Race in the Age of Exploration

3 units

We talk a lot about racialized identities and experiences in the 21st century, but discussions about differences perceived in skin tone, ethnic ancestry, and birthplace are nothing new to the modern world. This course explores an important segment of early conversations on race, focusing on the impact of European ventures to the Asian, African, and American continents between the 12th and 18th centuries and interactions with the diverse peoples encountered therein. Students will look at the ways that struggles for control in this global age shifted historical concepts of difference from being fluid and cultural to entrenched and biological, with the effects still felt today.