How do our unconscious biases impact the way we view people within the African Diaspora? The course aims to explore intersectional inequalities of citizenship and the politics of Belonging and how our unconscious biases impact the way we view people within the African Diaspora. The relationship between migration, social cohesion and national German identity has become an increasingly contentious political issue. We will explore the relationship between racial and ethnocultural diversity. Historically, the settlement of migrant groups and the formation of minority ethnic groups have changed the socio-cultural, political and economic fabric of receiving societies. Thus, the African continent and the ancestral homeland must be central to any informed analysis and understanding of the dispersal of its people. Africa, in all of its cultural prosperity and diversity, remains alive in the receiving societies as the various ethnic groups created new cultures and recreated their old ways as circumstances allowed. A focus will be given to narrative and discourses, both as tools for analysis and comprehending society's othering of the Black body. Berlin will be used as a case study for themes covered, however, students are encouraged to reflect on their own identities and the expressions of various identities around the city. Class sessions will be composed of lectures, online discussions forums and an excursion through Berlin's Black History. Course materials and readings are designed to give special emphasis to the African Diaspora initiatives and perspectives. Ultimately the course provides students with a wide interdisciplinary introduction into the othering of (Black) Africans, so that students can interpret contemporary African issues with an informed historical background. This course is open to all students across all intersections of society with a strong interest in the course topic.
Language requirements: English B2
The detailed syllabus for this course is available on the Berlin Perspectives website:
https://hic.hu-berlin.de/en/berlin-perspectives/courses
This course is offered by the Career Center as part of the elective program üWP. It is open to international exchange students, and to regular HU students.
Registration is open until 14 October 2021.