Anthropology 295.01 "Special Topic: Anthropology & Representations of Mixed-Race."
MW 8-9:50 FA - 242
Prof. Katya Gibel Azoulay, ARH 121 (tel 4324)
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 10:30-noon and 1:30-3 (other times by appointment)
This course examines anthropology's contribution to the taxonomy and representations of “race”
and “culture” and its role in prescribing and proscribing the idea of interracial intimacy. Over the
course of the semester, we will examine how the topic of mixing and miscegenation was
invented, elaborated and obsessed over by anthropologists, philosophers, judges, policy-makers,
film directors and people raced as "mixed."
BACKGROUND READING ASSIGNMENT
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What everyone should know about race: the following readings are in blue because they should
be almost memorized before Mon 30 August. They are accessible at Background Readings on the
website for Race: Power of an Illusion at pbs.org –
Science Background Readings
Richard S. Garcia “The Misuse of Race in Medical Diagnosis.”
Jared Diamond “Races Without Colors.”
Troy Duster, “Op Ed”
History Background Readings:
George Fredrickson, “The Historical Origins and Development of Racism.”
Barbara J. Fields, “edited transcript”
READING ASSIGNMENTS
The first half of the semester will be focused on a close reading of Robert Young, Colonial
Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race (Routledge 1995) which historicizes and analyzes
the notion of difference. The discourse on race as a theory of science and a political ideology
emerged on both sides of the Atlantic during the 19th century and slipped into the concept of
culture in the 20th century. Indeed, since the 1980s, scholars have noted that culture did not
displace but instead became a metonym for race. Each reading assignment is deliberately short
in order to give you time to read it carefully, slowly and to follow up on footnotes. In addition,
there are several supplementary readings.
In the second half of the semester, we will use Kevin R. Johnson, Mixed Race America and the
Law (NYU Press, 2004) a compilation of abridged articles on “mixed race.” After the semester
break, I will identify additional supplementary reading assignments -- these will contribute to
interrogating and theorizing the construction of race and its corollary, mixed-race in greater
detail. During this period, we will view several films and documentaries and consider the ways
in which the discourse of multiracialism and new representations of race undermine or reinforce
racism. NOTE: Several films will be shown at 10:30 on Saturday mornings – if you are unable to
attend a screening, you are responsible for viewing the film on your own before Monday’s class
meeting. (Films will be on reserve in Burling -- however, I will check them out for 24 hours on
Friday afternoons).
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
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Weekly Journal: (30%)
The first half of the semester you will acquiring new information and a historical context for
understanding how desire/disgust shaped a trans-Atlantic white Christian European academic inquiry,
policies and public attitudes towards notions of purity and mixing. Robert Young (Colonial Desire) offers
an analysis that subjects anthropological ideas about culture to careful scrutiny and calls into question
contemporary theories of post-colonialism and ethnicity.
Every student must keep a reading journal which outlines the main points of each chapter and
highlights important footnote. Each entry represents a conversation with the text, the author and class
discussions:
What did you learn? What were the main points? What is the significance of the chapter?
How does it build on the previous chapter? What new information or questions are raised
which offer you ideas that can be applied to other courses you have or are currently
taking?
Each of the 12 Parts of Kevin Johnson, Mixed Race America and the Law are followed by a set of
review questions. You are responsible for reviewing the questions for the assigned reading
before class discussion and then addressing them in writing after class discussion as part of the
journal entry assignments. Reflections from supplementary readings and handouts, including
material that you find independently and feel is of relevance, should be incorporated into these
entries or may be entered into your journal as a separate entry.Reflection papers on Films
(20%):
Many of the films we will see do not directly compliment the readings – instead, they
register various popular and unpopular perspectives intended to influence the viewing audience.
You will keep a separate set of entries on the films (commercial, independent, made for TV and
documentaries). Your 2-3 page film reflections should draw on insights you gained cumulatively
from the readings – they should not model a film critic’s review. Instead, your focus should be
on the messages, images, stereotypes, etc which are projected to an audience:
Who does the target audience appear to be? What information is conveyed? How
are traditional notions of purity and mixing reenforced or undermined in each
film? Whose political concerns are addressed? Is the focus on individual identity
or national identity? How are individual agency and institutional structures
balanced in the films?
