Race and Ethnic Politics (POLS30036)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5Not available in 2019
About this subject
Overview
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This subject examines race and ethnicity’s interaction with governing institutions, political parties, courts, social movements and political processes. It brings together several approaches to politics – historical institutionalism, behavioralism, policy analysis, comparative studies, and normative theory among others. The geographic scope includes readings generated from issues in Australia, the US, the UK, Brazil, France, South Africa, and New Zealand. The temporal location of this class is the 20th and 21st century, but some readings, such as those on nationalism or eugenics, draw upon experiences in the 19th century. This subject is not intended to be a comprehensive study of race in these locations but to expose students to various ways race and ethnicity are politically salient. Topics include immigration, ethnic conflict, racial attitudes / racism, resurgence of nationalism, racial formation, whiteness, voting behavior, Indigenous politics and criminal justice. Students will engage both the conceptual challenge of what race and ethnicity are and, as an advanced-level subject, they are also expected to engage the variety of methods used to understand race and ethnicity in social and political life.
Intended learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
- Have a critical understanding of major developments in scholarship on race and ethnicity in politics
- Develop an understanding of how race politics vary across countries
- Have an understanding of how public policy engages with the concept of race
- Understand wide-ranging methods used to explore race and ethnicity such as psychoanalytic biography, normative theories, quantitative studies and experiments
- Have a critical understanding of the key challenges, controversies and methods concerning the study of race and ethnicity in politics
Last updated: 21 January 2025