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70453-01 - Practical course: Understanding Racism. Theory and History of the Concept and Approaches to Overcome and Un-learn Racism (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2023 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Danielle Isler (danielle.isler@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The second wave of ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in 2020 after the murder of African American George Floyed caught the attention of many people for its magnitude and global spread. What is meant by ‘Black Lives Matter’ and how does it relate to power structures in this world? In this course, students learn about the concept of race, racism and its different dimensions (structural, institutional, internalized, interpersonal) in the past and present, as well as its relations to other power structures. In addition, students engage with the question of how internalized prejudices and racist attitudes can be overcome, i.e. unlearned. The course includes in-depth reading of selected texts, group discussions, interactive exercises as well as individual and group work. Danielle Isler is a PhD candidate at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies researching “Black Subjectivities and Whitened Spaces in Cape Town”. She is a graduate of the Masters’ program in African Studies at the University of Basel. |
| Learning objectives | The students… - know important studies on race and racialisation - know important studies on whiteness - know important studies on the construction of ‘the Other’ and on social hierarchies - know the different dimensions of racism - know concepts of intersectionality - are able to analyse forms of racist oppression in contemporary societies from a sociological or ethnological perspective - also in relation to other power structures - know concepts of allyship |
| Bibliography | Ahmed, Sara. 2007. „A phenomenology of whiteness“. Sage Publications 8(2):149–68. Çankaya, Sinan, und Paul Mepschen. 2019. „Facing racism: discomfort, innocence and the liberal peripheralisation of race in the Netherlands“. Social Anthropology 27(4):626–40. doi: 10.1111/1469-8676.1269. Crenshaw, Kimberle. 1991. „Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence aganst Women of Color“. Stanford Law Review 43(6):1241–99. Emejulu, Akwugo, und Francesca Sobande, Hrsg. 2019. To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe. London: Pluto Press. Hall, Stuart. 1997. „The Spectacle of the ‚Other‘“. S. 223–90 in Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, herausgegeben von S. Hall. London: SAGE Publications. hooks, bell. 1992a. «Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination», in Cultural Studies, Eds. Lawrence Grossberg et al. London: Routledge, pp. 338–342. Human Rights Council. UN WGEPAD. 2022. Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its visit to Switzerland. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5154add1-visit-switzerland-report-working-group-experts-people (Access on 01.10.2022). M’charek, Amade, Katharina Schramm, und David Skinner. 2013. „Topologies of Race: Doing territory, population and identity in Europe“. Science, Technology, & Human Values 39(4):468–87. Mudimbe, V. Y. 1988. The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Saïd, Edward. 1994. Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage, pp. 3 – 31 Saïd, Edward. 1978. Orientalism. London: Penguin Books, pp. 1-28. Wa Baile, Mohamed, Serena O. Dankwa, Tarek Naguip, Patricia Purtschert, und Sarah Schilliger, Hrsg. 2019. Racial Profiling: Struktureller Rassismus und antirassistischer Widerstand. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. Yancy, George. 2012. Look, a White! Philosophical Essays on Whiteness. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Young, Harvey. 2013. Embodying Black Experience - Stillness, Critical Memory, and the Black Body. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. |
| Admission requirements | Master's students and advanced Bachelor's students from all subject areas. Please take of the required motivational statement listed under registration (Anmeldung). |
| Course application | Due to limited capacity, a selection process must be conducted. Students interested in this course are asked to write a letter of motivation (300 words) answering the following questions and to submit it latest by 10/09/2023 to danielle.isler@uni-bayreuth.de: • Why do you want to take this course? • Where and how will you apply what you have learned? No later than September 16, 2023, students who have written a letter of motivation will find out whether they have been admitted to the course. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| unregelmässig | See individual dates | ||
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 22.09.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 29.09.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 20.10.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 03.11.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 10.11.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 08.12.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Friday 15.12.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften B.A. (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften M.A. (Master's degree subject: Political Science) Modul: Politik, Entwicklung und soziale Ungleichheit (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Module: The Urban across Disciplines (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Arbeit, Migration und Gesellschaft (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Active participation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Zentrum für Afrikastudien |