The journals are to be dated, typed, and paginated. Your ideas will not be graded as "correct" or
"incorrect" -- rather this is an opportunity to review, explore, and engage with ideas, historical
information, theoretical approaches, and new articulations.
Format for typing your entries:
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Left Margin 1.5", Right Margin 1."
Double spaced and standard font.
Pages must be numbered sequentially.
Entries must be dated (the dates are for you to review the development of your thoughts at the end
of the semester.)
The journal entries count toward your final grade but will not receive individual grades. Journal entries
are due on Fridays by 4:30. [There is an automatic 24-hour extension: papers may be turned in by
4:30pm on Saturdays in my home mailbox at 1405 Broad Street corner of 9th and Broad – no need to
ring the bell!] There are no other extensions!!
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Final Paper (30%)
The culminating project for this course will be a 8-10 page essay, informed by the readings,
which addresses Robert Young’s concluding question: why do our own forms of racism remain
so intimately bound up with sexuality and desire? Considering the context of the U.S. American
black/white binary as a point of departure, in what ways do racial identities conform,
compromise and confound contemporary ideas about racial difference? What are the political
implications for celebrating racial diversity and racial mixing in terms of power and distribution
of resources? What role do questions of racism, as a political phenomenon, occupy in the
discourse on “mixed race” people?
This paper should have a title page and a bibliography which draws extensively from the
bibliographical references in the texts of the semester.
CLASS DISCUSSION & PRESENTATION
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Leading Discussions (15%)
For each class, three students will be responsible for writing and distributing an outline of key
points for class distribution. This group will also discuss the main argument(s) of an essay (or chapter):
how and why the reading is significant to the key themes or topics under discussion? How are issues
linked to previous readings and class discussions? The group will highlight specific passages and
comment on them as well as raise questions for discussion – the group is responsible for addressing these
questions in their presentation and then opening them up for class discussion. Each presentation should
take about 20 minutes.
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Class Discussions (5%):
It is appropriate for there to be differences of opinion. This furthers our own understanding of the
topic. This class provides the opportunity to engage with a perspective which is in opposition to your
own. NOTE: Consensus is not the purpose of class discussion! Each of you is responsible for overcoming
the urge to be silent rather than to disagree, or to be constrained by the silencing effect of obsessive
politeness. Your efforts should be directed toward developing an informed perspective which serves as a
basis for analysis and articulation. Active engagement through discussion helps to sharpen how you
articulate your ideas – therefore, being challenged through discussion helps you refine the ways in which
you articulate these ideas.
Critical thinking and exchanging ideas depends on listening carefully to another person's
perspective and responding respectfully and effectively. The focus should be specifically on what and
why there are points of agreement or disagreement -- how is one interpretation different and in what ways
should it be valued as more or less persuasive? Personal experience is important, but you may draw on it
as an additional resource -- not a substitute -- for information or evidence from the texts we will be
reading. In other words, your arguments always need to be situated within the context of the common
readings although they may also be supplemented with outside sources. You should therefore always
back up your comments with reference to the texts and specific passages and page numbers (hence the
notes you bring to class are important)!
You must keep a hard-back folder with three sections for each of your written material
(journal entries; film evaluations; final paper) which will be submitted at the end of the semester in
a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Do not reprint. If you will be back on campus in Spring
semester, you may use your campus mailbox as the returning address.
ALL WRITTEN WORK AND FINAL PAPER ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 1:00 P.M. FRI 17
DECEMBER 2004. THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO EXTENSIONS – in case of emergency
or extenuating circumstances, you must go through the Registrar’s Office, request an incomplete
and get an official extension. (Don’t even ask: this is non-negotiable).
Weekly Schedule
Week 1
SAT 28 Aug 10 AM PART 1: AFRICANS IN AMERICA –
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/title.html
Syllabi will be distributed – first reading assignments are required for Mon 30 Aug
Mon 30 August
Introductions
Kevin Johnson Part I – A “The History of Anti-Miscegenation Laws”
(JSTOR) Sidney Kaplan, “The Miscegenation Issue in the Election of 1864" Journal of
Negro History 34, 3 pp. 274-343.
