Using Drugs: Race, Drugs, and the Colonial Present
CHUM 329
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 326, AMST 328 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Caribbean Studies Minor |
This course addresses a variety of issues ranging from the social variation in and construction of drug experiences; the nature of scientific knowledge regarding drug use and the brain; the global trade in drugs and its relationship to histories of colonialism and contemporary forms of Western hegemony; notions of health, harm, and rehabilitation; and the various strategies that contemporary states rely upon in addressing issues pertaining to drug use (particularly criminal justice measures and interventions focused on harm reduction). The course places particular emphasis on the ways drug use is framed in relation to questions of freedom, justice, and the self, ultimately forming a part of a disciplinary apparatus that impacts everyone, whether we directly use drugs or not. Ultimately, drug use is often framed as an issue of "lost productivity" and/or "lost reproductivity," with "rehabilitation" framed as a way of restoring productive activity and eugenic reproduction. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CHUM |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
All readings will be essay length. No assigned books or major readings
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Examinations and Assignments:
Moodle participation, in-class participation, short essay, annotated bibliography, final paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Kaye,Kerwin Times: .M..... 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| Seats Available: 15 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 6 | JR non-major: 6 | SO: 3 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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