“All men are born equal”. But, what about women? And, even if we are born equal, do we live in equality? How do wealth and resources fit in? In this course, you will explore inequalities that exist based upon gender, race, and socioeconomic class differences. You will become familiar with the theories that strive to explain why these inequalities exist, whom they oppress and benefit, what actions have been taken in the past, and what can be done now to dismantle the systems and institutions that perpetuate them. You will gain the knowledge necessary to engage in these debates, develop skills to facilitate meaningful dialogues, and access the tools necessary to mediate disputes and impact change.
Course Units
What is the history of the fight for equality?
In this unit, you will explore the historical background of race, gender and class to gain a greater understanding of the current context of these issues.
Here are the unit sub guiding questions you will pursue:
- What is the history of race, gender, and class?
- How do you give voice to the marginalized?
- How do you retell history?
What is the future of equality?
In this unit, we will explore contemporary issues in race, gender, and class, and predict the future of the struggle for equality.
In the 1970s, feminists began to examine the word history and critique its implication as the telling of his story, leaving out the voices of women and other minorities. Though the Greek root of history (historia) means “knowledge obtained by inquiry” and has nothing to do with the pronoun his, feminists began using the word herstory to retell historical events from a feminist perspective.
Though the use of herstory has been criticized for its etymological inaccuracy, we use it to title this unit in order to emphasize the voices missing from traditional accounts of history, and the growing trend to bring these voices into the mainstream telling of history.
Here are the unit sub guiding questions you will pursue:
- What is the future of race, gender, and class?
- How do you listen to the voices of the marginalized?
- How will you imagine equality?
