HPS 1602 - RACE: HISTORY, BIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
The goal of this course is to help students gain a thorough understanding of the issues raised by races and racism. Such understanding can only be gained by bringing together several disciplines in an interdisciplinary manner. Thus, we will examine issues about race and racism that arise from biology, history, philosophy, and psychology. In particular, we will examine the following questions: Does genetics show that races are real? Why are racial categories used in medicine? Where does the concept of race come from? Is it a recent historical invention? How has it influenced the sciences? What are races? What is racism? Should we be color-blind? How does race contribute to one’s identity? Why do we think about races? Are there differences in intelligence between races? What are racial prejudices? The course will involve reading original articles and book extracts from a range of disciplines, including history, philosophy, and several sciences. These articles will be explained and discussed in class.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: LG/SNC Elective Basis
Course Attributes: DSAS Phil. Think or Ethics General Ed. Requirement, SCI Polymathic Contexts: Ethical/Policy GE. Req.

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