Fascism and Racism: A Love Story
This course is designed to introduce students to some of the implications of the race concept and racial hierarchy for political theory, and conversely, contemporary political theory’s implications for examination of race, racism and racial hierarchy. Two central questions undergirding this course are: how might readings in Western political theory enrich our understanding of race and racism’s relation to modern politics? How might readings in post-colonial theory, feminist criticism and black political thought (among other traditions) complicate and enrich our understanding of the categories, distinctions and theorizations pertaining to Western politics? Students will develop critical reading strategies and methodologies to identify the spectre of race and racism across contours of Western political theory, and utilize classroom discussion, presentations and paper assignments to elaborate upon its normative, practical and theoretical implications.