From classical Greece and Rome, who saw themselves under siege by the “barbarian hoards,” to contemporary America and its war on “Islamic extremism,” from “The Birth of a Nation” to “Alien Nation”, Western societies have repeatedly represented a particular group of people as a threat to civilization. This course will examine a wide range of representations of non-Western people and cultures in film, literature, scientific and legal writings, popular culture, and artistic expression. What is behind this impulse to divide the world into “us” and “them”? How is it bound up with our understanding of race and racial difference? And what happens when the “barbarian hoards” talk back?Note: This course fulfills the Race & Diversity (GD) requirement for students under GenEd and Studies in Race (RS) for students under Core.
Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed AF-AM S 0834, Asian Studies 0834, English 0834/0934, or History 0834.