CCT200 Readings PDF

Week 1 - introduction Week 2 - forms of capital and racial capitalism Reading 1: Bhattacharyya, G. (2018). Rethinking racial capitalism: Questions of reproduction and survival. Rowman & Littlefield International. [Introduction and Chapter 4] -​ Bhattacharyya challenges simplistic or totalizing n...

Week 1 - introduction Week 2 - forms of capital and racial capitalism Reading 1: Bhattacharyya, G. (2018). Rethinking racial capitalism: Questions of reproduction and survival. Rowman & Littlefield International. [Introduction and Chapter 4] -​ Bhattacharyya challenges simplistic or totalizing narratives about racial capitalism, clarifying from the outset that this is not a "rip-roaring tale of capitalism" through history. -​ Instead, the work examines the intersection of capitalist expansion and racialized structures of exclusion and exploitation. -​ It rejects the notion that capitalism is inherently racialized but instead posits that modern capitalism has been consistently shaped by racial hierarchies. Key Ideas and Arguments 1.​ What Racial Capitalism Is and Is Not: -​ Bhattacharyya asserts that racial capitalism cannot be reduced to mere diversity rhetoric or multicultural inclusivity under capitalism. -​ Instead, it is defined by the ways racialized exclusions and hierarchies amplify capitalist exploitation, both within nations and globally. -​ These practices are dynamic and not tied to specific racial groups or immutable categories. 2.​ Reproductive Labor and the Proletariat: -​ Expanding the concept of reproductive labor, Bhattacharyya discusses how non-waged and informal activities contribute to sustaining capitalist economies. -​ This broader understanding encompasses both domestic and systemic forms of labor that facilitate the conditions necessary for waged work. 3.​ Racialized Divisions of Labor: -​ The chapter discusses how capitalist systems have historically and contemporarily relied on racialized distinctions to segment labor markets. -​ This includes patterns of exclusion, underemployment, and precarity disproportionately affecting racialized groups, such as immigrant or marginalized populations. -​ The association of these groups with "surplus populations" underscores their systematic marginalization. 4.​ Precarity and Racism in the Workplace: -​ The author explores how workplace racisms serve capitalist interests, particularly through mechanisms that divide workers and reinforce hierarchies. -​ The "wages of whiteness" concept is revisited, showing how racial privileges are used to suppress class solidarity. 5.​ Historical Context and Variability:  -​ Drawing on examples like apartheid South Africa, Bhattacharyya examines how explicit racial capitalism operates under conditions of state-sponsored segregation and exploitation. -​ The analysis stresses the need to understand racial capitalism as historically contingent and varied across contexts. 6.​ The Concept of Disposability: -​ The idea of disposability is central to understanding contemporary racial capitalism. Certain populations are rendered economically and socially disposable, reflecting enduring racialized hierarchies. -​ This "disposability" manifests differently across global and local contexts, particularly in the Global South. 7.​ Many Racial Capitalisms: -​ Bhattacharyya concludes that there are multiple manifestations of racial capitalism, shaped by varying historical and economic contexts. -​ While racial capitalism builds on legacies of expropriation and inequality, its forms are not static but evolve with capitalist processes. 8.​ Towards Change and Hope: -​ The chapter ends on a cautiously optimistic note, suggesting that the fragility of these systems of exclusion and exploitation creates opportunities for collective resistance. -​ Recognizing the constructed and contingent nature of racial capitalism is essential for imagining and enacting alternatives. Week 3 - Critical Race theory Reading 1: Delgado, R., Stefancic, J., & HARRIS, A. (2012). Introduction. In Critical Race Theory: An Introduction, Three Editio (pp. 1-15). New York; London: NYU Press. -​ The document is an excerpt from a book on Critical Race Theory, a framework that emerged in the late 20th century to address the limitations of traditional civil rights discourse. -​ It challenges the idea that racism is an aberration and instead emphasizes its ordinary, everyday nature. The theory posits that racism is deeply ingrained in society and is not just a matter of individual prejudice, but also a systemic issue. -​ The origins of Critical Race Theory can be traced back to the 1980s when a group of legal scholars sought to address the limitations of traditional civil rights discourse. -​ They drew inspiration from critical legal studies and incorporated the idea of legal indeterminacy, which suggests that not every legal case has one correct outcome. -​ This group also incorporated skepticism of triumphalist history and the insight that favorable precedent tends to erode over time. -​ The theory also builds on feminism’s insights into the relationship between gender and power, and addresses issues such as immigration policy, language rights, and discrimination based on accent or national origin.  -​ It also addresses indigenous people’s rights, sovereignty, and land claims. -​ One of the key aspects of Critical Race Theory is the concept of intersectionality, which recognizes that everyone has potentially conflicting, overlapping identities, loyalties, and allegiances. -​ It also challenges the notion of a unique voice of color and emphasizes the need to consider the diverse experiences and perspectives within racial groups. -​ Critical Race Theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law. -​ It has evolved to include a well-developed Asian American jurisprudence, a forceful Latino-critical (LatCrit) contingent, a feisty LGBT interest group, and a Muslim and Arab caucus. -​ The theory also addresses the material determinism of racism, suggesting that racism advances the interests of both white elites and working-class whites, leading to little incentive to eradicate it. -​ It also highlights the ways the dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times in response to shifting needs such as the labor market. -​ The document also discusses the criticism faced by Critical Race Theory, including the challenges from both the Left and the Right. -​ It also includes responses to those objections and ponders a few of the issues on the movement’s agenda, including hate speech, campus climate, criminal justice, racial profiling, and racial injustice. -​ In summary, Critical Race Theory is a multidisciplinary framework that challenges traditional civil rights discourse, emphasizing the ordinary nature of racism, the social construction of race, and the intersectionality of identities. -​ It addresses the prevalence of racism in modern society and the need for social transformation, and has expanded beyond law to influence various academic fields and activism. Reading 2: Lopez, L. K. (2023). Race and Digital Media: An Introduction (1st edition). Polity. [pp. 9-15] -​ This reading provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of DNA tests on racial justice and equality for historically marginalized communities. -​ It begins by discussing the historical context of racism in the United States, shedding light on the creation of racial hierarchies through settler colonialism and the exploitation of Indigenous peoples and African slaves. -​ The text emphasizes the deeply institutionalized nature of racism within law, policy, and social structures, as argued by scholars like Kimberlé Crenshaw, Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard Delgado. -​ It also explores the concept of racism as a social construct that gains meaning through processes of racialization and its relation to other axes of identity like gender, class, and sexuality. -​ Furthermore, the document delves into the racialization of Mexicans and other Latinos as violent threats to be overpowered, particularly in the context of the territorial expansion of the United States into Mexican territory in 1848. -​ It highlights the stereotyping of Mexicans and the limitations they faced despite the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granting access to citizenship for Mexicans living in the territory awarded to the United States following the Mexican-American War. -​ The text also delves into the historical context of race-based restrictions in the United States, such as the Nationality Act of 1790, which restricted citizenship by naturalization to free white persons. -​ It discusses the interconnectedness of these policies with restrictions on land ownership, voting rights, access to employment, and other important necessities, emphasizing the indigenous nature of racism in the United States. -​ Moreover, the document explores the limitations and implications of DNA tests in determining racial or ethnic heritage, particularly for people of color. It discusses the practice of measuring "Indian blood" through the term "blood quantum" and the vested interest of the US government in limiting Native American resources and access. -​ The text also highlights the limitations of genomic databases, which are most accurate for white people with European ancestors, and the partial and incomplete information that can be gleaned from genetic tests. -​ The document further discusses the theory of hegemony and the shifts in the discourse surrounding racism, including the rise of colorblindness and postracism. -​ It emphasizes the persistence of racism and the deployment of colorblindness as a new form of racism, which maintains the racial order by serving as the "new racism." -​ Additionally, the text explores the historical and cultural contexts of race in the United States and draws connections to countries with similar racial dynamics such as Canada and the United Kingdom. -​ It poses critical questions about the evolution of digital media and technology, the shaping of racial realities, and the systematic upholding of racism and white supremacy through digital media. -​ The document also addresses the role of DNA tests in claiming reparations for the descendants of slaves and in Native American political struggles. -​ It emphasizes the importance of centering the experiences and voices of people of color in understanding race and highlights the need to continue forwarding a critical historical perspective that calls attention to the persistence of racist projects in contemporary US society.  -​ In conclusion, the document aims to introduce a wide body of scholarly literature and academic theories pertaining to the relationship between race and digital media, focusing on racial constructions and identity formations in the United States and globally. Week 4 - Race and/as Technology Reading 1: Chun, W. H. K. (2011). Race and/as Technology or How to Do Things to Race. In L.Nakamura & P. Chow-White (Eds.),Race After the Internet (pp. 38–60). New York, NY: Routledge -​ This essay by Wendy Hui Kyong Chun explores the idea of "race as technology," challenging how race and technology intertwine and interact historically and theoretically. -​ It argues that race is not just a biological or cultural fact but also a mechanism—a kind of tool or system that mediates identity, history, and power structures. Key Arguments: 1.