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Cultures of Race, Ethnicity and Racism

Module description

This module will examine the ways in which anthropologists, sociologists and other scholars of critical race studies have explored and analysed how racial and ethnic identities are lived and experienced.  It will argue that race and ethnicity are social constructs which have no biological foundations.  You will focus on ethnographic studies which examine minority and majority racial and ethnic identities both cross-culturally and in different socio-historical contexts.  You will critically examine the theories and concepts used by anthropologists and sociologists to study the formation of ethnic and racial identities and racism.   You will complement this study with an exploration of social conditions where racism is challenged, and consider the possibility of a world beyond racial categorisation.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module we examine ways in which anthropologists, sociologists and other scholars from the interdisciplinary field of critical race studies, have explored and analysed how racial and ethnic identities are lived and experienced. The module focuses on ethnographic studies to examine the articulation of minority and majority racial and ethnic identities cross-culturally and in different socio-historical contexts. Central to this inquiry is an examination of the theories and concepts that anthropologists and sociologists have deployed to think about the formation of ethnic and racial identities and racism. Our emphasis upon the reproduction of various forms of racism will be complemented by an exploration of the social conditions in which racism is challenged. The module also considers the possibility of a world beyond racial thought and categorisation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. critically engage with anthropological and sociological approaches to the study of race, ethnicity and racism
• 2. apply appropriate theories and concepts competently to facilitate an analysis of racism and identities
• 3. situate the formation of racial and ethnic identities within socio-historical context

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. gain an appreciation of the role of theory in ethnography
• 5. develop an appreciation of the synergies and distinctions between anthropological approaches and other social scientific approaches and an understanding and engagement with complex arguments in these fields.
• 6. acquire an understanding of the ethical and theoretical issues involved in the representation of ethnic and racial differences

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. demonstrate transferable skills in formulating, researching and addressing focussed essay questions
• 8. prepare focussed and comprehensive oral presentations
• 9. work independently and in collaboration with others
• 10. develop a critical awareness of cross-cultural understanding and anti-racist values, values which increasingly feature in many professional settings

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus may cover some or all of the following topics:

• The social and historical construction of race, ethnicity and racism
• Racism and nationalism
• Black and white feminism
• Mixed-race, post-race
• Race, genealogy and genetics
• Far right politics
• Islamophobia

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Back, L. (1996) New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racism and Multi
Culture in Young Lives (London: UCL Press).
- Banks, M. (1996) Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions (London: Routledge)
- Frankenberg, Ruth (1993) White Women, Race Matters (London: Routledge).
- Gilroy, P. (1987) There Aint No Black in the Union Jack: Cultural Politics of Race and Nation (London: Hutchinson).
- Hall, C. and Rose, S. (eds) (2006) At Home with the Empire: Metropolitan Culture and the Imperial World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
- Haritgan, J. (1999) Racial Situations: Class Predicaments of Whiteness in Detroit (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
- Hill, J. (2008) The Everyday Language of White Racism (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell).
- Said, E. W. (1978) Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient (London: Penguin Press).
- Wade, P., (2002), Race, Nature and Culture: An Anthropological Perspective (London: Pluto Press).
- Werbner, P. and Modood, T. (eds) (1997) Debating Cultural Hybridity: Multi-cultural Identities and the Politics of Anti-racism (London: Zed books).

Key words search

Cultures,Race, ethnicity, racism