As part of the final year module ‘Geopolitics of Ethnic Identities’ taught by John Clayton, students are asked to write a critical review of a media source (or aspects of that source) that speaks in some way to the themes, concepts and theories covered in the module.
Students provide a detailed commentary and critical evaluation of the source material, which this year has included a range of journalistic sources, feature films, cartoons, books, television programmes, poetry and music. Interestingly there has also been a tendency towards sources routed through a US perspective. The strength of assignments this year has been particularly impressive, and broadly speaking the group have demonstrated a clear ability to engage with issues of ‘race’ and ethnicity with sensitivity and criticality. We thought that we would share the 2017/18 ethnic identities ‘playlist’ with you.
Films
Straight Outta Compton
8 Mile
Get Out
Hairspray
This is England
Django Unchained
Black Panther
Do the Right Thing
Remember the Titans
A Time to Kill
TV Shows
Brooklyn 99 (TV series)
Fox and Friends
The Simpsons (cartoon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6sTatKAXt0
Writing
Selected works by Benjamin Zephaniah (poetry)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhaXDfIGGzA
Noughts and Crosses (book)
I wriggled my toes, enjoying the feel of the warm sand trickling like fine baby powder between them. Digging my feet even deeper into the dry, yellow-white sand, I
tilted back my head. It was such a beautiful August afternoon. Nothing bad could ever happen on a day like today. And what made it even better was the fact that I could
share it – something rare and special in itself, as I knew only too well. I turned to the boy next to me, my face about to split wide open from the smile on it.
‘Can I kiss you?’
Music
Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’
Parliament’s ‘Mothership Connection’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_geTF-7I8Qg
Selected works by Tracy Chapman
Joyner Lucas’s ‘I’m not a racist’
NWA’s ‘Fuck Tha Police’