Spring 2019 - SA 203 D100
Violence in War and Peace (SA) (4)
Class Number: 3118
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 3 – Apr 8, 2019: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Parin Dossa
pdossa@sfu.ca
1 778 782-3778
Office: AQ 5060
Office Hours: TH 17:30-18:30
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
A critical examination of the relationship between violence and structural inequalities. Focus will be on different forms that violence assumes in war and peace and how acts of violence are remembered, collectively denied or misrecognized. Particular case studies may include colonization of indigenous people, Holocaust, South African Apartheid, India's Partition, the genocide in Rwanda, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 9/11 and its aftermath along with everyday suffering, including gender violence. As well, special attention will be given to anthropological witnessing.
COURSE DETAILS:
Much has been written on the erosion of communities and disruption of everyday life because of war, structural violence and systemic practices of state terror. Relatively less attention has been given to how we remember and witness acts of violence. How people continue to live and remake their worlds in the midst of worst horrors has not been substantively documented. In this course, we will focus on the dynamic relationship between violence, act of witnessing and reconstruction of lives in the context of militant globalization. Central questions include: What is at stake for local communities following traumatic violence and social suffering? How are various social actors, ranging from global institutions to modern states, implicated in the production and actualization of structural violence? What is the political significance of the lived experience of suffering? How do we resolve the tension between “official version” on violence, and personal narratives? Can the human experience of suffering be fully documented? What makes genocide possible? What are “peaceful” crimes?
To answer these questions, we will look at the relationship between violence and structural inequalities using a comparative lens. Following an overview of the anthropological perspectives on violence, we will examine ethnographic and other case studies to show the different forms that violence assumes in war and in peace. Lectures and group-based exercises will include topics such as: First Nations: Politics of Reconciliation; the Syrian conflict; Crisis in Yemen; Rohingya Refugee Crisis; the Palestinian Question; the Holocaust; Afghanistan; Africa; the Apartheid, as well as everyday suffering, racism and violation of human rights. Through comparative case studies, we will explore how diverse configurations – the spectacular and the quotidian, the local and the global, the public and the private – come together to define the realm of social power, knowledge and creation of subjectivities.
While this course does not endeavour to offer solutions to the pressing problems of violence, wars and social suffering, it will provide insights on “bearing witness,” a position that calls for a reflexive, a political, and a moral commitment.
This course has a seminar/lecture format. It includes some “field work,” outside class time and group presentations. Students are required to participate actively in class discussions.
Grading
- Article reviews 20%
- Group presentations/individual papers 20%
- Term paper 40%
- Participation 20%
NOTES:
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy: The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Readings will be drawn from articles on relevant topics available through SFU online journals and websites to be accessed by students independently.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS