Smith, Ian. "The cliché of race." Throughlines. www.throughlines.org/suite-content/the-cliche-of-race. [Date accessed].
The cliché of race
A necessary moral objective and pedagogic requirement that begins by making race visible in Shakespeare’s texts.
How is the cliché of race developed in the early modern literary canon? The emphasis on skin and its emergence to prominence represents an important shift in the history of racial ideology that, in the premodern era, had relied on religion, geography, and language. Complaints about the injustice and unoriginality of this topsy-turvy, upside-down racial cliché have been set aside since its maintenance and durability are, in fact, the cultural goal. By asking students to interrogate the role of the cliché, they are given the opportunity to understand how race is understood as a form of cliché itself.
Further learning
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Recommended
Critical theories and methods
This class investigates and gauges the value of critical theories and methods focused on race, racism, and racial justice. The aim of this course is to engage meaningfully with scholars, cultural productions, and criticism that draw on critical race studies within their artistic and scholarly work.
Indecorum and empire in Titus Andronicus
The gore, violence, and revenge fantasy depicted in Titus Andronicus is usually the first (and sometimes last) thing that people talk about. But it's rarely examined to understand the diliberate questions at stake in the play. Namely, what does it mean for a society to cease to behave decorously?
