Race, Ethnicity and Identity (L6090)

30 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

This module focuses on theories of race, ethnicity and identity. It applies diverse theoretical approaches to race, ethnicity and identity to historical and contemporary contexts.

As well as examining the way in which racial and ethnic identities have been constructed across time and space, the module interrogates these constructions with specific reference to:

• slavery, colonialism and the science of race
• visual culture and the gaze
• racial capitalism, structural violence and the state
• feminism and intersectionality
• whiteness and critical race theory
• migration and decolonial perspectives
• museum collections and the politics of representation
• mixed race identities; and necropolitics and precarity.

Other topics include:

• historical reflections on race: slavery, colonialism and the science of race
• race, visual culture and the gaze
• racial capitalism, structural violence and the state
• feminism, intersectionality and the politics of difference
• whiteness studies and critical race theory
• migration and decolonial perspectives
• museum collections and the politics of representation
• mixed race odentities
• necropolitics and COVID-19.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.