Sociology has been looking at race and racism since the second half of the 19th century. The aim of this module is the critical understanding of race as one of the most deep-rooted principles organizing both the material and the symbolic structures of society in hierarchies of moral worth. Racism, as coterminous and direct extension of race, will be scrutinized in its most evident manifestations, from everyday contingencies to socio-spatial urban inequalities, textured by global capitalism. Race and racism will be presented and discussed from a historical and comparative sociological perspective, detecting both a comprehensive genealogy of racism across various imperial colonial projects, and the key and intersectional forms of racist exclusion within dominant manifestations of contemporary neoliberalism (e.g. recent global wars; the financialization of the economy, and the pluralization and privatization of detention).
The module starts with a theoretical and historical overview of race and racism, and continues with a series of specific themes including “The racial state”; “Everyday racism”; “Racism and the city”, “Intersectionality”, and “(Post-)Race, racism and neoliberalism”. Parallel to these emphases runs an in-depth examination of European colonialism, which is developed in every class by watching and discussing a brief excerpt of the 3-hour BBC documentary "Racism: A history" (2007), directed by Paul Tickell. Europe as a historical and sociological formation will be a privileged focus throughout.
The module is organized neither as a structured lecture series nor as a free-floating seminar. Rather, at the beginning of each class the lecturer will provide a background summary of the theme, before starting a collective discussion. You are not expected to already have knowledge on the subject, but only background knowledge in any of the social sciences and the readiness to read and engage in discussions. Two readings per class are mandatory, and optional readings will be suggested. You will be asked to initiate discussions on the readings by bringing to the group your critical question(s).
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Form a theoretically and historically grounded understanding of the main ways in which race and racism operate
Outline and critically discuss different dimensions of inequalities, including class, gender and race in understanding different social structures and agencies
Being able to critically deconstruct generalizations from specific racist manifestations to grand pictures, and to gain the ability of dissecting the contextual specificities of racism
Critically analyse and recognize the modalities of oblivion, neglect and denial of race, especially in post-WWII Europe, and yet to understand why many of us have a hard time accepting the centrality of race in society
Critically analyse and historicize the making of Europe as a hegemonic global power
Form a solid, contextualized and critical understanding of the ways in which racism can be opposed, both in theory and in practice
