Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity are often taken for granted as naturally occurring, self-evident phenomena that must be navigated or overcome to understand and eradicate the (re)production of societal hierarchies across historical, geopolitical, and institutional contexts. In contrast, this transdisciplinary course seeks to track and trouble the historical and contemporary creation, dissolution, experiences, and stakes of various ethnoracial borders not just in the US but around the world. We will engage with a range of materials - written texts, films, visual and performance art - to study race and ethnicity through comparative and relational frameworks. Key topics include: empire, neo/colonialism, capital/ism, im/migration, diaspora, caste, liberation, abolition, indigeneity, incarceration, borders, ethnonationalism, solidarity, and resistance.