*New Start Date* 11/2/21-Supreme Indifference: The Myth of American Democracy
Brought to you by Odyssey
November 2, 2021 - December 14, 2021 (no class Nov. 23)
Tuesdays, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET (9 course hours)
As a consequence of the election of Barack Obama, race and racism were neatly packaged into a post-racial America didactic. The Trump era however, has ushered in a new “lost cause” narrative in which a sense of diminished overrepresentation has become the dog whistle for returning America to better days. This course uses a developing structural understanding of race relations to examine the strange enigma of race in 20th century and contemporary American democracy. What Eduardo Bonilla-Silva describes in his book, Racism without Racists, as “The Sweet (but deadly) Enchantment of Color Blindness in Black Face”, will provide the analyses by which we can fully examine America. This includes the backlash to support of Black Lives Matter campaigns, marches, and protests against disparate treatment of individuals across race, gender, ethnic/cultural lines culminating in the events of January 6th 2021, attacks on education, and other recent unconstitutional legislation. We also touch on certain nuances of our selection process for the Supreme Court and some important cases (Dred Scott, Plessy, Ozawa, Thind, Lim, Scottsboro, McClesky) in addition to certain events such as Rosewood, Emmett Till, Brown v. The Board of Education and its progeny, Wilmington and Tulsa incidents etc.
Session 1 11/2
What kind do we have? Judicial Branch in a Nutshell; Role of SCOTUS, Selection Process/Bias; Structural Discrimination.
Session 2 11/9
Defining Whiteness: The Race Cases; Voter Suppression; Indifference to Hate: Groveland Four, Scottsboro, Emmettt Till, McClesky, Central Park 5.
Session 3 11/16
The Capitol Lynching: Decoding America’s Intention.
Session 4 11/30
Freedom Schools; Efforts to Destroy Public Education; Supreme Injustices; The Roberts Court.
Session 5 12/7
Stories That Aren’t Told: Erasure, Marginalization and government complicity/Roundtable Discussion I/Student Presentations (individual or group).
Session 6 12/14
Roundtable Discussion II/Student Presentations (individual or group).
Required Readings
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=uclf
https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=law_review
https://newrepublic.com/article/160654/trump-supporters-white-supremacy-appeasement
https://www.essence.com/news/state-violence-police-black-women-say-her-name/
About the Instructor
Ernest J. Quarles is an attorney, intersectional critical race researcher, and historian who teaches at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His courses focus on deficits in America’s storytelling, erased and marginalized histories, and U.S. racial history. Within those spaces, his methodology embraces intersectional frames and other critical lenses and, in so doing, enables truly transformational learning. Quarles began his study of race matters under the late Hon. Leon A. Higginbotham while studying at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is also a graduate of Brown University.
He currently sits on the board of The African American Policy Forum and works on several initiatives which impact and support the development of truth narratives to counteract mainstream narratives about race and social justice. This unique space has enabled him to provide students with a more holistic view of the world that is rooted in empathy and a view of research that informs social activism as a moral imperative.
Tuition Remission and Refund Policies
Full-time JHU faculty/staff, their spouses or same-sex domestic partners, JHU retirees and their spouses or same-sex domestic partners are eligible for tuition remission. The tuition remission form is required. All tuition remission forms and details on eligibility can be found here and should be returned to odyssey@jhu.edu.
After registration, tuition remission eligibility will be confirmed by the Odyssey registrar. If eligibility cannot be confirmed, you will be required to pay full tuition for the course. Under the terms of the University’s remission program, Hopkins employees must withdraw in writing at least five working days before the first class to receive a 100% refund. No partial refunds are given to JHU employees and affiliates.
Please visit the registration and policies page for more information.
While participating in on-campus events and meetings, participants must follow all public health guidelines required by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine at the time of the event. If you are not fully vaccinated, we require that you wear a face covering during your visit to campus, even when it is no longer required for those who are vaccinated.
While participating in off-campus events and meetings sponsored by the JHAA/JHM/JHHS participants must follow all public health guidelines mandated by the local jurisdiction and venue at the time of the event, including vaccination and masking and distancing guidance. Johns Hopkins strongly suggests that attendees who join in person be fully vaccinated.