Philosophy of Gender and Race

Catalog description

Philosophers have approached questions about race, gender, and sex in a variety of ways including ontological questions about race and gender (ex: Are these “natural” or “essential” characteristics? Or are they social/cultural constructs? How are race and gender related to questions about identity?) and questions about social justice (ex: Theories of oppression including how various types of oppression and privilege can intertwine.) This class will focus on some combination of these questions, but may be weighted more heavily toward one than the other in any given semester. This class will also use a broad understanding of race and gender as it will likely include discussion of ethnicities, nationalities, and sexuality.