THE IDEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION of the OTHER.
This course addresses the socio-political and cultural dynamics underlying the ideological construction of “the other” and seeks to convey a broad understanding of contemporary debates about racism. We will look at the ways in which those who did not fit into the “WASP” definition in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and nationality have been historically otherized. In particular, the texts we will analyze focus on the 20th and 21st century Jewish-American and African American experience and we will read them through the lens of theoretical literature on racism, critical race theory, and intersectionality.
Primary Sources:
Cynthia Ozick (1980), “The Shawl”, available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/05/26/the-shawl
Philip Roth (2004), The Plot against America, any edition (selected chapters)
Philip Roth (2010), Nemesis, any edition
Alice Walker (1982), The Color Purple, any edition
Toni Morrison (1983), “Recitatif”, will be available on Moodle
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a selection from The Beautiful Struggle (2008) and Between the World and Me (2015), will be available on Moodle
Secondary Sources:
George Fredrickson (2002), Racism: A Short History, (“Introduction” and “Appendix”), will be available on Moodle
Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (2017), Critical Race Theory (“Introduction”), will be available on Moodle
Other essays will be uploaded on Moodle over the course of the semester.
This course addresses the socio-political and cultural dynamics underlying the ideological construction of “the other” and seeks to convey a broad understanding of contemporary debates about racism. We will look at the ways in which those who did not fit into the “WASP” definition in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and nationality have been historically otherized. In particular, the texts we will analyze focus on the 20th and 21st century Jewish-American and African American experience and we will read them through the lens of theoretical literature on racism, critical race theory, and intersectionality.
Primary Sources:
Cynthia Ozick (1980), “The Shawl”, available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/05/26/the-shawl
Philip Roth (2004), The Plot against America, any edition (selected chapters)
Philip Roth (2010), Nemesis, any edition
Alice Walker (1982), The Color Purple, any edition
Toni Morrison (1983), “Recitatif”, will be available on Moodle
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a selection from The Beautiful Struggle (2008) and Between the World and Me (2015), will be available on Moodle
Secondary Sources:
George Fredrickson (2002), Racism: A Short History, (“Introduction” and “Appendix”), will be available on Moodle
Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (2017), Critical Race Theory (“Introduction”), will be available on Moodle
Other essays will be uploaded on Moodle over the course of the semester.
- Docente: ALICE BALESTRINO