Political Turmoil
FIST 229
Spring 2017
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
CSPL 229 |
"What just happened? What's going to happen? What do we do now?"
Political turmoil, while disconcerting to say the least, is nothing new. This course will look at case studies from different times and regions (the creation of the US; Fascist Spain; the 1960's in the US, France, and elsewhere; Brazil's military dictatorship; Italy in the 90s; the Arab Spring; contemporary Mali and D. R. Congo, among others) to see how others have responded to periods of political oppression and upheaval. After an initial period of discussion based on readings, we will hold conversations with members of our campus community who have experienced various forms of authoritarianism. The goal of the course is ultimately project-based: as we gain perspective on the issue of political turmoil, we will turn what we learn into well-informed, measured, concrete action. In particular, we will workshop several writing exercises related to the topic and destined to make an impact (letter to the editor, letter to an elected official, public service announcement for the radio, etc). All students (including those whose first language is not English) are welcome in the course and will receive individualized attention to their writing. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Credit/Unsatisfactory |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (FRST-MN)(FRST)(ITST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (1961, tr. R. Philcox 2004)--excerpts
Black American Forms of Resistance:
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: "I have been to the mountaintop" speech; available, with commentary, at http://noirg.org/articles/dr-kings-advice-to-ferguson-the-power-of-economic-withdrawal/
-Audre Lorde, "Learning from the 60s" 1982, talk at a Malcolm X commemoration at Harvard: http://www.blackpast.org/1982-audre-lorde-learning-60s
-Robin D. G. Kelley, response in "After Trump" forum on Boston Review http://bostonreview.net/forum/after-trump/robin-d-g-kelley-trump-says-go-back-we-say-fight-back
The U.S. in Time of Crisis:
-Dred Scott v Sandford (1857): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/60/393
-John Brown's Constitution: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/johnbrown/brownconstitution.html
-President Lincoln's speech on Dred Scott: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/speech-on-the-dred-scott-decision/
-President Lincoln, First Inaugural Address: http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html
China's Great Leap Famine:
-Introduction from Yang Jisheng, Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine (2013)
-Chinese Communist Party¿s report on experiment making fertilizer from lightning, translated by Prof. Ying Jia Tan
-Excerpts from O'Brien and Li, Rightful Resistance in Rural China (2006; full text available online through Olin's website)
Authoritarianism in Europe:
-Umberto Eco, "Ur-Fascism," in the New York Review of Books, June 22, 1995: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/
-Excerpts from Iris Bork-Goldfield's book, We Wanted to do Something: Young People Resisting Dictatorship in East Germany 1949-1953 (published in German in 2015; tr. Krishna Winston)
Contemporary Political Turmoil in West Africa:
-The crisis in Mali: Madina Thiam, "A Malian State of Mind," from the news and analysis aggregator site, Africa is a Country, Dec. 21, 2015: http://africasacountry.com/2015/12/a-malian-state-of-mind/
-Background on the crisis in Mali: Susanna D. Wing, "Mali: Politics of a Crisis." African Affairs 112/448, 2013, pp476-485. Full text available through oxfordjournals.org)
-Open letter from Malian intellectuals regarding the crisis, Feb 7, 2012 (accessed on investigaction.net; tr. Meg Furniss Weisberg)
-Abderrahmane Sissako, "Timbuktu" (film, 2014).
Resistance in Daily Life:
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis (2000)
Women's Movements, including Feminism:
-Women's movement in Italy: Milan Women's Bookstore, "More Women than Men," plus film clips
-Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, excerpts
Immigrant Movements in the US:
1. Mendez v. Westminster (landmark school desegregation case): https://research.archives.gov/id/294945
2. The first "sanctuary city" ordinance: http://keepstuff.homestead.com/Spec40orig.html
3. Plyler v. Doe (first time an equal protection argument was used by the Supreme Court regarding undocumented immigrants): https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/202/case.html
4. 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act: http://library.uwb.edu/Static/USimmigration/79%20stat%20911.pdf
5. A Day without Immigrants Marches: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12565712/ns/us_news-life/t/nation-braces-day-without-immigrants/#.WHAUFLYrKPQ
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly short writing assignments, multiple drafts: opinion pieces; abstracts/summaries of readings; letters to government officials; compare/contrast essays; etc. |
| Instructor(s): Weisberg,Meg Furniss Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: RLANB2; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| Seats Available: -1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | FR: 4 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 6 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 6 |
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