CHID 206 A: Violence and Contemporary Thought

In this class, students will explore white supremacy from a variety of angles, rooting us in an understanding of white supremacy as both 1) a fundamental and systemic component of American culture and 2) as something that individual people can be radicalized into and deradicalized away from. We will consider the relationship between white supremacy and other forms of oppression, such as anti-LGBTQ bias, xenophobia, and weight stigma, and learn to recognize hateful speech in both its implicit and explicit forms. We will do this in part by analyzing campaign materials and media coverage from the 2024 presidential election. We will also explore how cultures change over time and think about where American culture may be headed next. Finally, we will explore how to build relationships and communities that can identify and address the harms done by white supremacy culture. 

This course is entirely seminar-based, meaning that students will learn through facilitated discussion, guided by a series of assigned readings related to topics that will change each week. Much of the work outside of class will be in preparing for class, including readings and regular reflections. Students will be asked to make decisions about how they would like to be evaluated. All readings will be available on Canvas.

Since this is a seminar and I’d prefer you to have time to focus on understanding the readings and preparing to talk about them in class, we’re going to use more qualitative than quantitative grades. This means that while you will get a letter grade at the end of the quarter, I won’t be grading individual assignments. However, I will be giving feedback, and you’ll be reflecting on your own work too – that’s what the weekly participation/progress surveys are for. You will use those to give yourself grades; those grades will be the basis of your final grade in the class, with potentially some adjustment from me. We’ll talk through your self-assessment periodically throughout the quarter, and if this method of grading makes you feel anxious or worried, then we’ll figure out something that will work better for you. 

Email me with questions or concerns! jseiler@uw.edu