1 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:07,890 MICHEL DEGRAFF: Yes, I do think that the Black Matters 2 00:00:07,890 --> 00:00:11,430 course has taken new urgency in this current climate. 3 00:00:11,430 --> 00:00:15,210 If we think, for example, of the most recent elections, 4 00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:19,890 the campaigns that we all heard on TV, on the radio, 5 00:00:19,890 --> 00:00:23,880 in the newspapers, it's clear that identity politics 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:25,510 played a key role. 7 00:00:25,510 --> 00:00:29,280 So if you think of the various claims about immigrants, 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:34,860 about Muslims, about race, about blacks, identity politics, 9 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:39,490 I think, was a major focus of the campaign. 10 00:00:39,490 --> 00:00:43,004 And I think the students themselves, when I look at-- 11 00:00:43,004 --> 00:00:45,420 when we started, I gave out the questionnaires asking them 12 00:00:45,420 --> 00:00:48,510 why they took the course, what drove them to Black Matters. 13 00:00:48,510 --> 00:00:51,475 And many of them actually assume that the course 14 00:00:51,475 --> 00:00:53,850 is called Black Matters because of the Black Lives Matter 15 00:00:53,850 --> 00:00:54,620 movement. 16 00:00:54,620 --> 00:00:57,120 But in fact, that course started 10 years ago, 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,550 before there was a Black Lives Matter movement. 18 00:00:59,550 --> 00:01:01,620 But within themselves, they came to the course 19 00:01:01,620 --> 00:01:04,950 wanting to address current political issues, including 20 00:01:04,950 --> 00:01:11,430 issues of race, of identity, of migration, of religious hatred. 21 00:01:11,430 --> 00:01:15,501 So definitely, there was a sense of urgency coming especially 22 00:01:15,501 --> 00:01:17,250 from the students' perspective themselves. 23 00:01:17,250 --> 00:01:18,960 They wanted to discuss these issues 24 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:22,020 and get a better understanding of how to process, 25 00:01:22,020 --> 00:01:24,930 but also how to counter some of these claims 26 00:01:24,930 --> 00:01:29,610 about identity, race, religion, migration, etc. 27 00:01:29,610 --> 00:01:32,850 So as I was thinking about the syllabus and the course 28 00:01:32,850 --> 00:01:35,610 description, I couldn't help but thinking 29 00:01:35,610 --> 00:01:41,670 about the slogan of building walls to protect, say, the US. 30 00:01:41,670 --> 00:01:45,820 And as I was picking texts and choosing guest speakers, 31 00:01:45,820 --> 00:01:48,699 I realized that it was important to create a new narrative 32 00:01:48,699 --> 00:01:50,490 around this issue of walls, because I think 33 00:01:50,490 --> 00:01:54,180 that our humanity is in reach when we can build bridges 34 00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:56,170 instead of brick walls. 35 00:01:56,170 --> 00:01:59,250 So for me, the course-- and also for some of my guest speakers-- 36 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:01,740 it was important to create a new narrative 37 00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:05,250 around the concept of building bridges that indeed 38 00:02:05,250 --> 00:02:08,070 will make this world great, not just the US, 39 00:02:08,070 --> 00:02:10,010 but the world great.