Type of Credit: Elective
Credit(s)
Number of Students
Sovereignty in Asia: Anthropological perspectives
Course Description:
This class will examine the institution of sovereign rule from the bottom up, taking stock of the emergence of ancient states and attending to three distinct, but shifting registers in which sovereignty emerges in modern formations. One addresses the nation-state as a territorially and ideologically bounded entity, another engages with indigenous understandings of social relationships with the earth, which folds into the third register of Indigenous People’s sovereign claims to territory. To unpack these interconnected strands, we begin by examining ancient sovereigns form from East and Southeast Asia using anthropological and archeological data to complicate the story of civilization. We will attend to god kings and emperors, as well as the modern forms of territorial control that emerged from those ancient states. With this, we will turn the assumption of teleological progress into a question. Is the institution of the sovereign nation part of an evolutionary process of human social life? To address this question, we turn to the cults of soil and water common to indigenous communities across the region. There are elements of these practices that are directly connected to ancient forms of sovereignty. Part of our work will be to identify this connective tissue, as well as what possibilities are severed in the shift to sovereignty. From this perspective, we can follow the trail of sovereignty as it emerges out of the resources it consumes and, in this context, will consider the contested spaces where contemporary Indigenous Peoples make sovereign claims. The purpose of this examination is to consider alternative ways to frame contemporary questions about territory, resources, and the organization of place and society. We will ask more questions than we answer in this class, and participants should come prepared to think together about the creative process of social organization.
能力項目說明
Course Objectives:
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
Course Schedule
Introducing basic concepts
The God King and Son of Heaven (5 weeks)
Video King Lear and the Jester
Sovereignty and Europe
Mid-Term Exam-
Short answer essays dealing with the framing of the course and main concepts
Sovereignty and Colonization
[trade-sovereignty-energy] Before (or without) the Kings: Egalitarian Myths, Mountains, and Founders
Sovereignty Reconsidered
Final Exam week – no class- Final paper due 5pm last day of exam week.
Course Requirements
Class Participation 25%
Midterm exam 25%
Final Paper 50%
Pop Quiz 4 (extra credit for exams) (10%)
Class Participation
Show up, on time, prepared to discuss the week’s readings. Computers or cell phones are for note taking, translation assistance, or researching course-related things. Do not do other work during class time. Be respectful of others’ opinions, share interesting things related to the discussion, be mindful of others who may be more shy than you.
Midterm Exam
Short answer, open book essay exam. You will be provided 6 questions, you will choose 4 and write no more than 1000 words to answer each question. Your answers should be in the form of an academic argument, not a summary, and will be graded on the demonstrated understanding of the material.
Final Paper
Write 15-20 pages on a topic related to the course materials and your own research project. This will be graded on the extent to which it makes an original argument, attends to course materials, has a sophisticated literature review, and provides convincing evidence in support of the argument. The paper should be in a formal academic style and should be considered a draft essay for a journal publication.
Pop Quiz
At random moments during the course, the professor will announce a pop quiz. Students will be given 15 min at the beginning of class to answer a question related to the week’s readings. Quizzes are scored on a 10-point scale according to the extent to which the question is answered and the student demonstrates having read and understood the assignment.
All course material will be made available on moodle. Students are encouraged to own their own copies of the texts relevant to their studies.