Anthropology 156a
Power and Violence: Anthropology of Politics
spring 2014
room: TBA
Tuesday and Friday: 11:00-12:20
Professor Elizabeth Ferry
Office: Brown 220
Office hours: Tues 1-2 pm; Thursday 10 am-12 pm
Course Description:
How do relations of power work among people and groups? How do those with greater access to power condition and constrain the activities and choices of those without such access? What happens when encounters among people and groups become violent? This course addresses these questions through readings by classic and contemporary social theorists and anthropologists and then seeks to apply their ideas to three cases: AIDS and discourses of blame in Haiti and the United States; deindustrialization in Southeast Chicago, from the perspective of one woman’s experience; the culture of drug trafficking on the U.S.-Mexican border.
Students will write two short papers and a final paper based on a different case study of their choosing, in consultation with the instructor. Students will hand in an annotated bibliography (a list of 5-10 sources, each accompanied by one or two sentences explaining the role the source is expected to have in the paper) and, based on this bibliography, will receive comments and guidance to help with writing the paper.
Books:
(These books are available at the Brandeis University Bookstore and on library reserve)
Paul Farmer, AIDS and Accusation
Christine Walley, Exit Zero
Muelhman, S. When I Wear my Alligator Boots
All other readings will posted on LATTE.
Course Requirements:
Attendance and participation – 20%
2 short papers (4-6 pages) – 20% each = 40%
Annotated Bibliography for Final Paper – 10%
Final paper (12-15 pages) – 30%
grading and classroom policies:
It is important that you understand the meaning of the grades in this class. A grade in the “A” range means that you have done outstanding work of originality, sophistication, and high analytic acuity relative to other undergraduate work. A grade in the “B” range means that you have aimed high and performed well. Work in the “B” range is solid but not as deeply insightful, as skillfully argued, or as consistently attentive to the texts as work in the “A” range. A grade in the “C” range means that your work is fair but lacking in some key area, such as originality or analysis.
THIS COURSE WILL COUNT FOR ELECTIVE CREDIT IN LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES (IF YOU WRITE A FINAL PAPER ON A LATIN AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN OR LATINO TOPIC), THE PEACE AND COEXISTENCE (PAX) PROGRAM, AND THE SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL POLICY PROGRAM.
* IF YOU ARE A STUDENT WITH A DOCUMENTED DISABILITY ON RECORD AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY AND WISH TO HAVE A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION MADE FOR YOU IN THIS CLASS, PLEASE SEE ME.
*The use of laptops and other electronic devices (including phones) is not allowed in class except with special permission of the instructor.
Course Schedule:
PART ONE – BUILDING A TOOLKIT FOR THINKING ABOUT POWER AND VIOLENCE
Week One
1/14 – General Introduction
1/17: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, “The Communist Manifesto”
Week Two
1/21: Marshall Berman, “Marx and Modernism” from All that is Solid Melts into Air;
Gayle Rubin, “The Traffic in Women”
1/24: Weber, Max, selections from The Theory of Economic and Social Organization
Week Three
1/28: Hughes-Freeland, Felicia, “Charisma and Celebrity in Indonesian Politics”
Fagen, Richard, “Charismatic Authority and the Leadership of Fidel Castro”
1/31: Foucault, Michel “Panopticism,” from Discipline and Punish;
Week Four
2/4 Salzinger, Leslie, chapter from Genders in Production
2/7: Antonio Gramsci, selections; T.J. Jackson Lears, “The Concept of Cultural Hegemony: Problems and Possibilities”
Week Five
2/11 – Thomas Frank, “The Rebel Consumer,” Jason Dittmer “Captain America”
2/14 – no reading; in-class exercise; Paper 1 due by 11 pm via LATTE
Winter Break – Feburary 18-21
Week Six
2/25: Jean and John Comaroff, “Hegemony and Ideology;” Janet McIntosh, “Reluctant Muslims”
2/28: Johan Galtung, “Violence, Peace and Peace Research;” Kleinman, Arthur, “The Violences of Everyday Life”
Week Seven
3/4 Susan Gal, “Between Speech and Silence;” Carlota McAllister, “Authenticity and Guatemala's Maya Queen”
3/7 Timothy Mitchell, “The World as Exhibition;” Aihwa Ong, “What Marco Polo Forgot”
Part Two - Using the Toolkit / Case Studies
Week Eight
3/11 Paul Farmer, AIDS and Accusation
3/14 Paul Farmer, AIDS and Accusation
Week Nine
3/18: film: Odo Ya! Life with AIDS paper 2 due by 11 pm, to be submitted via LATTE
3/21: Joao Biehl, “The Activist State”
Week Ten
3/25 Christine Walley, Exit Zero
3/28 Christine Walley, Exit Zero
Week Eleven
4/1 – class visit by Christine Walley - screening of documentary March 31. Annotated bibliography due by 11 pm, via LATTE
4/4 – Annalisa Murgia, “Representations of Precarity in Italy”
Week Twelve
4/8 When I Wear my Alligator Boots
4/11 When I Wear my Alligator Boots
April 15-22 spring recess
April 25 reading TBA
April 29 conclusion
final papers due May 2nd. By 11 pm via LATTE
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