Passing, Covering, and Social Stigma in Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality

Passing is most often thought of as a "strategy of creative deception" whereby racial minorities feign "whiteness" in order to overcome stigma and receive privileges denied them due to racism and discrimination. The aim of the course is to dispassionately examine this phenomenon from a broad historical, cultural, literary, and sociological framework. We will examine racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, gender, and even class passing (otherwise known as "upward mobility" or the "American dream"). The various forms of passing and the numerous case studies we will examine will allow us to question the "authenticity" of racial categories and uncover the socially and collaboratively constructed, presented, and performed nature of our sexual, gender, ethnic, class, and other identities. (Students will receive credit for only one of the following courses: ANT, BLS, HSP, or SOC 3120. These courses may substitute for each other in the F-replacement policy.)