We are planning an anthology on comparative racialization. With this in mind, we seek seminar contributions by scholars who would be interested in – and committed to – an anthology project. In past seminars, we have accumulated a number of excellent case studies. Our current seminar focuses on discussions that evaluate and schematize the field of comparative race studies: the tools, methods, and concepts used to compare and contrast the experiences of different racial groups. Comparative racialization rests upon the mutually constitutive concept of race in which groups are racialized in relation to one another, managing and prioritizing racial claims on the state.

We seek out papers that prioritize (interdisciplinary) methodologies and theories over detailed case studies. We welcome presentations that consider Indigenous feminisms, intersections of comparative racialization and queer theory, and intersectionality in Black feminist thought and women of color feminism through Crenshaw, Hill Collins, Davis, and hooks, among others. Anzaldúa’s mestiza consciousness; Hong and Ferguson’s “strange affinities”; Puar’s assemblage via Deleuze and Guattari; and Pérez-Torres’s critical mestizaje are some conceptual foundations that have inspired this seminar series.

Some potential areas of scholarship for consideration: settler-native-slave triad; anti-racist, interracial coalition-building and alliances; failures of multiculturalism, reevaluations of Whiteness studies; mixed-race studies; transracial adoption; interracial intimacies; Afro-Orientalism; creolité; métissage; Latinidad and Afro-Latinidad; Hemispheric American studies; oceans as methods; diasporic cultures, identities, and communities; apologies and reparations. The above list are far from exhaustive, and we look forward to your contributions.
Contact lynn.itagaki@gmail.com if you have further questions.