The topic of this course is race, equality, discrimination, and affirmative action, considered within the specific context of the U.S. experience. That context is characterized by 3 structural features that Alexis de Tocqueville identified: the ‘passion for equality', the salience of racial divisions, and the juridicialization of politics. Elaborating upon Tocqueville's seminal intuitions, the course will rely on political philosophy (addressing contemporary theories of social justice and equality, current controversies about the epistemic status of race, and the concept of discrimination); history (focusing on ethnoracial minorities since the early 19th century); law (through detailed analyses of relevant Supreme Court decisions); sociology and social psychology (considering the dynamic and consequences of segregation and intergroup contact); and political science (through an examination of the emergence, development, and partial decline of race-conscious policies such as affirmative action).
David STEINER,Daniel SABBAGH
Cours magistral seul
English
Lectures complémentaires / filmographie / discographie (extraits du syllabus) :
HACKING, Ian. « Why Race still Matters », Daedalus, Winter 2005, p. 102-116
HARDIMON, Michael. « The Ordinary Concept of Race », Journal of Philosophy, 100 (9), 2003, p. 437-455
WALZER, Michael. « What does it mean to be an American? », Social Research, 57 (3), 1990, p. 591-614
HANSEN, Randall. « Immigration and Immigration Reform in the United States: An
Outsider's View », The Forum, 7 (3), 2009.
TEHRANIAN, John. « Performing Whiteness: Naturalization Litigation and the Construction of Racial Identity », Yale Law Journal, 109 (4), 2000, p. 817-848
WAGLEY, Charles, « On the Concept of Social Race in the Americas », in D. B. Heath and R.N. Adams (eds), Contemporary Cultures and Societies of Latin America, New York, Random House, 1965, p. 531-545.
MORNING, Ann. « Ethnic Classification in Global Perspective: A Cross-National Survey of the 2000 Census Round », Population Research Policy Review, 27, 2008, p. 239-72.
SKERRY, Peter. Counting on the Census? Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics, Brookings Institution, 2000, p. 43-80.
ANDERSON, Terry. The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action. Oxford: University Press, 2004, p. 69-109.
HOLLINGER, David, Postethnic America: Beyond Multiculturalism, Basic Books, 2006, p. 19-50.
HTUN, Mala. « Is Gender Like Ethnicity ? The Political Representation of Identity Groups », Perspectives on Politics, 2 (3), 2004, p. 439-458
MANSBRIDGE, Jane, « Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women ? A Contingent « Yes » », Journal of Politics, 61 (3), 1999, p. 628-657.
FREDRICKSON, George. « Diverse Republics: French and American Responses to Racial Pluralism », Daedalus, winter 2005, p. 88-101
BLEICH, Erik. « The French Model: Color-Blind Integration », in John David Skrentny (ed.), Color Lines. Affirmative Action, Immigration, and Civil Rights Options for America, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2001, p. 270-296
STAVO-DEBAUGE, Joan, « Mobilizing Statistical Powers for Action against Discrimination: The Case of the United Kingdom », International Social Science Journal, 183, March 2005, p. 43-56.
U.S. Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
U.S. Supreme Court decision Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)
U.S. Supreme Court decision Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) (opinion of Justice Lewis Powell)
Literature
Langston Hughes, Home, in The Ways of White Folks (1934)
Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
Georges Perec and Robert Bober, Récits d'Ellis Island: histoires d'errance et d'espoir (1994)
Philip Roth, The Human Stain (2000)
William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967)
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963 (essay)
Movies
D. W. Griffith, Birth of a Nation (1915)
Abdellatif Kechiche, Vénus noire (2010)
Axel Corti, Welcome in Vienna (1982-1986)
Elia Kazan, America, America (1964)
Douglas Sirk, Imitation of Life (1959)
Peter Farrelly, Green Book (2018)
Todd Haynes, Far from heaven (2002)
Spike Lee, Do the right thing (1989)
Jeff Nichols, Loving (2016)
King Vidor, Hallelujah (1929)
Gus Van Sandt, Milk (2008)
Music
Billie Holiday/Lewis Allan: Strange Fruit (1939) (song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD2evtQP8ps
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution will not be televised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaoXAwl9kw
Cécile McLorin Salvant : Si j'étais blanche (2017) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc1qZesCNs8
Autumn and Spring 2023-2024
One mid-term exam and one final exam
RAWLS, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press, 1971, p. 3-53.