The aim of the writing assignments for this class is to get you doing philosophy.

Philosophical writing is argumentative. Your essay, therefore, should provide a clear, well-structured argument in favor of your point of view.

You should also fairly consider the strongest criticism to your view, and provide thoughtful responses to this criticism.

Essay 1 Prompt: Choose one of the following philosophers: Vitoria, Bernier, Voltaire, Jefferson, Kant , Blumenbach, Hegel, Gobineau, Darwin, or Galton. Show how your chosen philosopher has contributed to at least one of the elements of what Cornel West calls the normative gaze of white supremacy (this will entail explaining what West means by this idea). Establishing your chosen philosopher’s contribution necessitates an extended explanation of what the philosopher is saying (you must use at least 1 of the secondary readings for your chosen philosopher to help you with this) and how it contributes to one of the elements of the normative gaze. Next, show how your chosen philosopher’s contribution to the normative gaze of white supremacy is either (1) still present in or (2) challenged by a current event (no older than 6 months) or a piece of culture (music, TV show, film, painting, cultural phenomenon etc.). If the philosopher’s contribution is (1) still present in the current event/piece of culture, explain how it is present in order to give a deeper explanation of that racism and how the current event/piece of culture helps perpetuates racism. If the philosopher’s contribution is (2) challenged by the current event/piece of culture, explain how it is challenged and how this challenge can contribute to the construction of an anti-racist gaze.