Nikhil Pal Singh
Confronts U.S. racial history through a series of questions: Is U.S. history a story of increasing tolerance and inclusion, or a story about confronting and reconsolidating racial dominance? How have slavery, segregation, immigration, Indian removal, and imperialism defined national identity? How does racial exclusion intersect with class, gender, and sexuality?
This class will offer a survey of US "racial" history from the nation's founding to the present. Topics covered include: Indian removal, slavery and abolitionism, the rise of Jim Crow and US overseas empire, modern struggles for civil rights and desegregation among diversely racialized groups, and newer forms of racial discrimination that rise in the wake of these struggles. We conclude the course with reflections on the racial predicaments of contemporary US society, up to and including the "war on terror."
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
The course will be lecture and discussion based. Students will also be required to conduct independent research and make presentations.
Class assignments and grading