Comparative History Of Race Science

Advanced students will interrogate the interactions between science and race. The course is presented in three parts that will provide a theoretical and contextual foundation for the study of a topic that spans across diverse geographic locations, periods, and scientific and technological developments. The first four weeks are organized around the question of 'how do we know what we see or experience is what we encounter?' in the context of colonial events. The following five weeks examine issues of measurement, classification, and progress surrounding the construction of race in the 18th and 19th centuries. The final four weeks of this course examine more specific topics, such as gender, medical and technological interventions, and nationhood. At least one other history course highly recommended in preparation of this course.