Let's Talk About Race

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the study and critical discussion of race within the field of Women’s and Gender Studies. In particular, students will reflect on and learn skills about effective communicating on and around matters of race, race relations, and racial justice in the U.S. The course offers broad overviews of some critical themes regarding race and more specifically, the prevalence of racial dialogues. Students are encouraged to learn skills about effective and productive communication that leads with empathy and mutual respect as a means to enhance their competency on such issues, as outlined through the scholarly and methodological tools in the course. With resources ranging from scholars in the field of critical race studies to public intellectuals leading public discussions regarding race, students will be exposed to resources from a range of voices in order to hone their own skills in the discussion and understanding of systems of power and domination as they relate to race. The class primarily serves as a means to sharpen communication skills, applicable in multiple social environments ranging from interpersonal, small group, and large group settings. This work is inherently feminist and intersectional, and in addition to the critical race frameworks previously mentioned, students will learn through a Women’s and Gender Studies framework asserting that the understanding of multi-faceted identities is critical in grasping the dynamics of race and gender as they relate to systems of power, governance, violence, and subjugation.