Race Matters ((3))

Catalog description

Most of us take it as given that we are members of some race (or races) and that race is a salient aspect of our social identities and social worlds. We also know that race is central to common debates about power, justice, fairness, and discrimination in our society. Though we may use the concepts of race, racism, or racial justice often, we talk surprisingly little about what these terms actually mean. This course will offer a critical introduction to the study of race in its metaphysical, epistemological, and ethico-political aspects. We will examine philosophical arguments about the ontological status of race (what race is) and about the practical effects that racial categories have on our lives (what race does). This course also offers an examination of racism in its cultural, institutional, and systemic forms, as well as in its individual manifestations as slurs, beliefs, and habitual attitudes. Finally, we will reflect on contemporary movements for racial justice as potential responses to these various forms of racism.