University of Virginia
Department of Politics
PLPT 8500: Race, Gender, Power
Fall 2015
Professor Lawrie BalfourTues. 3:30-6:00
S395 Gibson111 New Cabell Hall
ffice hours: Tues. 1:00-3:00
924-4631or by appointment
“The major systems of oppression are interlocking.”
Combahee River Collective, “A Black Feminist Statement”
This seminar will explore the roots and political effects of modern conceptions of race, gender, andpower, and their interactions. How have they emerged historically? How do they shape or produce political subjects and practices? What resources are available to challenge oppressive forms of racial and/or gender power? What is the role of theory in political struggle? What does it mean to think in raced and/or gendered termsin an era that has been called “postracial” or “postfeminist”? Because this is a political theory seminar, our focus will be on such issues as freedom, equality, citizenship, democracy, and sovereignty. At the same time, our reading will extend beyond political theory toinclude canonical and contemporary texts incritical, race studies, gender & sexuality studies, law, philosophy, sociology, literature, and history.
Required Texts: The readings marked by an asterisk in the syllabus are available through Collab. In addition, the following books are available for purchase at the bookstore and have been placed on reserve at Clemons Library:
W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk(Bedford)
FrantzFanon, Black Skin, White Masks(Grove, Philcox translation)
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex(Vintage, Borde translation)
Judith Butler, Undoing Gender (Routledge)
Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended(Picador)
ShannonSullivan, Revealing Whiteness(Indiana)
GlenCoulthard, Red Skin, White Masks(Minnesota)
Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Golden Gulag (California)
Jasbir Puar, Terrorist Assemblages(Duke)
AlexanderWehliye, Habeus Viscous(Duke)
Toni Morrison, Beloved(Vintage)
ClaudiaRankine, Citizen(Graywolf)
Course Requirements
Writing: There are two writing requirements for the class: weekly reading responses and one term paper.
Before noon on the day of the seminar, you will submit a reflection paper on the week’s readings to Collab. These essays should be 300-500 words long and are intended to give you an opportunity to develop an argument about a central issue or issues in the assigned texts. You may address a question from the reading, link the reading to a theme from previous weeks, and/or respond to an argument or question advanced by a post from another student. I encourage you to read all of the responses before class. You may take one pass during the semester and are not required to submit a reflection when you are presenting.
The term paper shouldbe approximately 20 pages on a topic of your choosing. You may focus exclusively on one or more of the assigned texts or connect a theme or question from the course to texts beyond the class. The aim is for you to link some aspect of the seminar to your own research interests. I urge you to begin thinking about possible topics and to consult with me about them as early as possible.The paper will be due at noon on Monday, December 14.
Participation: Each student is expected to come to class prepared and ready to engage with the material and with her/his classmates. At least once during the semester (depending on enrollment), it will be your responsibility to prepare a presentation on the day’s readings.A successful presentation combines some brief introductory remarks, lasting no more than 10 minutes, with questions for class discussion. These presentations should notrehearse the main ideas in the assignment; instead, it will be your job to identify questions for us to consider, to stimulate and to lead the discussion.
Grades will be determined as follows:
Participation (including weekly responses): 40%
Presentation: 20%
Final paper: 40%
Reading and Class Schedule
August 25: Introduction
CLASSIC THEORIES OF RACE, GENDER & POWER
September 1:Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk
September 8:Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, Intro., Ch. 1, 4-5, 7-8
September15:Beauvoir, The Second Sex, Vol. I: Part One, Part Two, Part Three (ch. 1 only); Vol. II: Part Two (ch. 10); Part Four
September22:Butler, Undoing Gender, Intro., Ch. 1-3, 5, 9-11
September 29:Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, Lectures 1-5, 11, Course Summary
October6: No Class—Fall Break
REMAKING THE CANON
October13: Sullivan, Revealing Whiteness
October 20:Coulthard, Red Skin, White Masks
October 27:Gilmore, Golden Gulag
November 3: Puar, Terrorist Assemblages
November10:Weheliye, Habeus Viscous
November17:Postracial/Postfeminist Questions: Ian Haney Lopez, “Post-Racial Racism: Stratification and Mass Incarceration in the Age of Obama”*;Paul Taylor, “After Race, After Justice, After History”*; Angela McRobbie, “Top Girls? Young Women and the Post-feminist Sexual Contract”*; Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Transnational Feminist Crossings:On Neoliberalism and Radical Critique”*
November24:No Class.
RACE, GENDER, POWER AND THE CREATIVE LIFE
December 1: Morrison, Beloved
December 8:Rankine, Citizen