The Construction of Racial Essentialism: Intersections of Racial, Gender, Sexual and National Identities.
To register your place please refer to the ‘Registration Details’ section further down this page.
Led by Dr John Wilkins, this guided reading group will meet once a month, online, to discuss a number of key texts exploring the binary categories of Blackness and Whiteness, the power relationship of white supremacy over black, and how our racialised thinking influences our understanding of race and sexual difference and notions of national identity.
The racialisation of the human body arguably began with the enslavement of African people in what was the transatlantic slave trade. This guided reading group seeks to understand the binary categories of Blackness and Whiteness. As the abolitionist medallion created by Josiah Wedgwood above indicates, there is a power relationship of white supremacy over black. How does this power dynamic influence how we think of each other biologically as men and women? Does our biological understanding of race exclude sexual difference; and ultimately how does our racialised thinking influence how we think of ourselves as an Irish Nation? Importantly, participants are encouraged to consider Ireland’s involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, and to consider how that involvement manifests itself in the way we think of ourselves today?
This reading group is open to anyone with an interest in the subject of racial essentialism. It will be of particular interest to artists, curators, cultural and political theorists, art critics and students. Each session will focus on a section or chapter from the selected book, which will be circulated in PDF format in advance of the session. Purchasing the books is not essential to participation but we will provide links to where you can acquire the publications locally if you wish to do so.
The group will consist of approximately 20 participants. Participants must commit to attending all sessions at the time of registration. Some IMMA staff may join individual sessions over the course of the programme.
For further information or to register contact Lisa Moran, Curator: Engagement and Learning via [email protected].