Philosophy

Philosophy of Race & Racialisation

Module code: V7083
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework

The module addresses questions such as:

  • is 'race' a social construct?
  • is racism essentially a set of beliefs or a set of feelings?
  • what, if anything, is' institutional racism'?
  • what isracial discrimination?
  • is racial disadvantage 'intersectional'?
  • should we aim to eliminate race altogether from the way we think about each other?
  • are reparations for groups who have suffered racial injustice justified?
  • can there be a phenomenology of racialised experience?
  • is modern Western philosophy racially biased?

You will address such questions by engaging with historical figures such as Franz Fanon and contemporary workin the philosophy of race.

Module learning outcomes

  • Be able to think critically about philosophical views on the nature of 'race', racism, and/or racial discrimination
  • Discuss and assess philosophical views on responses for racial disadvantage, such as racial eliminativism, racial conservationism and demands for reparations
  • Rationally assess the extent to which racial bias permeates philosophy itself
  • Analyse and understand key texts in the philosophy of race