Please upload a Word document or a PDF file. In it, you will respond to one question from each of the following readings — so, you should answer five questions in at least 300 words total.
— Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” (choose 1)
- Du Bois is writing on the experience of being black in the decades following emancipation, and he begins with small—though significant—micro-level observations. What are some of the observations he makes about feeling different as a child?
- Du Bois outlines the first several decades of the Reconstruction era. He describes a number of challenges facing Black Americans, including access to education, voting, capital, and more. Summarize these in detail.
— Omi and Winant, “The Theoretical Status of the Concept of Race” (choose 1)
- The authors begin by charting past attempts at studying race in the social sciences, which they consider insufficient and inaccurate. Generally speaking, what are two approaches for studying race that the authors critique? Describe them both in detail and explain why they are insufficient.
- Consider this quote from the text:
“The world is learning once again—as it has over and over throughout the modern age—about the centrality of race on the global stage: racial identity continues to shape “life-chances” worldwide; transnational organizing along racial lines is evident among indigenous, black, and many dispersed/diasporic peoples; and racial stigma is continually being reallocated (and resisted) everywhere.” (p. 321)
To illustrate this quote, the authors discuss two modern examples. What are they? Consider why they are significant and how they might continue to change, given the current events of 2020 and 2021.
— Collins, “Toward an Afrocentric Feminist Epistemology” (choose 1)
- Who does Black feminist thought represent and center in its observations? You should write at least 3-4 sentences here explaining why.
- Who does Black feminist thought de-center in its observations? You should write at least 3-4 sentences here explaining why.
— Crenshaw, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics”
- Take a second to consider your own “social location,” i.e., the statuses, roles, and identities you occupy. For instance, I’m a cis male, white, American, queer, middle-class, able-bodied, neurotypical person. Consider such facets for yourself. What is your gender identity, your race, your nationality, your sexual identity, your class, your ability, your neurodiversity? Do any of these ever get hidden or go unrecognized? Do any of these identities receive a lot of privilege in your everyday life?
- Review the details of the DeGraffenreid v. General Motors court case that Crenshaw analyzes. Summarize what happened in at least 3-4 sentences.
— Bérubé, “How Gay Stays White and What Kind of White it Stays”
- Bérubé begins by reflecting on an activity he did with his students, and I’d like to echo that here. If I were to ask you to define a stereotypical gay man, what would you say? How would you describe him? Also discuss how media, marketing, and other institutions may have shaped your perception of gay male identity.
- Based on the introduction that you read this week, what tension is Bérubé describing, in terms of his identity and his work? Be mindful of writing in detail — one sentence will not suffice.
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