Doctoral School

Race and Radicalization: Researching Oppression and Opposition

Target audience

The targeted group are members of the Doctoral Schools of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Law, and Life Sciences and Medicine. We believe that this course is most relevant to ongoing PhD research at Ghent University. Students in the fields of (clinical) psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, political and social sciences, and literary studies might be particularly interested in following this course. Additionally, members of CESSMIR and people working in the field of psychology, law, political sciences, migration studies might be eager to engage in this course.

Organizing and scientific committee

Amar El-Omari & Lotte Morel - Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting 

Prof. Dr. Stijn Vanheule, Prof. Dr. Jasper Feyaerts and Prof. Dr. Reitske Meganck - Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting

Prof. Dr. Gertrudis Van de Vijver – Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences

Scientific committee: Prof. Derek Hook – University of Pittsburgh Duquesne; Prof. Dr. Ariana Bazan - University libre de Bruxelles; Prof. Dr. Calum Neill - University of Edinburgh Napier

Abstract

This interdisciplinary course explores themes around racism, anti-racism, and radicalization. It covers recent debates on the concepts of racial capitalism, scrutinizes the concept of radicalization as a way of understanding the processes by which individuals seek deep-seated transformations of the social order, and explores different notions of anti-racism developed over the last hundred years.

Objectives

The objectives of the course are: first, develop a structural account of racial oppression in capitalist societies, drawing on a range of scholars who have explored this issue, especially C. L. R. James, Frantz Fanon, and Stuart Hall; second, critically assess models of radicalization that attempt to comprehend how peoples respond to their oppression in revolutionary ways; and, third, explore histories of anti-racism in Europe and the United States through the twentieth century to the present day, in order to build a taxonomy of anti-racist ideas and practices, an underexplored topic in existing scholarship.

Dates and venue

10, 11 and 12 February 2026

Venue: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Programme

Day 1: Theorizing Racial Capitalism: Marxism and Oppression.

Day 2: The Concept of Radicalization: Counterinsurgency and Knowledge.

Day 3: What is Antiracism?

Registration

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Number of participants

Maximum 20 participants

Language

English

Training method

The course will take place over 3 days, with each day organized around a different theme. The first 2 hours of each day will be a lecture format with Dr. Arun Kundnani speaking to that theme followed by discussion. The next 3 hours of each day will involve doctoral researchers presenting their work related to the theme for the day. The final 2 hours will involve the lecturer leading a general discussion around the day’s theme.

Evaluation method

The participants will be evaluated based on their 100% attendance.. After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.