Introductory Topics in Middle East and North African Studies (290-3-20)
Topic
Porous Borders? Geography, Power, & Techniques of
Instructors
Emrah Yildiz
1819 Hinman Ave, #103
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1-3pm
Meeting Info
University Hall 412: Mon, Wed 5:00PM - 6:20PM
Overview of class
At the advent of "globalization" some scholars argued that movements of capital, goods, people and ideas across nation-states have rendered their borders increasingly porous. The erosive effects of this porosity, in the age of the multi-national corporation, heralded, in this line of thinking, the death of the nation-state. Yet, in our contemporary epoch of border walls and offshored refugee processing centers, this assumed porosity of borders begs a reexamination. In this course, we ask: What is a border? Is it the physical line drawn between two states? When is a border artificial and when natural? Who gets to draw these lines? How does the border become an architecture of regulation that grants access to mobility to some and denies it to others? We will probe these questions by working towards rethinking borders as equally the products of mobile social actors, contraband commodities and fluctuating values as they are of state policies and power aimed at managing their movements. By the end of the course students will be exposed to diverse theories of space and case studies of borders in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and South Asia. They will be able to articulate what an attention to space and the relations of power inscribed in border formations can expand our conventional understandings of territory and mobility.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course students will be exposed to diverse theories of space and formations of borders in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and South Asia. They will be able to articulate what an attention to space and the relations of power inscribed in border formations can contribute to our conceptions of space and power.
Evaluation Method
Cumulative grades will be composed on the basis of two 6-to-8-page papers (50%) and seminar participation (50%). Seminar participation includes attendance (10%), co-facilitating one discussion session (15%), and posting weekly reading reflections/questions (25%) on the canvas site.
Class Materials (Required)
All required and recommended texts except for the following book-length manuscripts can be found under files on the course website. The monographs will be made available on library loan/reserve.
Heath Cabot, 2014. On the doorstep of Europe: Asylum and Citizenship in Greece. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN-13 : 978-0812246155
Ieva Jusionyte, 2018. Threshold: Emergency Responders on the US-Mexico Border. University of California Press. ISBN-13: 978-0520297180
Malini Sur, 2021. Jungle Passports: Fences, Mobility, and Citizenship at the Northeast India-Bangladesh Border. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN-13 : 978-0812224788
Class Attributes
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area