The prevalence of coded racial appeals in American politics invites us to reconsider racism, racial ideologies, and the social construction of race. In this seminar we'll talk about strategic and routine racism, colorblindness, and the interplay between dog whistle politics and a racially stratified society. Looking toward the future, we'll also consider whether demography will save us, or whether instead whiteness as an organizing principle in politics and society is likely to expand, for instance to incorporate many Hispanics and Asian Americans.

See also: 

Rejecting any simple story of malevolent and obvious racism, in this lecture Ian Haney López links the two central themes that dominate American politics today: the Republican Party’s increasing reliance on white voters, and the destabilization and decline of the middle class—white and nonwhite members alike.

From ISIS's abuse of Christian minorities in Iraq, to massacres of Muslims in the Central African republic, to the Charlie Hebdo incident in France, religion and violence (and the question of "religious violence") are current issues about which students and faculty alike have pressing questions. What I've been thinking about as a professor of Islamic Studies in the department of Religious Studies is how to help students frame their learning about these conflicts within broader discourses on secularism, power, media, and the conflation of race and religion in the US and abroad.

CSREA invites you to engage in an informal conversation with Professor Jim Gates (University of Maryland) over lunch. This discussion presents an opportunity to learn more about his experiences as a black professor and theoretical physicist, and discuss challenges faced by underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

Please RSVP by Monday, 3/16 at 5pm if you would like to attend: [email protected]

This panel discussion will feature experts on police policies that have fueled extensive racial and other profiling, the expansion of mass incarceration and the effects of these policies and practices.

Presented in collaboration with the Taubman Center for Public Policy and the Watson Institute for International Studies. 

The Scholarship of Diversity and Inclusion in the Academy: Lessons Learned and the Work Ahead for Universities in the 21st Century 

This day-long symposium brings a group of the nation’s most respected intellectuals on race, racial theory and racial inequality together to consider the troubling state of black life in America today.

Dr. Laurence Ralph will engage in an open dialogue with students and faculty about urban ethnography, methodology, and crafting a research project. He will discuss some of the challenges of engineering a research project and techniques for writing about emotionally charged social issues.