​ Race as a Construct and Technology: -​ Chun suggests that race, much like technology, is a system of mediation and enframing. -​ Historically, race has served as a "tool" to create hierarchies, linking visible traits like skin color to assumed invisible characteristics such as intelligence or morality. -​ This process, deeply rooted in colonial and scientific discourses, has been used to justify exploitation, subjugation, and segregation. 2.​ Shifting Ontologies of Race: -​ Race has oscillated between being seen as a biological truth and a cultural phenomenon. -​ Scientific efforts to define race biologically have often been tied to racist ideologies, from phrenology to eugenics, which sought to naturalize hierarchies. -​ Conversely, framing race as a cultural category has not necessarily undone racism; instead, it has sometimes enabled "neo-racism," where cultural differences replace biological ones as markers of exclusion. 3.​ Visibility and Invisibility: -​ The essay examines how race connects the visible (e.g., skin color) to the invisible (e.g., genetic traits or cultural attributes). -​ This linkage has been used to essentialize and stereotype individuals, turning arbitrary traits into "natural" signs of difference. -​ Modern technologies, including media and genetics, perpetuate these dynamics by making racialized bodies hyper-visible while concealing systemic inequalities. 4.​ Technologies of Racialization: -​ Practices like segregation and eugenics exemplify how race has been used as a "technology" to control and classify populations.  -​ For instance, segregation created artificial spatial divisions to maintain racial hierarchies, while eugenics aimed to "improve" humanity through selective breeding, treating humans as biological resources. 5.​ Race and Modern Power: -​ Drawing on Michel Foucault and Martin Heidegger, Chun links race to the workings of modern states and technologies. -​ Racism, she argues, operates as a biopolitical tool, enabling states to manage populations by defining some lives as valuable and others as disposable. -​ This process turns individuals into "standing reserves," resources to be exploited, categorized, or eliminated. 6.​ Race, Agency, and Poiesis: -​ Despite its oppressive uses, Chun explores how race can be reimagined as a form of poiesis (creative revealing). -​ Through art, performance, and storytelling, marginalized groups can disrupt the technological framing of race and assert new forms of agency. -​ For example, Greg Pak's film Robot Stories critiques stereotypes of Asians as robotic while imagining alternative futures where racialized identities are sources of strength and creativity. Broader Implications: -​ By framing race as a technology, Chun shifts the conversation from "what race is" (its ontology) to "what race does" (its effects and functions). -​ This perspective encourages ethical considerations about how race organizes relationships and shapes opportunities. -​ The essay challenges us to rethink the intersections of race, media, and technology, emphasizing that these are not neutral systems but deeply entangled with histories of power and exclusion. Week 5 - Techno-orientalism Reading 1: Siu, L., & Chun, C. (2020). Yellow Peril and Techno-orientalism in the Time of Covid-19: Racialized Contagion, Scientific Espionage, and Techno-Economic Warfare.Journal of Asian American Studies, 23 (3), 421–440 -​ The article Yellow Peril and Techno-Orientalism in the Time of COVID-19 by Lok Siu and Claire Chun examines the rise of anti-Asian aggression during the COVID-19 pandemic, linking it to historical fears of Asian dominance and contemporary anxieties about China's technological and economic power. -​ The authors argue that racial hostility against Asians is not just a reaction to the pandemic but part of a broader pattern of discrimination shaped by politics, global trade tensions, and national security concerns. -​ They emphasize that "Yellow Peril"—a term used historically to describe the fear of Asian expansion and influence—has been revived and merged with  "Techno-Orientalism," the belief that Asia, particularly China, is a futuristic, technologically advanced yet threatening force. This ideology is shaping how the United States perceives China and, by extension, how it treats Asian individuals within its borders. -​ At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, President Trump repeatedly referred to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" and "kung flu," despite public criticism. -​ His rhetoric contributed to a sharp rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, including physical assaults, verbal harassment, and discriminatory policies worldwide. -​ Reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council recorded over a thousand cases of anti-Asian incidents in just a few weeks of March 2020. -​ The violence was not limited to the United States; in the United Kingdom, a Singaporean student was physically attacked by a group of men who accused him of bringing the virus to their country. -​ In Australia, a survey documented 178 anti-Asian hate incidents within a two-week period. -​ Even as Trump later tweeted that Asian Americans should be protected, his administration continued to fuel hostility toward China, using blame as a political strategy to distract from the economic and public health failures of the U.S. government. -​ The authors argue that the resurgence of Sinophobia (anti-Chinese sentiment) is not just about the pandemic but is deeply tied to the ongoing U.S.