Wed 1 Sept
Discussion: KJ Part I - B “The Road to Loving v Virginia and Its Impact” and Part C:
Beyond Black and White” –
In class: discussion of Review Questions (be prepared: you should have notes and cited
passages to highlight in your discussion of the review questions)
Week 2
SAT 4 SEPT 10:30 AM
Film: South Pacific [videorecording] / a South Pacific
Enterprises, Inc. production (1958) ; produced by Buddy Adler ;
directed by Joshua Logan (150 min)
R. Young Colonial Desire: Hybridity & Diaspora
Mon 6 Sept
pp. xi-22
Wed 8 Sept
pp. 22-28
Week 3
R. Young Colonial Desire: Culture & the History of Difference
Mon 13 Sept pp. 29-43
Discussants:
Wed 15 Sept pp. 43-54
Discussants:
Week 4
R. Young Colonial Desire: The Complicity of Culture
Mon 20 Sept pp. 55-72
Discussants:
Wed 22 Sept pp. 72-89
Discussants:
Week 5
R. Young Colonial Desire: Sex and Inequality
Mon 27 Sept pp. 90-109
Discussants:
Wed 29 Sept pp. 109-117
Discussants
Week 6
R. Young Colonial Desire: Egypt in America
Mon 4 Oct
pp. 118-133
Discussants:
Wed 6 Oct
pp. 133-141
Discussants:
Week 7
R. Young Colonial Desire
** Mon 11 Oct
White Power, White Desire pp. 142-158 and Colonialism and the Desiring Machine 159-182
** Wed 13 Oct
NO CLASS
Last journal entry (5-6 pp) on Colonial Desire should include discussion of the two final
chapters as well as a summary of what you learned from the book as a whole, in what ways it
intersects with other courses you are taking this semester (in theme and in era) and preliminary
thoughts about Robert Young’s concluding question: why do our own forms of racism remain so
intimately bound up with sexuality and desire?
....................fall break....................
Week 8
Mon 25 Oct
EBSCO: Gordon, Lewis R. (1995) “Critical Mixed Race.” Social Identities 1, 2
EBSCO: Udry, J. Richard et.al (2003). “Health and Behavior Risks of Adolescents with
Mixed-Race Identity.” American Journal of Public Health 93,1.
JSTOR: Foeman & Nance (1999) “From Miscegenation to Multiculturalism: Perception
and Stages of Interracial Relationship Development.” Journal of Black Studies 29,4.
In Class: Ethnic man! [videorecording] / Entertaining Diversity presents ; written,
produced and directed by Teja Arboleda, Barbara Wilson Arboleda Imprint Evanston, IL :
Distributed by AGC/United Learning, c2000 (35 min)
Wed 27 Oct K. Johnson; Part II: Racial Identity
Discussants:
Week 9
SAT 30 OCT 10:30 AM Pinky [videorecording] / Twentieth Century Fox 1949 ; screenplay
by Philip Dunne and Dudley Nichols ; produced by Darryl F. Zanuck ; directed by
Elia Kazan
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Look up Hayes Code 1930 for specific restrictions on
miscegenation [Hayes Office Production Code]: why didn’t the leading
role of Pinky go to a black actress?
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Find on Lexis Nexis (news) obituary by Bob Thomas,
“Oscar-nominated actress Jeanne Crain dies at 78"
SUN 31 OCT 2:00 pm
Film: Broken Lance [videorecording] (1954)
Screenplay by Richard Murphy and Philip Yordan; produced by
Sol C. Siegel; directed by Edward Dmytryk
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Look up Katy Jurado: (she was most famous in the United States for her role as Gary
Cooper's former mistress in 1952's "High Noon," was nominated for a supporting-actress
Oscar for her role opposite Spencer Tracy in the 1954 western "Broken Lance"): why was
kissing allowed on screen between Katy Jurado and a white man?
Mon 1 Nov
K. Johnson; Part III: ‘Passing’
Discussants:
Wed 3 Nov
K. Johnson; Part IV: The Census
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Supplementary Readings: Why does the government use racial data? Look up explanation at:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/Ombdir15.html
http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/
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Bring to class the exact passage(s) quoting Office of Management & Budget (OMB)
explanation for the use of racial categories on the U.S. Census.
