This course investigates how Western societies have comprehended humanity's physical diversity and why these understandings have changed over time. We will examine the historical processes which gradually encouraged this diversity to be read both as evidence of permanent, innate, 'racial' difference and justification for socio-political inequality, or 'racist' discrimination. The course considers the concept of 'race' within the contexts of the development of scientific knowledge regarding the natural world and the intellectual history of what it was to be human. Students will explore how these ideas shaped colonisation and chattel slavery; nationalism and empire; segregation and sexuality; and eugenics and genocide.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. describe the origin and development of racial thinking in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia;
2. evaluate scholarship on the history of race and racism, the human body, and the social/life sciences ;
3. locate and interpret primary sources to generate insights into the past;
4. complete an individual research project; and
5. articulate their understanding of the past and relate it to both the historiography and present-day concerns.

Required Resources

Other than the expectation that students will either print out copies of the primary sources for tutorials or have them to hand on laptops or tablets, there are no materials (e.g. published textbooks) required for purchase for this course. Secondary readings for tutorial preparation will also be available in Wattle in e–form.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	What is “Race” & How Do We Study Its History?	Mapping out coursework choices
2	Status Quo Ante: the Medieval Chain of Being	Writing the history of ideas, science, race
3	Reconquest & Revelation; Renaissance & Reformation	Research proposals and essays
4	Scientific Revolution & Rational Society	“Sons of Adam” & racism c.1450–1650
5	The Discovery of Life & Matter over Mind	“Black” slavery & racism c.1650–1750
6	The Evolution of Social Darwinism	“Caucasian” freedom & racism c.1750–1850
7	Finding Cells at the Fin de Siècle	Research consultations
8	Eugenics and Blood Redux	“Neanderthal” Celts & racism c.1850–1900
9	Eugenics, or the Catastrophe of a Racial Biology	“Aryan” Anti–Semites and racism c.1900–1950
10	Presentation workshop: details tba.	Seminar Presentations
11	Research colloquium: details tba.	Seminar Presentations
12	The End of Scientific Racism?	Seminar Presentations

Tutorial Registration

via MyTimetable

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Book Review	20 %	*	*	1,2,5
Research Proposal	10 %	28/03/2024	15/04/2024	1,3
Tutorial Presentation	10 %	*	*	1,2,5
Research Essay	60 %	03/06/2024	27/06/2024	1,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Book Review

• 1000 words

• 20% of the final grade.

• Presentation requirements: double-line spaced on numbered A4 pages in doc. or docx. format. A sample grading rubric will be available on Wattle and further written advice about how to approach this assessment appears below.

• Due: 1 calendar week after we have discussed the book and/or its immediate historical context in tutorials. For example, week 4's title, discussed in either tutorial on 12 March would be due by 5pm on 19 March.

You will write a book review of one text related to one of the tutorial topics. Suggested titles are:

Week 4 tutorial: “Sons of Adam” & racism c.1450–1650

v Resnick, I.M., Marks of Distinction. Christian Perceptions of Jews in the High Middle Ages (Washington, DC, 2012) >ebook

Week 5 tutorial: “Black” Slavery & racism c.1650–1750

v Foote, T.W., Black and White Manhattan. The History of Racial Formation in Colonial New York City (New York, 2004). >ebook

v Gerbner, K., Christian Slavery. Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (Philadelphia, 2018). >ebook

Week 6 tutorial: “Caucasian” Freedom & racism c.1750–1850

v Anderson, K., Race and the Crisis of Humanism (London, 2007). >ebook

v Parkinson, R.G., Thirteen Clocks. How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence (Chapel Hill, 2021). >ebook

Week 8 tutorial: “Neanderthal” Celts & racism c.1850–1900

v Jacobson, M.F., Whiteness of a Different Color. European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race (Cambridge, MA, 1998). E184.E95 J33 1998

v Love, E., Race over Empire. Racism and U.S. Imperialism, 1865–1900 (Chapel Hill, 2004). >ebook

Week 9 tutorial: “Aryan” Anti–Semites and racism c.1900–1950

v Ehrenreich, E., The Nazi Ancestral Proof. Genealogy, Racial Science, and the Final Solution (Bloomington, 2007). >ebook

v Goldhagen, D.J., Hitler’s Willing Executioners. Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (New York, 1996/7). D804.3.G648 1997

Assessment Task 2

Research Proposal

· 750 words

· 10% of the final grade, but see also tutorial participation/presentation below.

· Presentation requirements: double-line spaced on numbered A4 pages in doc. or docx. format. A sample grading rubric will be available on Wattle and further written advice about how to approach this assessment appears later in this outline; will be discussed at week 3’s tutorial.

· Due: Thursday 28 March (@5pm).

Your final Research Essay will not be accepted unless you have attempted the proposal exercise.

Assessment Task 3

Tutorial Presentation

· 10% of the final grade

· Due: 6–21  May (before and during tutorials – see below for further details)

· You will give a short (8–10 mins) seminar presentation on your work in the closing weeks of the semester (5%). We will continue with a Covid tradition of presentations being pre-recorded (via Powerpoint/Zoom etc.) and available for the group’s review on Wattle at least 24 hours prior to the tutorial group meeting to discuss your work.

· You will also be rostered for attendance at a seminar where you will be a discussant, that is, summarise one presentation, raise questions, and otherwise participate as an informed observer (5%).

· Instructions on how to pre-record your presentation and a draft tutorial schedule for May will be available on Wattle early in Week 7.

Assessment Task 4

Research Essay

· 2750 words

· 60% of the final grade.

· Presentation requirements: double-line spaced on numbered A4 pages in doc. or docx. format. A sample grading rubric will be available on Wattle

· Due: Monday 3 June @ 12pm (midday)

It’s critical that you treat the other, earlier coursework requirements as preparatory work for this Essay. Marking Rubrics will be used and samples made available via Wattle prior to the submission of work.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students