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)

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’

Selected works by Tracy Chapman

Joyner Lucas’s ‘I’m not a racist’

NWA’s ‘Fuck Tha Police’