This 5 ECTS course explores historical currents of race, class, and
gender from the colonial period up to the present. Through lectures and
readings, our discussion is contextualized within particular historical
eras that exemplify the complexity of racial-ethnic, class, and gender
relations. We will probe into these watershed moments through specific
cultural case studies and primary source materials. In this class,
students will learn to analyze identity formations as interplays of
individual, collective, and societal assignments. They will learn to
critically think about the role that cultural representations have in
history, ideology, and everyday practices. They will also learn to make
connections between so-called “ordinary” people and academic discourses.
With the focus on intersecting social power dynamics, we will keep in
mind that histories are written by people and that it is important to
pay attention to the viewpoints from which they stem from.
- Opettaja
Mila Seppälä