The Politics of Authenticity
GOVT 393
Spring 2021
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Crosslisting:
FGSS 393 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate |
Is there such a thing as an authentic self? If so, can politics help us realize it? Fifty years ago, authenticity was a thriving political ideal, invoked by radical feminists, black liberation movements, gay and lesbian activists, Marxists and conservatives alike. Over the past four decades, however, political appeals to authenticity have come under heavy scrutiny. Some claim that appeals to authenticity inadvertently marginalized individuals who are not "true women," "real blacks," or "actual natives." Others argue that the idea of an authentic culture can be deployed to constrain individual members of cultural minorities. Where does authenticity reside--in gender, sexuality, experience, or culture--and how do we know which one is "real"? Is it worth faulting politicians for hypocrisy if there is no such thing as a "true self"? What becomes of certain emancipatory or justice claims--such as those coming from trans-politics or multiculturalism debates--without a notion of authenticity? In this course, we will discuss what authenticity is or might be, how it has been conceptualized in political theory and contemporary social movements, and why it has become an object of widespread suspicion and continuing appeal. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS GOVT |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CSCT)(GOVT)(GOVT-Theory) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
: Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, Rahel Jaeggi, Alienation, Tommie Shelby, We Who Are Dark, Kwame Ture and Charles Hamilton, Black Power, E.S. Martínez and E.L. Vásquez, Viva La Raza!, Judith Butler, Undoing Gender, Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Hagel,Nina Times: ...W... 01:00PM-03:50PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 13 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 3 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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