ANTH/SOC* 6270 Diversity & Social Equality Winter 25

Department of Sociology & Anthropology

University of Guelph

Course Description

This graduate seminar course operates from the premise that diversity and social inequality are ideologically, discursively, and institutionally organized around what philosopher and cultural theorist Sylvia Wynter calls the Genre of Human as Man: A western humanist ideal type rooted in and constitutive of racial, colonial, sexual, financial, bodily, and global exploitation and abjection. Students will be asked to engage with a wide range of perspectives and theories that contribute to, work from, expand, and/or orbit around Wynter’s theory of Man, as well as more general frameworks of western humanism. The goal of the course is twofold. First, to introduce students to critical dialogues within and across Black, Indigenous, Postcolonial, Queer, Trans, and Feminist studies that conceptualize difference, diversity, and inequality as ontologically coterminous with white supremacy, cis-heteropatriarchy, and ableist capitalism. Second, to get students to apply the theoretical insights of these disciplines, and the wider lessons of the course, to empirical and current examples of social inequality in local, translocal, and global contexts, particularly in ways that help them nurture and enrich their own graduate programs and research.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Establish a critical, applied and/or practical appreciation of the varied theoretical approaches used to study diversity, difference, and inequality

2. Apply theories introduced in the course to analyze the relationship between diversity and (in)equality, with focus given to their lived experiences and graduate research program

3. Engage in critical dialogues about diversity and social inequality by collectively reflecting on course materials through in class participation and discussions, while also interacting with and listening to their peers as embodied sites of knowledge

4. Explore and develop creative, artistic, and/or digital avenues for studying diversity and social inequality that extend beyond the sociological cannon, or the traditional domains or social science research, and thus conduct research that either complements their existing program and/or emboldens them to take risks and experiment in the future

5. Develop and enhance facilitation, communication, and pedagogical skills

6. Better navigate the institution of academia and steward their work on inequality and diversity by gaining vital knowledge of academic development, including, but not limited to; understanding different types of academic publishing (subscription, graduate, open access, chapters, op-eds, creative); submitting to and presenting at academic conferences; writing cover letters; creating teaching dossiers; writing scholarship applications; etc.

Evaluation Course Engagement (25%) Seminar Instruction (30%) Studying Diversity and Social Inequality Project (45%)