Critical Social Inquiry 0270 - Critical Race Theory

How do we know who is a terrorist? A good Muslim? A bad Arab? a criminal? A (bad) immigrant v. a cosmopolitan citizen? Do persons make decisions about their identities or are they "produced" in ways beyond their control? Can one's racial, ethnic, gendered self-recognition be publicized in ways that they like, or will that identity necessarily be misrecognized and reappropriated? In this course, we will look at a range of writings on how groups, cultures, and identities are created within political and legal contests. Readings may include legal statutes, case studies, ethnic histories, and texts by Foucault, Butler, W. Brown, N.T Saito, D. Carbado, K. Johnson, K. Crenshaw, C. Taylor, N. Fraser, Alcoff, Ortega, among others.

Independent Work Writing and Research Prerequisite: One successfully completed course in political philosophy or legal studies. Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.