HYM4500

Contours of racial thought

Andrew Markus

8 or 12 points
* One 2-hour seminar per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have developed an understanding of the development of thinking about `race' in western culture from the fifteenth century to the present, and of different theoretical approaches, including the postmodern, to the study of the `race concept'.

Synopsis An examination of the development of racial thought in Western societies. Topics include classical views of human types; early reactions to the populations of the New World; justifications for slavery; the impact of enlightenment thought; the rise of scientific racism; anti-Semitism and Nazi ideologues; `new racism' in contemporary thought.

Assessment (8 points) Research essay (4000 words): 70%
* Open book exam (2 hours): 30%
Assessment (12 points) Essay (3000 words): 25%
* Research essay (4000 words): 50%
* Open book exam (2 hours): 25%

Recommended texts

Banton M The idea of race Tavistock, 1977
Banton M Racial theories CUP, 1987
Harris M The rise of anthropological theory Crowell, 1968
Markus A, Sinclair K and Tisdale J Interrogating race Monash University, 1996

Poliakov L The Aryan myth Chatto and Windus, 1974