SOAN 291 - Special Topics in Anthropology

Credits: 3-4

A discussion of a series of topics of anthropological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Winter 2018, SOAN 291A-01: Seminar in American Indian Ethnohistory (3). Markowitz

Winter 2018, SOAN 291B-01: Global Humanitarianism (3). One of the most important, and most unnoticed, developments in international politics since the end of the Cold War is the rise of an international humanitarian order. In this course, we examine the growth of the humanitarian system, the ways it shapes international politics, and the ways it shapes both humanitarians and beneficiaries. We examine humanitarian labels and their uses by and within the network of global institutions and national governments that comprise the humanitarian order. What notions of individuality and humanity are mobilized in the discourse of humanitarianism? What do labels such as “emergency”, “disaster”, and “crisis” mean in terms of political action? What kinds of action, including militarism and the erosion of state sovereignty, do humanitarian orders permit? What type of technologies are afforded to and kept from humanitarians and refugees? What international institutions have grown up around the saving of lives, and how do they function? How are people transformed as they interact with new regimes of violence and care? Thomson.

Spring 2018, SOAN 291-01: US Immigration and Refugee Resettlement or “Bad Hombres” or Dangerous Refugees? (4). How have U.S. immigration and national security become so intimately entangled? How do presidential campaigns, executive orders, federal court orders, and protests contribute to the understanding of and rhetoric about immigration, refugee resettlement, and national security? What is the refugee vetting process, and what should it look like? Is terrorism in the US linked to immigration? How do people “illegally” immigrate and live undocumented lives? What does it mean to be a recently resettled Muslim African refugee? In this course, students seek a deep understanding of the social, political, and historical currents that have culminated in the divisive stances on immigration in 2018. We read anthropological monographs, analyze policy and news, scrutinize political rhetoric, and engage migration experts. (SS4) Thomson.

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