TOPICS

Dr. Ksenia Golovina conducted the guest lecture on the “Racism and Human Rights” topic. She specializes in Russian migrants in Japan and aspects of their lives, encompassing ethnic and racial issues. In her lecture, Dr. Golovina discussed historical roots of the research on race and ethnicity in the Western and Japanese contexts, provided a variety of case studies on racism, and introduced a scenario-based activity requiring students to apply knowledge learned in the lecture to understand the application of the social concepts learned in class.

At the beginning of the class, students were asked to formulate their own questions for the lecture, which would guide them through the lecture contents. Their questions address the conceptual understanding, social impacts, and personal experiences associated with racism and ethnocentrism. As such, students questioned processes allowing racism to persist and affect societies, in particular the influence of media, education, and historical policies on racial and ethnic identities; the place of mixed-race individuals within racial and ethnic contexts; the evolution of ideas about race and ethnicity in a globalized world; Japan’s position on minority inclusion; the ways race and ethnicity are used to promote political agendas and so on.

By the end of the lecture, students were asked to discuss what they learnt in class and what impacted them the most. Overall, many students mentioned gaining an insight into the historical construction of race by European scholars to justify enslavement and subjugation of African and other non-European peoples. This included the use of pseudoscientific methods and theories to claim the superiority of white people. Through the documentary “A Class Divided,” students observed the immediate and long-term psychological effects of racism, and how quickly and profoundly discriminatory practices can affect individuals, leading to resentment and division based on arbitrary characteristics like eye color. A significant takeaway was the understanding that race is not a biological reality but a social construct. 

Many students acknowledged the importance of teaching children about the harmful aspects of discrimination, and led to discussions on how such education could be implemented in different cultural contexts, including Japan. Some students also reflected on their personal experiences with discrimination, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They discussed the relevance of historical lessons to modern society and considered how to adapt educational methods to address racism effectively. Overall, the lecture and discussions provided students with a deeper understanding of how race and ethnicity have been constructed and perpetuated, the severe impacts of racism, and the crucial role of education in combating discriminatory attitudes and behaviors.