ANTH 41700 - State Of The World: Social Theory And Human Crisis In The Twenty-First Century

In this course we will examine a series of urgent issues facing the global community through reading ethnography and studying social theory. For each issue, we will read recent ethnographic research that illuminates the issue as well as social theories that connect the issue to long-standing zones of theorizing among social scientists. Through careful reading and discussion, students will learn about the urgent issues that will shape their professional and personal lives, become familiar with theoretical approaches that illuminate these issues, and engage in discussion and debate about these issues in a diverse classroom. The following issues is a sample of the types of global issues that the course will cover: the environment (i. e., global warming, environmental critiques of capitalism, the struggle for indigenous rights to land, the energy economy), global struggles for rights (for indigenous peoples, women, the LGBTQ community, the global underclass, stateless peoples), the state system (to include an examination of the nature of the state, authoritarian and leaderless states, democracy in crisis, the warlord state), technological change (social media, AI, cyberwarfare), and violence (weak states, the global arms trade, the nuclear threat). Theoretical perspectives to be covered include historical materialism, world systems theory, gender studies, subaltern studies, postcolonialism, poststructuralism, and others.

Cr. 3.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the meaning and impacts of globalization.
2. Develop an informed understanding of the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century through a study of urgent issues that face humanity.
3. Understand major trends in contemporary social theory, apply major social theories to the urgent issues in question, understand social theories in their historical context.
4. Master anthropology’s central concepts and methods (ethnography, cultural relativism, etc.) through applying them to the study of urgent global issues.
5. Develop or strengthen an appreciation for human cultural diversity.
6. Improve written communication, oral communication, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills.
7. Gain experience in engaging in civil debate about controversial topics.