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Lecture Notes

Before we begin, I'd like you to practice "stepping out" for a minute. Ask yourself the following questions: What race are you? How do you know? Is your race part or all of your identity? Do you have the right to speak for your race? How about for your gender? Your class? Who else has the right to speak for your race? I ask these questions as a way to get you thinking about some of the ideas and identities that you may take for granted. Do these questions make you uncomfortable? Would they make you uncomfortable if you had to discuss them in a larger group? Why? What is it about race, in particular, that makes it such a hot topic in the U.S. and abroad?