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Since the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, many have observed that his inauguration marked the dawn of a new era in U.S. race relations: a ‘postracial’ America. Nevertheless, after the brutal killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 this newly declared ‘color blind’ society has been called into question. Now You See It, Now You Don’t is a course that invites students to critically engage with this ongoing debate surrounding a ‘postracial’ America. By exploring literary texts, visual media, architecture, performance art, or popular culture of their own choosing, students will be offered the opportunity to look at the contemporary state of race in America.
This freedom of choice will be possible, because Now You See It, Now You Don’t will be held in a different format than students are perhaps used to: In our course we will encourage learning through research (“Forschendes Lernen”). After three introductory sessions about the idea of a ‘postracial’ America, students will work on individual projects and will be given the opportunity to research and write on a topic of their choice. As course instructors we will guide you through the process of formulating a thesis, finding secondary texts, assessing their quality, and writing a scientific presentation. To receive credit for the course, students will have to present their findings at a student conference at the end of the semester. |
