how identities are (re)constructed and structured in relation to social constructions such as race.
Requirements Course Fulfills
Biological Sciences, L&S Breadth