Philosophy of Race

PHIL 4332: Philosophy of Race

Spring 2023, University of Texas at Dallas

Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Tsou

Course Description: This course examines metaphysical and epistemological questions related to race: What is race? Do races exist? If races exist, what is the nature of their reality? Are races objective or non-objective categories? The course will explore a wide variety of philosophical perspectives on race (e.g., racial eliminativism, social constructionism, realism, naturalism). Topics covered in the course include: (1) historical perspectives on race, (2) anti-realist perspectives on race, (3) social constructionist perspectives on race, (4) realist perspectives on race, and (5) biological perspectives on race. Students will read a variety of important philosophical readings on race, including works by Naomi Zack, Anthony Appiah, Charles Mills, Quayshawn Spencer, Sally Haslanger, and Ian Hacking.

Course Texts:

• PDF reading packet (provided)

Course Evaluation:

Attendance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

Classroom Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%        

Examination (week 7) . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

Writing Assignment (week 12) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

Final Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%

The exam (week 7) is multiple choice and covers materials from weeks 1-6. The written assignment (week 12) requires students to defend a perspective (eliminativist, social constructionist, realist) on race (6-8 pages). Final papers (10-12 pages) can be on any topic covered in the course (and can expand on analyses given in the writing assignment. Students are expected to do some independent research for final papers.

Course Schedule:

1. Historical Perspectives on Race

Week 1                   

• [Tues]: James, Michael and Adam Burgos, (2022). Race, Sections 1-2. In Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Spring 2022 Edition (recommended)

• [Thurs]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Philosophical Racial Essentialism: Hume and Kant. Ch. 1 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 9-24)

• Kant, Immanuel (1777). Of the Different Races of Human Beings. In Kant: Anthropology, History, and Education (recommended)

Week 2                   

• [Tues]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Geography and Ideas of Race. Ch. 2 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 25-40)

• Blumenbach, Johannes Friedrich (1795). On the Natural Variety of Man. In The Idea of Race (recommended)

• [Thurs]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Transmission Genetics and Ideas of Race. Ch. 4 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 59-71)

• Caspari, Rachel (2018). Polygenism. International Encyclopedia of Biological Anthropology (recommended)

Week 3            

• [Tues]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Genealogy and Ideas of Race. Ch. 5 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 73-86)

• Darwin, Charles (1871). The Descent of Man, excerpts (recommended)

• [Thurs]: Jeffers, Chike (2013). The Cultural Theory of Race: Yet Another Look at Du Bois’s ‘The Conservation of the Races.’ Ethics

• Du Bois, W. E. B. (1895). The Conservation of the Races (recommended) 

2. Anti-Realism about Race: Racial Eliminativism

Week 4               

• [Tues]: Appiah, K. Anthony (1985). The Uncompleted Argument: Du Bois and the Illusion of Race. Critical Inquiry

• [Thurs]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Race and Contemporary Anthropology. Ch. 6 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 87-102)

Week 5                               

• [Tues]: Zack, Naomi (2002). Race and Contemporary Anthropology. Ch. 7 of Philosophy of Science and Race (pp. 103-117)

• [Thurs]: Appiah, K. Anthony (2006). How to Decide If Races Exist. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society
  
  

3. Social Constructionist Positions on Race

Week 6                   

• [Tues]: Mallon, Ron (2006). Race: Normative, Not Metaphysical or Semantic. Ethics

• Mallon, Ron (2004). Passing, Traveling and Reality: Social Constructionism and the Metaphysics of Race. Noûs (recommended)

• [Thurs]: no class

Week 7                   

• [Tues]: Mills, Charles (2000). But What are You Really? In Race, Class, and Community Identity

• Jeffers, Chike (2019). Cultural Constructionism. In What is Race? (recommended)

• [Thurs]: *** in class exam ***

Week 8                    

• [Tues]: Haslanger, Sally (2012). The Social Construction of Race. In Resisting Reality

• [Thurs]: Haslanger, Sally (2000). Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them to Be? Noûs

• Haslanger, Sally (2010). Language, Politics and ‘The Folk’: Looking for ‘The Meaning’ of ‘Race’ The Monist (recommended)

Week 9                   

• No class – Spring break
  
  

4. Realism about Race: Folk and Scientific Concepts

Week 10                 

• [Tues]: Hardimon, Michael O. (2003). The Ordinary Concept of Race. Journal of Philosophy

• [Thurs]: Hacking, Ian (2005). Why Race Still Matters. Daedelus

• Hacking, Ian (1999). Why Ask What? In The Social Construction of What? (recommended)

Week 11                 

• [Tues]: Kitcher, Philip (2007). Does ‘Race’ Have a Future? Philosophy & Public Affairs

• [Thurs]: Glasgow, Joshua, and Woodward, Jonathan M. (2015). Basic Racial Realism. Journal of the American Philosophical Association.

