Being a part of The Politics of Race module has not only helped me to better articulate and thus engage with perspectives on the topic, but to do so while considering personal context. This has developed my understanding of race as a matter that exists beyond the vacuum it is often presented in[1], and furthered my ability to discuss the topic with others whose context differs. As such, understanding the importance of the personal has led me to appreciate the wider context of The Politics of Race in a way that is more tangible and accessible[2], than the distance of its usual presentation would have allowed.
The significance of the personal as a tool to help better understand the wider context of this topic was established from before the very first seminar, where we were asked to email a short response to a reading[3] in which the writer shares their personal experience concerning white privilege and how they were taught to look at the issues of race. An aspect that stood out was their white background, because the vast majority of speakers I had seen on the topic were always people who had been personally victimised by it at one point or another. What also stood out was that I was being called to reflect with personal context, which is perhaps not only a feature lacking on the usual teachings of race but also of wider academia[4]. And it was in this reflection that I realised I could relate to some aspects of the privileges described but not to all or most. As a mixed-race student who had always lived in areas where ‘the white majority’[5] were instead the minority, I had less experiences of overt racism, hearing or seeing it more as an issue affecting friends and family, those with less white-passing features. This did not mean I went without my own experiences, but because by comparison I had boxed myself in to a predominantly ‘white’ identity, I dismissed the cases of racism I did experience thinking that I would have been the wrong voice to contribute in the matter. Then moving to university in an area of lower diversity made me realise how I was unfairly dismissing my own experiences, because my otherness and thus related experiences became more apparent to me. For example, moments which my mum would have previously described happening to her in the workplace happened to me, when I noticed that even in large gatherings, if the rest of the group was English[6] they would actively ignore me or stare with scrutinising eyebrows and keep to their own. Whereas groups I did well in either consisted of minorities or people who lived in similarly multicultural places. This realisation of the validity of my own perspective taught me the value of allowing contributions to come from different contexts, that the idea of who gets it worse misses the point entirely and prevents further discussion that could have otherwise fostered greater progression.
Within the seminars leading up to my group’s presentation I learned more about ways to discuss race with critical engagement through being able to express general sentiments with greater articulation without the cost of desensitisation through academia[7]. A figure that stood out to me was DuBois who coined double consciousness[8], a state lived by many but made seen by its formal expression[9]. Another moment was when we covered the transatlantic slave trade. I had already been familiar with the subject to some extent, but was reminded of the significance of personal context, as some admitted to being unfamiliar with it. Initially, I was surprised but then realised that much of what I learned about the issue was from outside the classroom. While it was a part of my school’s curriculum, it was taught more in a detached sort of way that suggested we were only there to get through the curriculum, not expressed with the same level of detail and perspective to which we had the opportunity of in the seminar[10], the impact of which grounded the subject to a less abstract, typically desensitised, state. Similarly, there was an exploration into maps, the different ones constructed through time and the choices made to prioritise one over the other[11], which taught that the history behind any issue cannot be separated from its current state and how deeply racialised power dynamics could be ingrained. What I therefore learned from this, and the module overall, is the significance of acknowledging both personal and historical context in addressing the issues of race. This experience not only deepened my understanding but also reinforced the necessity of interrogating how systems and narratives are built, sustained, and obscured over time.
Outside of the classroom a smaller group of us befriended each other from the shared discussion time and arranged to meet up some days at the Costa on campus to debrief anything we learned or found prominent. For example, I spoke about one introduction to a seminar which was a single photo without any text enlarged on the board, of a father looking at the decapitated foot of his daughter[12]. It was prominent to me because through the stark visualisation it returned some humanity to the subject, where because of how large-scale the brutality was, as well as how statistics-focused the topic may lean[13] it seems easier to view it as a far-away, only partially realised[14] history. Further, the placement of the photo as the very first slide and taking up the full space emphasised its importance, that the image and everything it stood for was true enough without accompanying description. Ultimately, I discovered the value of community, not only because discussing a topic helps me to better remember and engage with the material but also because of the progress it inspires by building solidarity and encouraging different perspectives to be inspired to learn more.