-China trade war and fears about China’s growing economic and technological influence. Before COVID-19, the U.S. government had already taken an aggressive stance against China, imposing trade sanctions, removing Chinese American scientists from research institutions, and restricting Chinese tech companies like Huawei. -​ The U.S. has framed China as an "enemy" not only in global trade but also in the fields of science and technology. -​ The Trump administration went as far as suggesting, without evidence, that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, a claim that was widely debunked by the scientific community but nonetheless fueled suspicion and paranoia. -​ This kind of rhetoric taps into long-standing fears of China as a biological, economic, and technological threat. -​ The concept of "Yellow Peril" dates back to the late 19th century when Western powers feared Japan's military and industrial rise. -​ It became further entrenched through racist literature, such as the Fu Manchu novels, which portrayed Asians as devious masterminds plotting against the West. -​ These ideas have been recycled over time to fit different anxieties: in the 1940s, Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II due to fears of espionage; in the 1980s, Japan's economic rise triggered American fears of financial domination. -​ Today, China’s rapid technological development and its role in global trade have reignited these fears, this time within a "Techno-Orientalist" framework. -​ Techno-Orientalism suggests that while the West has historically viewed Asia as backward, it now fears an Asian future that is technologically superior but also dystopian and threatening. -​ The portrayal of China as a cold, machine-like, and hyper-efficient power reflects these anxieties. -​ One of the most dangerous effects of this racial ideology is the profiling of Chinese and other Asian American scientists. Since 2018, the U.S. government has aggressively investigated and removed Chinese American researchers from academic institutions, accusing them of espionage. -​ The Trump administration justified these actions by citing China’s "Thousand Talents Plan," a program that recruits scientists to work in Chinese institutions. -​ While the program is legal, the U.S. government has framed it as a national security risk, leading to the dismissal of numerous Chinese American scientists. -​ The case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese American scientist falsely accused of spying in the 1990s, is an example of how racial profiling has long been a reality for Asians in scientific fields. -​ In 2019, multiple scientists were fired from institutions like MD Anderson Cancer Center and Emory University, even though no concrete evidence of wrongdoing was presented. -​ This racial targeting has led to fear and anxiety among Asian scientists, discouraging international collaborations and reinforcing the stereotype of the "Asian scientist spy." -​ Beyond espionage fears, China’s technological advancements have been framed as a direct threat to Western security and dominance. -​ Huawei, one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies, has been at the center of this controversy. -​ The U.S. government has accused Huawei of intellectual property theft and aiding Chinese state surveillance, leading to sanctions and trade bans. Similar accusations have been made against TikTok, a video-sharing app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. -​ The Trump administration attempted to ban TikTok, citing concerns that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, even though no clear evidence was provided. Ironically, while the U.S. government criticizes China's alleged use of technology for surveillance, American companies like Microsoft and Google have extensive contracts with the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. -​ The focus on Chinese tech as a security threat is part of a broader strategy to maintain U.S. dominance in global technology markets while fueling fear of a "Chinese takeover" of digital infrastructure. -​ The article argues that these fears are deeply racialized, casting China as an invading force that threatens American values, security, and economic power. -​ This racial construction of China as a "techno-virus" extends beyond political rhetoric and has material consequences for Asian individuals around the world. -​ The fear of Chinese espionage has led to discrimination against Chinese students and scholars, with the FBI urging universities to monitor them more closely. -​ In some ways, these policies echo the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, when an entire ethnic group was treated as a national security threat. -​ The FBI’s current rhetoric, which suggests that Chinese scientists and students are inherently suspicious, aligns with historical patterns of racial paranoia and exclusion. -​ The authors conclude by emphasizing that while the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified these issues, the racialization of China as a threat predates the virus and will likely continue beyond it. -​ They argue that the U.S. government's anti-China stance, combined with public fear and media narratives, has legitimized racism against Asian Americans. -​ They warn that if these patterns continue, Asian Americans may face increasing political and social exclusion, much like what happened during the Chinese Exclusion Act era. -​ The broader question they pose is: how will Asian Americans navigate this shifting political landscape? And what kind of future will emerge from this moment of heightened racial and economic tensions? -​ In summary, the article highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced racial stereotypes and deepened global tensions between the U.S. and China. -​ The resurgence of Yellow Peril and Techno-Orientalist fears has shaped policies on trade, technology, and national security while also fueling anti-Asian violence. -​ By placing these developments within a historical framework, the authors show that these fears are not new but rather an extension of long-standing racial anxieties about Asian power and influence.