An Introduction to Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies

Engaging critically with questions around racism is fraught with difficulty. Even students and academics at universities - where critical thinking is prized - encounter obstacles that stymie robust inquiry into the character of contemporary racism. Universities around the world have expressed public commitment to addressing systemic, institutionalised racism, but to what extent are these gestures performative? To what extend to they translate into decisive action? And once students and academics enter into critical dialogue about racism, what variables determine the depth and trajectory of the engagement? For example, how might different, culturally-mediated understandings of civility and emotions enhance or stymie attempts to explore, understand and oppose contemporary forms of racism? In this seminar, we investigate these and many other questions. If you have a keen interest in the role that language plays in shaping our thinking and emotions, as well as the role that habitual ways of talking and feeling might play in hindering progress against racism at institutions of higher education, then this seminar is for you. We kick off by familiarising ourselves with some of the basic perspectives and principles of critical race theory and critical whiteness studies, before exploring how these theories can be combined with discourse analysis.

Reading:

Bonilla-Silva, E. 2015. More than prejudice: Restatements, reflections and new directions in critical race theory. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. 1(1): 73-87.

Rudick, C.K. and Golsan, K.B. 2018. Civility and white institutional presence: An exploration of white students’ understandings of race-talk at a traditionally white institution. Howard Journal of Communications. 29(4): 335-352.

Wale, K. 2019. Towards critical cultural openness: (in)vulnerability in white student narratives of transformation in South Africa. Ethnic and RacialStudies. 43(7): 1189-1207.

To pass weekly presence and active participation are required. Students may expect small weekly tasks for self-study, and a final essay or research report.