The room serves as both a specialist digital library and a clearing-house for work on race and identity by collecting, cataloguing and making available existing and new research and other materials in collaboration with the University’s library staff. Insofar as possible and within the bounds of copyright laws, the library makes resources accessible in digital form on-line through the Centre’s website, with a direct link to the University’s central library. The site also hosts various electronic discussion forums and facilitates networking by researchers and others with an interest in race and identity studies.

The Centre’s resources will include:

Databases on South African Resources on race and identity

• National Database of South African Theses
• Database of relevant projects
• Links to large scale surveys relevant to the field (including government, marketing and social science surveys)
• Scanned newspaper and media articles
• Cumulative bibliographies on topics relevant to the ccrri’s aims

Database on International Resources on race and identity

• Links to related international research Centres
• Links to international research projects and related Centres

Published resources

• ccrri multi-media resources
• Guided access to the University of KwaZulu-Natal Libraries (material relevant to ccrri’s aims and research projects)
• Guided access to electronic journals (database on related articles)

Teaching and capacity-building
Once it is fully operative, the Centre will draw on the considerable skills and expertise in the field which already exist at the University, as well as on invited and visiting scholars from elsewhere, to offer the following in collaboration with other academic units and perhaps also partners from other universities:

• taught courses on race thinking and identity at Honours and Masters levels;
• a trans-disciplinary Masters Programme in Race and Identity Studies; and
• a Doctoral Programme.

The first stage will, of course, be to scan existing graduate courses that are relevant to such a focus, reflecting the inter-disciplinary approach required for effective research and intervention in the field.

The Director of the Centre already offers a course on ‘Race thinking and thinking about race’, and students from the Global Studies Programme (GSP – an international Masters-level programme) participate every year.