HONOR 3060 - Black, White, and Gray: Construction of Race in South Africa and Australia

The objective of this course is to help students understand the history and current state of racial policy in South Africa and Australia to an extent that allows them to apply insights gained through this comparison to an evaluation of race relations in an increasingly diverse America. The course will argue that Australia and South Africa, in attempting to solve what they perceive as a racial "problem," pursued courses of action that were diametrically opposed, but equally futile in meeting their objectives and disastrous in their consequences. We will propose that any sweeping policy ossifying people in racial categories and distributing good and opportunities accordingly is doomed to the kind of failure experienced by the ruling elites in Australia and South Africa.