The law changed very quietly, thanks to Mr Borders: if you’re married to a French citizen, (…)
Source: Diome, Fatou “Préférence Nationale” Translated from the French by Polly McLean. In: The Granta Book of the African Short Story. Edited by Helon Habila. Granta 2011.
Part of the short story is available at [🔗]
current affairs
In The New York Times article “Racial bias, even when we have good intentions,” Sendhil Mullainathan discusses research in the social sciences documenting implicit racial bias in a wide range of institutions.
links
Sendhil Mullainathan “Racial bias, even when we have good intentions.” New York Times, 3 Jan 2015. [🔗]
questions
1. “Préférence Nationale” is a phrase that indicates that certain benefits—such as the rights to employment and social security—should be restricted to French citizens. Fatou Diome argues that it is through the actions of individual citizens that Préférence Nationale is being implemented. Explain.
2. Fatou Diome objects to citizenship laws in France on grounds of marriage. What is it precisely that she objects to? What might be the motivation for such legislation? She argues that descendants of people from former French colonies have not been given what is due to them. Why not?
3. Diome addresses explicit discrimination in employment against blacks in France. In The New York Times article “Racial bias, even when we have good intentions,” Sendhil Mullainathan describes implicit racial biases in hiring practices and levels of trust across society. What examples does he provide? How do these mechanisms of implicit bias operate?