The Science of Race and Racism

The aim of this VIP is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of how scientific theory has been used to support the concept of race and justify racism, and how legitimate contemporary genetic analyses undermine racial arguments.

Students will be taught about the genetics of human diversity, including those phenotypes (e.g., skin colour, facial features) commonly deployed to categorize individuals into racialized groups, drawing attention to their arbitrariness and unrepresentativeness relative to the wider human genome.

Through a mix of lectures and class discussion, students will learn about the history of scientific racism, from its emergence in the Enlightenment and during European colonialism up to the present. We will also consider the topics of (a) race and health, (b) race and sporting performance, (c) race and intelligence, and (d) ancestry testing.

Having covered these basics, the focus will turn to what informed academics and students can do to promote public understanding of these issues, and push an antiracist agenda. Students will work together in small teams with the goal to produce high-quality educational resources (e.g. blogs, articles, websites, podcasts, animations, artwork, curriculum decolonization) that effectively communicate antiracist messages, while conveying the relevant science accurately, and that will be suitable for release into the public domain.

The VIP comprises a mix of lectures, group discussion, student presentations and collaborative teamwork. The project is led by Prof Kevin Lala and supported by supervisors Dr Jasmeen Kanwal and Kalyani Twyman.

Students from any academic discipline are welcome to apply. As we will primarily be dealing with biological data, ideally a significant fraction of the recruited students will be biologists, or have relevant knowledge of biology. However, we recognize interdisciplinary value in having students in the teams from other science backgrounds (medical students, psychology and neuroscience students), relevant humanity/social science disciplines (anthropology, international relations) or who bring relevant skillsets for project work (e.g. film and media studies).

We are keen to take on students at a mix of levels. On the one hand, fourth year or postgraduate students bring relevant background knowledge that they can share with their team members and the class. On the other hand, having participated in the VIP, first-to-third year students will subsequently have the opportunity to apply what they learn in other modules and activities outwith the project (for instance, by helping to decolonize other teaching, or to engage constructively in other antiracist activities across the university).
The first four weeks of each semester will be dedicated to acquiring critical knowledge on the topics of race and racism, through a mix of lectures and class discussion.

Thereafter, students will work together in small teams of c. 3-4 individuals to produce high-quality anti-racist resources. Each team will meet twice weekly, including once with a member of the supervisory team. Teams will be required to provide regular updates on project development, including a formal presentation to the class.
Creative Project (60%). Each team will produce a creative product, which is an antiracist resource that accurately conveys relevant scientific knowledge about race and racism. For instance, the creative product could be a blog, article, website, podcast, animation, artwork, or the redesigned curriculum for a teaching module. The objective is to produce a resource of sufficient quality to be placed in the public domain. The length/size will reflect the number of credits for each student in the team, and be assessed partly on a group basis.

Essay (20%). To ensure they have a good grounding in the basic biology, students will be required to write an essay on the science of race, in which they demonstrate an ability to distinguish science from pseudoscience.

Weekly log (10%). Students submit their log prior to the weekly team meeting with the supervisor(s). The log briefly reflects on progress, challenges, outcomes and possible next steps.

Poster (10%). This will be assessed on a group basis.

Presentation (0%). Teams will give one or more reports describing their project and the progress made. Presentation will be optional but encouraged, and preparatory participation of slides is compulsory.

Formative Peer Evaluation (0%). An anonymous evaluation by students of the participation and effort levels of peers who form part of their VIP team or sub-team.

The Science of Race and Racism

Candidate eligibility

Methods and technologies

Assessment