Anarchy in America: From Haymarket to Occupy Wall Street
AMST 255
Fall 2016 not offered
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Anarchism as a political philosophy and practice is an important, but little known, aspect of American culture and society. This lecture/discussion course will introduce students to select aspects of anarchist political thought and praxis in the United States and the ways that anarchism has been represented positively, vilified, or dismissed. The class will have three parts: histories; philosophies and theories; and activism. In the history section, we will examine key events and periods from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, including the Haymarket affair; the plot to murder American industrialist Henry Clay Frick; the labor-organizing work of Lucy Parsons; the assassination of President William McKinley; the activism, incarceration, and eventual deportation of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman; and the execution of Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. In the philosophy and theory segment, we will examine anarchist theory as radical critique and review the different political traditions including individualist anarchism, socialist anarchism, anarcha-feminism, black anarchism, queer anarchism, indigenous influences and critiques, and other schools of thought. In the activism section, we will examine the diverse ways, including violent and nonviolent means, by which people mobilize and organize for political change through direct social and political action. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
Major Readings:
Cindy Milstein, ANARCHISM AND ITS ASPIRATIONS
Carolyn Ashbaugh, LUCY PARSONS: AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY
The bulk of the course readings are drawn from articles and book chapters that will be available on the course Moodle. Films and presentations by guest speakers will complement the readings and lectures. The class will also engage the audio archive of the anarchist radio program, "Horizontal Power Hour," produced by the Wesleyan/ WESU-based collective, The Dream Committee.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Assignments include: response papers, short essays on assigned topics; and a final research paper. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course will be reading and writing-intensive. |
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