Identity Syllabus
INTRODUCTION
What is social identity? Henri Tajfel, British Social Psychologist pioneered work on cognitive aspects of prejudice and social identity theory. He posited Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s).Tajfel proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belonged to were an important source that feed into the being of the person. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.
Who are you? How do you identify yourself? What is the most important part of your identity? Is it your sex, your race or ethnicity, your sexual orientation, your class status, your nationality, your religious affiliation, your age, your political beliefs? The answers to these questions clearly depend on many factors. They prod us to think about our identities in singular terms (ex. I am female or I am male), but also as multiple and intersecting parts (ex. I am a Latina female college student from south Florida). Most importantly, these questions lead us to consider the meaning of identity. Beyond “who am I?” these questions frame our individual identities in a broader social context and in relation to other groups. Our identities that are not connected to our biology are social constructions of society. Our gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and class can play a significant role in determining whether we have social, political and economic power, how we get that power, and how we use it. Our identity can fundamentally shape our life experience, how we’re treated, whom we meet and become friends with, what kind of education and jobs we get, where we live, what opportunities we’re afforded, and what kind of inequities we may face. -Dr. Edwanna Andrews and Dr. Tameca Harris-Jackson
Watch & Listen:
The danger of a single story Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
 Listen:
"The Truth about Stories:
A Native Narrative" In his 2003 Massey lecture, award-winning author and scholar Thomas King looks at the breadth and depth of Native experience and imagination. Beginning with Native oral stories, King weaves his way through literature and history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest, in an effort to make sense of North America's relationship with its Aboriginal peoples.
Adam Falkner: "My Father's Family"
Denice Frohman: "Accents"
Alex Dang: "What Kind of Asian Are You?"
READ "I am white. I have spent years studying what it means to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet is deeply divided by race. This is what I have learned: Any white person living in the United States will develop opinions about race simply by swimming in the water of our culture. But mainstream sources—schools, textbooks, media—don’t provide us with the multiple perspectives we need." -Dr. Robin DiAngelo
"White Fragility: Why It's So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism"
"White Fragility"
"A Challenge to White Silence in Real Discussions"
"Social Identity Formation"
"Identities" by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Identity: Sociological Perspectives" by Steph Lawler
"Social Identity" by Richard Jenkins
READ "Identity Technologies: Constructing the Self Online" by Anna Poletti and Julie Rak
"Marked Identities: Narrating Lives Between Social Labels and Individual Biographies" by Roberta PiazzaÂ
Art
that is giving us LIFE
"Four Women" by Nina Simone
It tells the story of four different AfricanAmerican women. Each of the four characters represents an Black American stereotype in society.Â
Shirin Neshat Art in Exile Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat explores the paradox of being an artist in exile: a voice for her people, but unable to go home. In her work, she explores Iran pre- and post-Islamic Revolution, tracing political and societal change through powerful images of women.