Intersectionality Identity

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Intersectionality is the theory that identity and experiences can’t be reduced to or understood by appealing to one isolatable identity marker. On this theory, looking at one aspect of identity such as race, gender, gender identity, sexuality, or disability doesn’t capture all that is going on. Rather, intersectionality focuses on the interplay of identities in structuring our lived experiences; we need to see how these various aspects of identity are interlaced and enmeshed. This course will focus on understanding intersectionality, both as the theory developed historically and as it relates to more traditional approaches to understanding injustice. Throughout, we will attend to how intersectionality impacts the moral fabric of our daily lives. Whereas traditional ethical theories are structured on universal and immutable characteristics, such as our shared humanity, intersectionality prompts us to attend to the particulars of our and others’ situated experiences. We will draw on texts from authors such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and Kristie Dotson to address issues ranging from the construction of knowledge, structural oppression, transnationalism and colonialism, to activism and resistance. This course will be heavily discussion driven and grades will be based on class participation, four short writing assignments of 300-1,300 words, and a group presentation.