Module description
This module aims to provide an empirically grounded and intersectional understanding of the sociological identity categories in relation to questions of social domination, power, privilege, capitalist development, inequality, and social mobility. We will approach categories such as race, ethnicity, caste, and gender as concepts and examine their historical and contemporary expressions at both micro and macro levels. We will discuss case studies that shed light on the nature and relevance of these identity categories mainly in the global south, particularly in the emerging economies. The module also aims to prepare students in understanding transnational and local struggles against social hierarchies in sensitive and complex cultural contexts from a social justice perspective.
Module Outline
Week 1: Us/Them: Producing Race and Racism
Week 2: Intersectionality: Race, Gender, and Class
Week 3: Racial Capitalism: Race and Class
Week 4: Racial Capitalism: Afterlives of Racial Slavery
Week 5: Race and Carceral Capitalism
Week 6: Reading Week
Week 7: Caste, Race, and Capitalism
Week 8: Race, Capitalism, and Environment I
Week 9: Race, Capitalism, and Environment II
Week 10: Reparations
Week 11: Political economy of racism: case studies
Assessment details
Coursework
Educational aims & objectives
This module will:
• Introduce students to the sociological categories of race, ethnicity, caste, and gender in relation to capitalist development, inequality, and social mobility.
• Introduce students to case studies that explore these categories and their intersectional aspects in various contexts.
• Expose students to various methods used in examining these categories to better understand the connection between social issues and global challenges.
• Train students in carrying out comparative analysis of these categories with respect to questions of economic and social development.
• Expose and sensitise students to the nature of transnational and local struggles against social hierarchies and oppression mainly in the global south.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this module, students will :
• Learn various approaches to understand race, ethnicity, gender and other identity categories in relational to questions of development.
• Learn intersectional aspects of these categories to better comprehend their working on the ground.
• Have been exposed to methods in understanding these sociological categories and issues.
• Learn various concepts and terms associated with the questions of race, caste, ethnicity, and gender in relation to capitalist development and social justice.
• Have been exposed to policy debates concerning social oppression and inequality, mainly in the global south.
Teaching pattern
Weekly 2-hour Workshops