Section outline

  • Kia ora…

    It is disappointing to know that racism is still a centrally important issue that society is yet to come to terms with in 2020. 

    As protests sparked by the death of George Floyd unfold across the US, David Mayeda, senior lecturer in sociology and criminology at the University of Auckland, has a message for NZ: 'For those of you who don’t experience racism, be publicly anti-racist - support those of us who do'.

    By now, most of us are aware of the protests unfolding across the United States, sparked by the recent murder of George Floyd at the hands (well, knee) of former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.

    Floyd was an African American man. Chauvin is white, as are two of the officers who watched passively as Chauvin drove his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, ultimately killing him. A fourth officer who stood idly by is Asian American.

    As has become increasingly common, bystanders captured on video another example of excessive police force inflicted upon African Americans turned lethal. Those of us who watch these events unfold from afar may watch with horror, anger, frustration, and a range of other understandable emotions. But none of us should watch with surprise.

    To understand racism requires us to calculate a range of systemic power inequalities that fester over time, such that we come to accept – disparaging as this may sound – that tragedies like the death of George Floyd reflect an inexcusable social norm.

    It is our trying understand the nature of this norm and its many varied forms of expression in societyGeorge Floyd Protest that will drive our learning focus this term. 

    This week will be developing our conceptual understandings of concepts like:

    • Othering

    • Dominant culture

    • Three levels of racism

    • White Supremacy

    And others…

    In week 3 you will begin your inquiry, this means we have just two weeks of prior learning to develop our understandings of relevant social theories.

    Success Criteria: I can/have...

    • Deepened my understanding of key social concepts and their application to the analysis of race and racism

    Activities:

    1. Gallery walk: responding to hip hop culture - is it positive or negative?

    2. March 15th 2019, Sabah & Tyler’s story.