RECONSTRUCTING BLACKNESS: ANTI-RACISM AND UNITY IN THE US (RSPR-8221)

This course is co-taught by Emily Agbenyega and Chitra Golestani. This online course will examine how individual and collective transformation towards an anti-racist society necessitates the re-construction of race and Blackness in the U.S.  The course will explore some of the most significant manifestations of racism, root causes of issues presented with an interdisciplinary lens, and a unique Baha’i perspective. Units will explore a solutionary approach to the folowing topics: Constructions of race and the oneness of humankind; stereotypes and cultural appropriation; colonialism and slavery; Civil Rights Movement; segregation, gentrification, environmental racism, and reparations; Prison Industrial Complex and Black Lives Matter; Black women in the U.S.; racism and technology; and constructive resilience and community building. Participants will acquire the capacity to apply this knowledge to their lives, community building and social discourse. This interactive course will utilize a combination of evaluation methods with varying requirements for graduate and undergraduate students. Meeting times TBD. [20 max enrollment]