The importance of discussion would then contribute towards my presentation prep. For example, realising the importance and usefulness of discussion I took the initiative to get to know members of the group as individuals by making some brief and light-hearted conversation after class to establish some sense of familiarity. Closer to the week of our assigned topic we then had our first meeting as a group where we were able to discuss more freely and openly as a result of the familiarity already established. Looking back it may have been better to start our work on the presentation earlier, as while the first meet-up, to discuss how we would go about the presentation was in the week before, the issue was that by this point all of us were extremely occupied. The second meeting was arranged for the day before, for any touch-ups, but by then only two of us were able to make it, and neither of us had made a proper start. As such, the work still ended up being rushed with us arranging the slides the night before. Looking back it would have been more convenient to have arranged for these at a less occupied time.
On the other hand, the process and delivery still succeeded in some aspects. For example, because there were less of us in total it could be said that time management would be easier. The total time given of five to seven minutes was relatively short, though in our case, because one established from the first meeting that he would be absent we cut down the topics of our week covering AS&R, Culture, Race, Immigration, to the last three, leaving: a brief overview, key case study concerning all topics[15], race, culture, and then for the immigration section back to an overarching perspective on all three while covering any additional factors[16] not earlier considered. This simplicity allowed for flexibility when on the day, as we were speaking, we realised that we were at risk of going over time, but were able to adapt by summarising the slides rather than saying all we planned to, and because the structure was simple it was easy to navigate through the content. This simplicity also made me realise the value in delivering information with greater accessibility.
In conclusion, this module has deeply enriched my ability to engage critically with race by highlighting the interplay between personal and wider contexts. Reflecting on my own experiences allowed me to appreciate the importance of diverse perspectives, challenging traditional notions of who is permitted the authority to speak on race. I also realised that discussing complex topics with a sense of community encourages deeper understanding and makes learning more accessible. This inclusion can be further developed by maintaining simplicity, as well as always remembering to refer back to the real people affected behind the seemingly indomitable abstraction of numbers. The awareness developed will help inform me to make valuable contributions in my International Relations degree and creative writing minor, where incorporating diversity and nuance prove essential.
Bibliography
[1] Bonilla-Silva, E. (2010). Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 25–52)
[2] Collins, P. H. (1990). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 221–238)
[3] McIntosh, Peggy (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, The National SEED Project – Wellesley Centres for Women., Wellesley College
[4] Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. NYU Press. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 1–18)
[5] Tatum, B. D. (2003). "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": And Other Conversations About Race. Basic Books. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 52–74)
[6] Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Antiracist. One World. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 127–148)
[7] Lorde, A. (1984). Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 124–133)
[8] DuBois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. A.C. McClurg & Co. [Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org] (pp. 3–10)
[9] Yancy, G. (2018). Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly About Racism in America. Rowman & Littlefield. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 89–106)
[10] Slave Voyages A database for the transatlantic slave trade
[11] Harley, J. B. (1988). "Maps, Knowledge, and Power." In The Iconography of Landscape: Essays on the Symbolic Representation, Design, and Use of Past Environments, edited by Denis Cosgrove and Stephen Daniels. Cambridge University Press. [Available at: https://archive.org] (pp. 277–312)
[12] Nsala looking at the hand and foot of his daughter (photo by Alice... | Download Scientific Diagram
[13] Hartman, S. (2007). Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. [Available at: [Saidiya_V._Hartman]_Lose_Your_Mother__A_Journey_A(z-lib.org).pdf ] (pp. 57–78)
[14] Mbembe, A. (2003). Necropolitics. Public Culture, 15(1), 11-40 [Available at: https://read.dukeupress.edu/public-culture/article/15/1/11/32171] (pp. 11-20)
[15] Family Separation By the Numbers | ACLU Article covering some of the key information presented
[16] Livio Sansone (Reviewed Work: Globalization and Race: Transformation in the Cultural Production of Blackness by Kamari Maxine Clarke, Deborah A. Thomas). [Available at: Review: [Untitled] on JSTOR] For example of a future implication covered
