First-Year Research Seminar: Philosophical Approaches to Identity

Catalog description

Stuart Hall asks, both rhetorically and inquisitively, "Who needs "identity"?". This question suggests that the very idea of identity cannot be taken for granted and subjects it to critique. Starting from Hall's foundational and classic essay, this course engages with philosophical approaches to identity and to its intersectional character, with a focus on feminist philosophy and philosophy of race (stretching to include figures in cultural studies and critical theory). Coming from a diverse array of backgrounds in exploring issues in identity, we will engage with categories such as class, dis/ability, ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, race, sex, sexuality, and additional aspects of identity. This course will take an intersectional approach to identity as a concept in its own right and to the various categories that constitute it. We will gain inspiration for research by reading works from such figures as Kwame Anthony Appiah, Judith Butler, Aimé Césaire, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Michel Foucault, Jack Halberstam, Stuart Hall, Donna Haraway, Charles Mills, José Muñoz, Mae Ngai, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.