Collage by Robin Fenix and Claudia Aguilar, Final Class Project for Fall 2013 (all rights reserved)
Black Women, Struggle and the Transnational State
Black women are under siege around the world. From the United States to Nigeria, we struggle against interlocking forms of oppression that put us under siege; from state policing and prisons to the everyday micro aggressions of racism, sexism and homophobia. This class reflects on this reality and its implications for all of us right here and right now.
Course Description
This course surveys black women’s experiences living with and confronting state oppression around the world. From the United States to Brazil, black women experience similar patterns of political, social and economic inequality. Transnationally, racism, sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, and classism affect the quality of life of black women, particularly within nation-states with legacies of slavery and colonialism. This course takes an historical, social and theoretical look at the roots of this inequality and how black women have chosen to respond to it locally and globally. How have interlocking forms of oppression affected black women’s citizenship within the modern nation-state? How have black women, in turn, sought to organize themselves in response to this oppression?
Objectives
1) To think critically about the multiple forms of oppression that affect black women’s lives globally; 2) To consider how black women’s political identity has been defined by experiences with oppression transnationally; 3) To define and articulate black women’s agency in response to oppression.
Key Topics
Racism, sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, classism, transnationalism, representation, agency, black feminism.
Essential Links
Much of the really critical and important work being done in black feminism today is happening online. There's no question about that. Here are a few of the key sites that are the voice of this new generation of black feminism. I encourage you to browse through them on a regular basis. We will be referencing them a lot in class. This is a working list, so feel free to suggest additions!