Faculty Advisor: Researcher PhD candidate, University of Pennsylvania; Head Teacher in History, Leiden University, 2019

Program Start Time: TBD (meetings will take place for around one hour per week)

Research Practicum Introduction

Does the concept of race only apply to people of color? This Research Practicum illustrates that racial thinking and ideologies were integral in the construction of many national (as well as supranational) identities. Learning more about race, therefore, is crucial for understanding our contemporary world.

This Research Practicum is an introduction to global racism and anti-racism. Rather than solely looking at systematic and institutional racism in the USA, most of the readings and classes primarily zero in on other parts of the world. It emphasizes how many racist movements and ideologues have collaborated across (national) borders throughout the ages. What, then, does this mean for the relationship between nationalism and racism?

Throughout the program, the students will gain analytical tools to talk about racism and anti-racism. The students will also be asked to write a case study on a topic of their own interest, and will be encouraged to publish this, to increase the likelihood that their explorations and findings will help to inform real-world decisions.

Possible Topics For Final Project

• What is the Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism, and why is it so resilient?

• What are the origins of Apartheid in South Africa?

• How did African, Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian People end up as indentured workers on the American Plantations after the abolition of slavery?

• How was the Wang Jingwei regime enacting and furthering racial practices?

• Why were the Métis (persons of mixed parentage) in French Indochina mistreated by both the French and Vietnamese?

• Why did White Supremacists, such as Robert Brasillach, openly ally themselves with Black Africans?

• Why are the concepts of 'race,' 'racism,' and 'Fascism' so crucial to understand the invasion of Ukraine?

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

• Workload: Around 4-5 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: This program is beneficial to any 9-12th grade student.