The Idea of Race in Philosophy, Literature, and Art

The Idea of Race is divided into five sections: Conceptions of Race (e.g., What are some historical understandings of race? What are some contemporary understandings of race, and racism?); Applied Issues (e.g., How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the racialization of Asians? How has Islamophobia and Xenophobia intersected?); Race and Incarceration (What roles do race, and racism play in the overincarceration of Black and Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States?); Indigenous Canonical, Literary and Artistic Works; and Black Historical, Literary and Artistic Works.

The first goal of this course is to gain a deeper understanding of the complex nature of race and racism in Western settler colonial societies by paying close attention to the writing and teachings of BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Colour). The second goal is to highlight the strategies of resistance that have developed in BIPOC literary traditions, by finding within them evidence of resilience and overcoming.