Eurocentrism and (Anti)Racism

Recommended Prerequisites

- Familiarity with key concepts, approaches and methodologies within the scoial sciences

- Fluency in written and oral English

- Knowledge of techniques and styles of academic writing.  

Teaching Methods

- Analysis of a key topic by the lecturer: theoretical exposition and empirical illustration;

- Presentation of one or two compulsory readings by the students;

- Class debate, aided by documentaries and other pedagogical resources, promoting the application of conceptual and analytical skills.

The evaluation considers: attendance, presentation of readings, participation in the debate and a Portfolio on the syllabus’ themes and bibliography. Theoretical and analytical insight, ability to think critically about reallife situations and the articulation with relevant debates are valued.

Learning Outcomes

Acquisition of interdisciplinary and critical theoretical and analytical tools on Eurocentrism and (anti-)racism that engage with its historicity and with related academic and political debates. Specific objectives: a) historical understanding of race/racism as political categories and phenomena intrinsic to the project and discourse of modernity and, therefore, colonialism and the formation of nation-states; b) critical analysis of the current configurations and dominant understandings of racism, considering wider political and socio-economic structures, c) reflection on the role of academia and public policies for integration/inclusion in setting the terms of the debate, with consequences for the perpetuation of structures of privilege. Students who successfully complete this seminar should know and critically analyze core academic texts and political debates in this area and their relationship to notions such as democracy, nation and inclusion.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The seminar explores the interrelationships between racism and citizenship along two axes: a) racism, colonialism and the myth of modernity; b) public policy, political struggles and the production of knowledge.

- Eurocentrism, Race and the Discourse of Modernity

- (Anti-)Colonialism and the Historical Understanding of Race/Racism

- Dominant Understandings of Racism Post-Holocaust

- (Anti-)Racism, Nation-State and Citizenship in Europe

- Knowledge, Public Policy and the ‘Immigrant Imaginary'

- Contemporary Debates: History and Memorialization of Colonialism and Enslavement

- Contemporary Debates: Secularism and Islamophobia in Europe

- Contemporary Debates: Media and the Discourse on Minorities/Immigrants

- Contemporary Debates: Institutionalization of Racism against the Roma in Education

- Power and the (Re)Production of Knowledge: Challenges to Racism and Eurocentrism.

Head Lecturer(s)

Marta Maria de Oliveira Pacheco de Araújo

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Text presentation in class (20%) Portfolio (60%); attendance/active participation in seminars (20%) : 100.0%

Bibliography

Araujo M., Maeso S. (2015, eds) Eurocentrism, Racism and Knowledge: Debates on History and Power in Europe and the Americas, Palgrave

Essed P., Nimako K. (2006) Cultures of Scholarship and Public Policy on Immigrants/Minorities in the Netherlands, Int. Journal of Comparative Sociology

Fanon F. (1986 [1952]) Black Skin, White Masks, Pluto Press

Goldberg D.T. (2002) The Racial State, Blackwell

Hall S. (1992) The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power, in Formations of Modernity, Polity Press

Lentin A.; Titley G. (2011) The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a Neoliberal Age, Zed Books

Maldonado-Torres N. (2017) Coloniality of Human Rights, RCCS

Quijano A. (2000) Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism and Latin America, Nepantla

Santos B. (2007) Beyond Abyssal Thinking: From Global Lines to Ecologies of Knowledges

Sayyid S. et alii (2006) A Postcolonial People, Hurst

Trouillot M.R .(1995) Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History.