AJL27087 How Did It Come to This? The Roots of Inequality in the US and UK in the Age of Trump and Brexit

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
dr. Sagar Deva (lecturer), Mgr. Denisa Krásná, BA (Hons), Ph.D. (deputy)
Mgr. Denisa Krásná, BA (Hons), Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 10 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/10, only registered: 0/10, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/10
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
Much of the Post-War liberal consensus has been based around the idea that humanity was ultimately and inevitably moving beyond the many prejudices and forms of discrimination that had defined its past. However, the election of Donald Trump, Brexit, and the rising tide of nationalism across Europe has challenged these assertions, even in the Western world. At the same time, whilst an elite in the Global South increasingly prosper, the vast majority of the populations there continue to languish in poverty. This course will seek to understand, through an intersectional analysis, the complex systems of discrimination that have underpinned and still underpin both the rising tide of nationalism in the West and the continued poverty and suffering of the Global South, suggesting a clear connection between the two. It will look at the multiple forms of discrimination on which these systems of prejudice and inequality rest, with a particular focus on racism, sexism, and the ‘intersectional’ relationship between these two forms of prejudice which impacts particularly on women of colour. This course will seek this intersectional perspective from both a historical and contemporary standpoint. It will thus look at the history of racism and sexism within the United States and United Kingdom, demonstrating how the roots of these forms of discrimination continue to inform debate today in both these countries and abroad. To this end, it will focus respectively on the genocide of Indigenous peoples and the Civil Rights movement in the US and the aggressive colonisation via which the United Kingdom came to control 1/3 of the planet. It will then seek to understand how these forms of discrimination inform practice in the wider contemporary world. It will show how a variety of current international practices continue to perpetuate these forms of discrimination, looking specifically at the way in which economic policy through neoliberalism and environmental destruction continue to perpetuate inequality and embolden forms of discrimination.
Learning outcomes (in Czech)
After the Course, a student will be able to:
1)Understand the key theoretical and historical foundations of injustice in the United Kingdom and United States.
2)Apply this theoretical and historical knowledge to understand wider injustices in the contemporary world.
3) Critically engage with ideas of social and global justice through class discussion and group presentations.
4) Produce effective analysis and assessment of these contemporary issues through written assessment.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • Sexism/ Intersectionality
  • Racism: Slavery, Colonialism
  • Capitalism: Neoliberalism
  • Neoliberalism/ Femicides
Literature
    required literature
  • KRÁSNÁ, Denisa and Sagar DEVA. Neoliberalism, NAFTA, and Dehumanization : The case of femicides in Ciudad Juárez. Fast Capitalism. Arlington, TX: University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, 2019, vol. 16, No 1, p. 31-40. ISSN 1930-014X. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.32855/fcapital.201901.004. URL info
  • HOOKS, Bell. Ain't I a woman :black women and feminism. London: Pluto Press, 1982, 205 s. ISBN 0-86104-379-0. info
  • MILLETT, Kate. Sexual politics. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Comp., 1970, xii, 393. info
  • DOUGLASS, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas, an American slave. New York: New American Library, 1968, xviii, 126. ISBN 0-451-15523-8. info
    recommended literature
  • Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July. Edited by James A. Colaiaco. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 247 p. ISBN 1403970335. info
Teaching methods (in Czech)
A combination of lectures and class and group discussions and presentations.
Assessment methods (in Czech)
1. Attendance and Active Participation (30 %)
2. Research Essay (50%)
3. Response Paper (20%)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
Note related to how often the course is taught: Meeting Times: November 2020, 2-3 times per week ONLINE.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2020/AJL27087