WMST302 - Critical Perspectives on the State

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Academic Year 2002/2003

Critical Perspectives on the State
WMST 302 SP

Crosslistings:
ANTH 302

Clusters:

Southern Asia and Indian Ocean

In the course we will examine the state from a variety of social science perspectives. These will include feminist, Marxist, and "culture-based" conceptualizations and critiques of the state. Our purpose will be to look at the state, including its structure, practices, and policies, from these various perspectives to see what they reveal about the nature of the state and the consequences of actions undertaken through the state. We will analyze, for example, how the state is implicated in and engenders social inequalities and cultural transformation. Specific examples of "states/state practices" will be drawn from the Caribbean, Europe, the United States, and South Asia, among others. Students will not only examine the state as a "culturally-embedded" institution (through specific examples of micro-level state practices, disaggregating the state) but also interrogate the state-civil society binary. Throughout we will pay particular attention to the "gendered" nature of the state.

MAJOR READINGS

Marx, Antonio Gramsci, Corrigan and Sayer, Joseph and Nugent, Catharine MacKinnon, Wendy Brown, Linda Gordon, Kathy Ferguson, Ritu Menon, Urvashi Butalia, Jacqui Alexander, Akhil Gupta, Tim Mitchell, Jim Ferguson, Ashis Nandy, Fernando Coronil, Jim Scott, Mitchell Dean and others.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Several short papers.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Class participation.

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS WMST Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Sharma,Aradhana

Times: .M.W... 11:00AM-12:20PM; Location: ANTH6

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 15)

SR. major: 5 Jr. major: 4

SR. non-major: 3 Jr. non-major: 3 SO: X FR: X

Special Attributes:

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-18-2003