Topics in Social Justice:
Race, Caste, and Settler Colonialism
Instructor: Sonja Thomas
Wednesdays • 4 classes – 9/22-10/13 • 10:15 AM-12:15 PM
Class size 5-25 students
12 seats remaining
Location: Jewett 190
The class will be both in-person and on Zoom at 190 Jewett Hall.
This class will examine particular topics in social justice. These include caste, critical race theory, and settler colonialism. It is meant to be an introduction to each of these topics. This course will be lecture based, with ample time in each class period for questions and discussion.
The class will be held in 4 sessions: classroom
What is Caste?
Have you heard of caste but never really understood what it is? Have you read Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste and have lingering questions? Why is it important to recognize caste as a protected category in non-discrimination policies?
This lecture will be a primer on caste where you can learn about terms, caste discrimination in South Asia and in the US, and activism to end caste apartheid. I will discuss how caste is institutionalized and systemic, the intersections of caste with gender, class, and race, dispel commonly held myths about caste, and discuss the Cisco case in the United States.
This lecture is (roughly) 40 mintues long, giving ample time for Q&A/discussion.
What is the Relationship
Between Caste and Race?
What is the relationship between colorism, racism, and casteism? If race is a caste system, what is caste in a caste system? Why is it important to recognize caste as a protected category in non-discrimination policies?
This lecture picks up from information in the lecture “What is Caste?” I’ll give background information on forms of “descent based discriminations,” the issue of colorism and its relationship to race, and I’ll discuss activism against anti-Blackness and anti-Dalitness in South Asia and the diaspora.
This lecture is (roughly) 40 mintues long, allowing ample time for Q&A/discussion.
Critical Race Theory, What is it?
Critical Race Theory has been in the news lately–from parents at school board meetings voicing their opposition to it being taught in schools, to Donald Trump’s executive action on CRT, to news pundits discussing and debating the value of CRT. With everyone weighing in, it can be difficult to find reliable sources and information on what CRT actually is.
This lecture will cover the basics of CRT and why it has become such a hot button issue. I will especially discuss the concept of “intersectionality” and how CRT and legal studies have impacted other academic disciplines. I will give personal thoughts on teaching CRT at a college level, and discuss why we have latched onto CRT—rather than discussing teaching the history of race relations/racism at K-12 levels.
Immigration and Catholic Settler Colonialism
In June 2021, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland launched an investigation into Catholic boarding schools in the US. This announcement came on the heels of the “discovery” of mass graves of Native children at boarding schools in Canada. In this class, I will give an overview of settler colonialism and its difference from extraction colonization. We will learn about the history about boarding schools and discuss how these schools furthered the US colonial state’s settler agenda.
Finally, I will touch on the present day reckonings of clerical abuse on Native reservations and indigenous feminist theory/resistance to settler colonialism.
Sonja’s other research interest is tap dance history. She has written articles on tap history, intersectionality and black vernacular traditions, and on blackface abroad (specifically in Asia). She teaches tap dance and black feminist thought in a class at Colby called “Critical Race Feminisms and Tap Dance.”
Check out this video of the class here:
Critical Race Feminisms and Tap Dance
Sonja Thomas is an Associate Professor of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at Colby College. Her research examines the intersections of caste, race, gender, class, and religion in postcolonial India and community-based movements for “minority rights.” She is the author of Privileged Minorities: Syrian Christianity, Gender, and Minority Rights in Postcolonial India (UWA Press, 2018). She has also written articles on education and religious minorities in India, the South Asian American diaspora and comparative racializations, and Black vernacular traditions in the US and globally. Sonja is associate editor for South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. She is currently researching Catholic missionary priests from India serving in rural America.