Gender and Race Issues Questions
Answer the following questions based on the readings provided. I will attach all corresponding class notes for the readings.
THE LINK FOR THE READINGS IS: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~rvr5407/3150readings/ and each question specifies which reading you will need to refer to in order to answer the question. It is not necessary to read the entire reading, only the parts that correspond to the question being asked. The notes will also serve as a tool to help answer the questions.
Cases of plagiarism will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct.
Questions:
1. Philosophers sometimes use words that figure in ordinary discourse (that is, everyday conversation) as technical terms. Provide me with an example of this from one of our readings and explain the technical meaning assigned. (2 points)
2. Appiah discusses both self-conscious and unselfconscious aspects of racial identity. Give an original example to illustrate the idea of an unselfconscious aspect of racial identity and justify your choice. (2 points)
3. Ta Nehisi Coates writes inBetween the World and Me: “Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible that is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.” How does this quote relate to the concept of racial essentialism? Use Appiah’s text to provide support for your answer. If the resources made available through Appiah’s work don’t allow us to explain every aspect of this quote, be explicit about the limitations of Appiah’s work in this respect. (5 points)
4. What is Shelby’s thesis? How does he argue for this thesis? Provide textual support for your answers. (5 points)
5. Provide an original example of an interpretive injustice. Justify your answer. (2 points)
6. Claudia Rankine claims that the Black Lives Matter movement is organized around a demand for recognition. Offer an explanation of the idea of a “politics of recognition’ based on our course texts. Offer an explanation of what Rankine means by her claim (based on context). (5 points)
Part 2: Critical Assignment
1. Tuvel defends the following claim: the considerations that support transgenderism also support transracialism.
What would show this claim to be false? (1 point)
Offer an example of an objection that would not show this claim to be false. (1 point)
2. Tuvel considers the following objection: it’s unethical to claim black identity if one hasn’t grown up with the experience of a black person
What is this objection an objection to? (2 points)
Evaluate this claim (i.e. defend a position for or against the claim). (3 points)
What might Shelby say in response to this claim? (5 points)
3. Simone de Beauvoir is associated with the line, “One is not born, but rather, becomes a woman.” Offer an interpretation of this statement based on your reading of The Second Sex.
(5 points) Offer an evaluation of this claim (as you understand it). (5 points) (Do not consult outside sources. You have to defend your interpretation with reference to the text. Any evidence of plagiarism will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and will result in a failing grade on the assignment.)
4. “Boys will be boys.” What tacit assumptions lie behind this claim? (3 points)
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Attachments
20190530202130appiah_notes (53 kB)
20190530202208between_the_world_and_me (17 MB)
20190530202222shelby_reading (168 kB)
20190530202332beauvoir_notes (53 kB)