• McPherson, Lionel K. (2015). Deflating ‘Race’. Journal of the American Philosophical Association  (recommended)

5. Biological Perspectives on Race

Week 12                 

• [Tues]: Spencer, Quayshawn (2017). Racial Realism I: Are Biological Races Real? Philosophy Compass

• Feldman, Marcus W., Lewontin, Richard C., and King, Mary-Claire (2003). Race: A Genetic Melting Pot. Nature (recommended)

• [Thurs]: Kaplan, Jonathan M., & Winther, Rathmus G. (2014). Realism, Antirealism, and Conventionalism about Race. Philosophy of Science

• *** writing assignment due in class ***

Week 13                 

• [Tues]: Andreasen, Robin (2000). Race: Biological Reality or Social Construct? Philosophy of Science

• Andreasen, Robin O. (1998). A New Perspective on the Race Debate. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (recommended)

• [Thurs]: no class

Week 14                 

• [Tues]: Spencer, Quayshawn (2012). What ‘Biological Racial Realism’ Should Mean. Philosophical Studies

• [Thurs]: Spencer, Quayshawn (2014). A Radical Solution to the Race Problem Philosophy of Science

6. Race and Racism

Week 15              

• [Tues]: Blum, Lawrence (2002). Racism: What it is and What it isn’t. Studies in Philosophy and Education.

• Young, Iris (2004). Five Faces of Oppression (recommended)

• [Thurs]: Shelby, Tommie (2004). Race and Ethnicity, Race and Social Justice: Rawlsian Considerations. Fordham Law Review

• Mills, Charles (2013). Retrieving Rawls for Racial Justice? A Critique of Tommie Shelby. Critical Philosophy of Race

Week 16                 

• *** Optional student presentations for bonus marks ***

Exam week             Submit final paper – Thursday May 12

Grading Scale

Letter Grade         Range       

A+                           95-100

A                              90-94

A-                            86-89

B+                           82-85

B                              78-81

B-                            74-77

C+                           70-73

C                             66-69

C-                            62-65

D+                           58-61

D                             54-57

D-                            50-53

F                              0-49

Academic Integrity and Dishonesty

The value of this course depends on each student doing his or her own work. Academic dishonesty undermines individual learning and is unfair to the other students in class. Academic dishonesty in any form—including plagiarism, collusion, cheating, and misrepresentation—will not be tolerated and will lead to failure in the course and being reported to the Dead of Students. For information on academic dishonesty, see UTD’s Academic Integrity and Academic Dishonesty pages. Students are expected to abide by UTD’s Student Code of Conduct and the Comet Creed: “As a Comet, I pledge honesty, integrity, and service in all that I do.”

Class Attendance and Participation

Students are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared to discuss the course materials. Students who fail to participate in class regularly are inviting scholastic difficulty. A portion of the grade for this course is directly tied to your attendance and participation. It also includes engaging in group or other activities during class that solicit your feedback on materials covered in the lectures.

Classroom Conduct

During class, please turn off your phones, and do not send text messages, surf the internet, or check email. During classroom discussions, please be courteous and respectful towards your peers and instructor.

Disability

It is the policy and practice of UTD to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. However, written notification from the Office of Student Accessibility (OSA) is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Students who have questions about receiving accommodations, or those who have, or think they may have, a disability (mobility, sensory, health, psychological, learning, etc.) are invited to contact OSA for a confidential discussion. OSA is located in the Student Administration Building, AD 2.224. They can be reached by phone at 972-883-2098, or by email at studentaccess@utdallas.edu.  

Academic Support Resources

If you require academic support, please see the University’s Student Services and Support and Student Success Center pages.