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http://www.pbs.org/mattersofrace/prog4.shtml Matters of Race: Part 4 Tomorrow’s
America
Discussants:
Week 10
SAT 6 NOV
10:30 AM
Mon 8 Nov
K. Johnson; Part V: Inheritance Rights
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Film: A House Divided (TV 2000)
Read on Lexis Nexis the case of Amanda America Dickson (1887)–Go to
“Get a Case”: Smith v. Du Bose, 78 Ga. 413 1887 – carefully read the judicial
decision. Does the film do justice to the roles of Julia Dickson or Amanda
Dickson or her mother, Julia as registered in the judicial decision? Explain?
Consider your explanation in relation to Lewis Gordon’s comments.
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Read e-reserve reading by Josephine Boyd Bradley and Kent Anderson
Lelise “White Pain Pollen: An Elite Biracial Daugher’s Quandry.”
Discussants:
Wed 10 Nov K. Johnson; Part VI: Discrimination and “Colorism”
Banana split [videorecording] : 25 stories / by Kip Fulbeck
Imprint Chicago, IL : Video Data Bank, c1991 (38 min)
Week 11
Mon 15 Nov K. Johnson; Part VII: Affirmative Action
Discussants:
Wed 17
Continuation of discussion....
Week 12
Mon 22 Nov K. Johnson; Part IX: The Immigration and Naturalization Laws
Discussants:
Wed 24 Nov K. Johnson; Part X: Racial Mixture Outside the U.S.
What my mother told me [videorecording] / a film by Frances-Anne Solomon
Imprint New York, NY : Women Make Movies, 1996 (57 min)
The Body beautiful [videorecording] / a film by Ngozi Onwurah
Imprint New York, NY : Women Make Movies, 1991 (23 min)
Discussants:
Week 13
Mon 29 Nov
(JSTOR) Joachim Warmbold (1992), “If Only She Didn’t Have Negro Blood in Her
Veins: The Concept of Metissage in German Colonial Literature.” Journal of Black Studies 23, 2
(EBSCO) Ramsay, Guy (2001). “Myth, Moment and the Challenge of Identities: stories
from Australians of Indigenous and Chinese ancestry.
Discussants:
Wed 1 Dec
K. Johnson
Part XI: A Mixed Race Society: The End of Racism?
Part XII: Future Mixed Race Legal Studies
Doubles [videorecording] : Japan and America's intercultural children / produced and
directed by Regge Life Edition American version
Imprint [Hohokus, NJ : Doubles Film Library], c1995
Week 14
Mon 6 Dec – Documentaries
Just black? [videorecording] / produced by Francine Winddance Twine, Jonathan
Frederick Warren, Francisco Ferrandiz Martin (59 min)
Imprint New York : Filmakers Library, c1991
Interracial marriage [videorecording] : blending the races in America / producer and
director, Howard Mass Imprint Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities, c1993 (52 min)
Wed 8 Dec Documentaries
Beyond black and white [videorecording] / Mian Productions ; produced, directed by
Nisma Zaman Imprint New York, N.Y. : Women Make Movies [distributor], c1995 (26 min)
Domino [videorecording] : interracial people and the search for identity / a production
of the National Film Board of Canada in association with Lucinda Films, Inc
Imprint Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1995 (44 min)
Exam Week –
Final paper due 1:00 pm 17 December - no extensions
Final paper: 8-10 page essay, cumulatively informed by the semester’s readings.
Address Robert Young’s concluding question: why do our own forms of racism remain so
intimately bound up with sexuality and desire?
1

Considering the context of the U.S. American black/white binary as a point of departure,
in what ways do racial identities conform, compromise and confound contemporary ideas
about racial difference?

What are the political implications for celebrating racial diversity and racial mixing in
terms of power and distribution of resources?

What role do questions of racism, as a political phenomenon, occupy in the discourse on
“mixed race” people?

This paper should have a title page and a bibliography which draws extensively
from the bibliographical references in the texts (print and visual) from the semester.