| Unit name | Race |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30117 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sam Hitchmough |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
none |
| Co-requisites |
none |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What makes people different? Do collective identities represent biological realities? What is culture? Is ethnicity merely a cipher for race? How does race interact with the categories of gender and class? This unit examines the historical development of Western ideas of race, and how racialised identities are constructed and maintained, through a series of thematic case-studies that seek to reveal some of the myriad dynamics underpinning notions of race.
These will include discussions through various lenses such as intersectionality, identity formation, activism and protest, violence, national narratives (of memory and identity), the media and popular cultural imagination.
The seminar topics will promote reflection on the relationships between these concepts, and the ways in which difference has become a fundamental factor in the understanding of humanity.
Successful students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of theories and concepts relevant to the history of race, culture and difference across a temporal and geographic range
2. Apply an understanding of critical and theoretical reading to specific issues articulated in relevant primary and secondary sources
3. Identify and present pertinent evidence to develop a cogent argument;
4. Present complex historical ideas in oral and written formats to a standard appropriate for level H/6.
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
1 x 2500-word Essay (50%), ILOs 1-4 1 x Timed Assessment (50%), ILOs 1-4 1 x Formative Presentation, ILOs 1-4
Bressey, Caroline and Claire Dwyer (eds), New Geographies of Race and Racism (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008)
Fryer, Peter, Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain (Pluto Press, 1995)
Gilroy, Paul, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation (London: Hutchinson Education, 1987)
Kendi, Ibrahim, Stamped from the Beginning. The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (New York: Nation Books, 2016).
Stoler, Ann Laura, Race and the Education of Desire: Foucault's History of Sexuality and the Colonial Order of Things (Durham: Duke University Press, 1995)
Stepan, Nancy, The Idea of Race in Science: Great Britain 1800-1960 (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987
