190069 SE M10 Spezielle ethische Fragestellungen (2015S)

This course provides an introduction to the field of Critical Whiteness Studies by looking at the genealogy of this research area as well as its relevance to other fields, such as Education, Critical Pedagogy, and Sociology. The class also sets out to question and critically reflect the students’ own identity positions and standpoints as white (or non-white) individuals and how this awareness helps to look at society in different ways. While most scholarly literature and media examples will be taken from a U.S. context, we will also attempt to see how whiteness needs to be seen differently in a European context, specifically in Austria and Germany. The class thereby also establishes the relevance for critical awareness of white privilege beyond the United States. This is particularly important in light of increasingly diversified classrooms which require teachers’ sensibility for their personal blind spots with regards to their own whiteness. “Making Whiteness Visible” is thus a class that seeks to blend theoretical concepts with practical applications for the students’ own teaching and learning environments, particularly in contexts of multicultural education.