This module traces premodern histories of race and ethnicity, asking students to critically evaluate the shifting meanings of race in premodern constructions of selfhood or identity, and in premodern societies and cultures across a range of periods and geographies. We will encounter texts - including but not limited to accounts of travel, colonial encounters, drama, poems and historical documents - that demonstrate the shaping of racial/ethnic identity in terms of both the construction of Others but also of Whiteness. We will draw upon important recent scholarship in premodern critical race theory and postcolonial theory in order to interpret how premodern texts perpetuated, challenged, explored and criticised notions of race. In doing so we will examine what historic paradigms have perpetuated and fostered inequalities across time, and therefore, how historically informed analysis might help us engage in contemporary questions of social justice.
Lecture 16, Workshop 16
3,000 words Extended Writing. Assessment Details: Research Essay worth 60%.
10 minutes Presentation. Assessment Details: Presentation critically evaluating the construction of race in a chosen text worth 40%.
Reassessment Method: Single instrument 100% written (3,000 words)
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
Interrogate constructions of racial selfhood, politics and culture in several texts from a range of periods and geographies
Critically appraise and apply theories of race and postcolonialism to examine the construction of race in historic and literary texts.
Critically evaluate the way literary and historic texts shaped meanings of race for individuals and societies in the premodern period.
Demonstrate sophisticated engagement with marginalised voices from a range of periods and geographies to compare different politics and cultures.
Create and communicate self-directed research ideas that demonstrates an ability to apply critical theory to a diverse range of texts.
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