A History of Race

This course will survey the idea of race and its history. We will focus our attention on the construction of the idea of race, and we will trace the ways in which this concept has changed over time. The course will start with a panel discussion on definitions of race in history, and as presented in different academic disciplines today. This discussion will be followed by two lectures tracing histories of race from Antiquity until the twentieth century. The last session will be a roundtable on the continuing role of race in the United States today. Covered topics will include explicit and implicit bias, institutionalized racism, race and criminal justice, equal justice initiatives and protests, racial stratification. The roles of politics, economics, science, religion, and nationalism, as well as the relationships between race, gender, and class will also be discussed. Course must be taken for 3 units to count toward WAYS requirement. This course will meet 5 times, starting MONDAY January 14th, and ending the last day of class Monday, February 25th.