Colorism in Paradise

This course introduces the concept of colorism and its relationship to racism. It considers the prevalence of color over race as a preferred identity and socio-political category across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The course requires students to read interdisciplinary academic texts and utilize critical race and social praxeology theory to interrogate specific national contexts within the Latin American and Caribbean region. We begin by examining colorism as a part of nationalist projects in the region (mestizaje and “racial democracy”), including the confluence of anti-Haitian and anti-Black discourse in the Americas, as well as the insider-outsider positioning of Asian and South Asian immigrants in the region. We then consider how colorism is maintained through familial beliefs, census categories, educational curriculums, skin bleaching, and pressures to "mejorar la raza." Ultimately, this course acknowledges contemporary efforts to eradicate racism and colorism and destigmatize African and Indigenous ancestry in the region.