This course is an introduction to critical philosophy and theory of race and racism. In the U.S. at present, it seems obvious in many contexts to classify people by race. What are we really talking about, though, when we talk about race? After all, it has not always seemed obvious to people in other times and places that the concept of race is a natural or relevant way to make sense of human differences. Indeed, are there really such things as races? What, if anything, does the word race refer to? Although race-thinking draws from older ways of understanding human difference, the modern idea of races as biologically-distinct groupings of human beings emerged only at the end of the eighteenth century. Indeed, the dominant view of scientists and scholars today is that there is no biological justification for distinguishing people into races (Eduard Macherey). How, then, did the race idea co me to seem such a self-evident way of understanding ourselves? If races are not real in a biological sense, do they perhaps have reality in a sociohistorical or political sense? We will investigate such questions about the metaphysics of race in Unit I of the course. In Unit II, we will explore the nature of the connection between racism and racialism (race-thinking) in world history since 1492, with a special focus (but not exclusive) focus on the United States. Our goal will be to understand the elements out of which and the processes whereby the race idea was formed. Finally, in Unit III, we will turn from metaphysical and historical questions to questions of an ethical, political, and existential character. What role should an understanding of racial identity play in antiracist political solidarity? How should we understand ourselves and our aspirations in light of the persistence of racism and racialism?

The two main texts will be as follows: 1. Taylor, Paul C. Race: A Philosophical Introduction. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Polity, 2013. 2. Shelby, Tommie. We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 2005. Taylor opens his book with a focused discussion of the need for an interdisciplinary approach to philosophy of race, one that uses history and the social sciences in tandem with philosophy to grasp the social, political, and artifactual character of race. He also presents a helpful overview (complete with tables) of the main periods in the history of modern racialism. Shelby likewise argues that the problem of antiracist solidarity requires familiarity both with political philosophy and with the history of black thought on the subject. His book will show students how to extract cross-cutting themes from the tradition of black discussions of nationalism, amalgamation, integration, etc. He will also help students understand the importance of connecting normative philosophical reflection to specific historical contexts. Aside from these two books, I will use a number of articles from philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and history, as well as several short films (BBC, "Racism," 2007; Eduard Macherey's 2013 lecture "Are Races Biologically Real?" at Rutgers).

In philosophy, students will have to master two conflicting positions in metaphysics, essentialism and nominalism, as well as distinctive positions in ethics, such as the debate between universalism and particularism (and how the history of race and racism forces a reworking of the current, largely Kantian framing of the problem). Students will also explore the appropriate basis for solidarity. Finally, we will explore classic questions at the intersection of moral psychology, ethics, and social theory that have to do with self-deception, double-consciousness, authenticity, and alienation. We will also explore meta-philosophical questions about the appropriate way to understand the project of political philosophy (Charles Mills). With respect to anthropology and sociology, students will be exposed, via the themes of race and racism, to classic questions about the nature-culture distinction, social construction, and social categorization. I will use short reading quizzes, a midterm, and a final to test students mastery of course readings and concepts. In addition, I will use a scaffolded four-part term paper that requires students to apply course concepts to a current issue. This kind of assignment will motivate students by giving them a chance, with recurring feedback, to connect what we are doing in the course to their own lives and concerns. It will also give them a chance to produce a higher-level synthesis of the different disciplinary perspectives they have encountered. Students will read from a mixture of classic and contemporary writers in philosophy and the social sciences. To engage students attention, I have also included two films, a three-part BBC miniseries on the global history of racism and a short lecture from Eduard Macherey debunking the idea that races are biologically real.

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