Historians often do a really good job of investigating the past throughonespecific lens. For example, there are many histories of the United States that examine the development of the nation through the lens of raceORgenderORsexuality. But, these singularly focused histories don't give us the big picture and don't examine how raceANDgenderANDsexuality are experienced at the same time.
A timely example of these kinds of analysis can be seen in the discussions about the recent success of black women in tennis despite the discrimination they have faced. Some historians have examined sexism in tennis while others have examined racism in tennis, but Venus & Serena Williams, Sloane Stevens, and Naomi Osaka are black women who experience racism and sexism at the same time. How do we account for that? The course materials for this week try to tackle that difficult task. As with previous weeks, our scholars come from different perspectives and ask us to think about things a little bit differently, but they are all concerned with trying to "keep things complex."
For your post this week:
Define intersectionalityand explain why it is important (2-3 sentences). Then, chooseonereading or video to discuss in greater depth. What is the main argument or main idea? Why is it an important concept for us to keep in mind when we start to look at the early 20th Century next week? (3-5 sentences).
For your replies:
There are no limits on who you can reply to. You can reply to someone who discussed the same course material or you can reply to someone who discussed a differentone. If you have historical examples you'd like include, please do! Feel free to bring in topics or content from previous weeks as well in your replies. This is a chance for you to assess how our course concepts come together! (3-5 sentences)
https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?wmode=opaque