Phil of Race Class & Gender

Catalog description

This course introduces the student to the role of identity in contemporary life and prepares students to live, work, and interact with others in situations defined not by the similarity of those involved, but their differences. The course proceeds in three ways. First, in order to see how racial, ethnic, class, sexual, gendered, intersectional, and other identities have been understood, we study basic modern theories of human identity, of what it means to be a person. Then we turn to experiences and theories of the specific identities that are the focus of our class. Many of our readings introduce the student to oppressive experiences of race, ethnicity, class, sex and gender identities and the diverse responses that people have elaborated in an effort to overcome their marginalization and dehumanization. Third, we examine, in particular, different ways in which oppressed people have theorized race, class, and gender identities in an effort to develop emancipatory identities.