Gender, Sexuality, and Literature (361-0-21)

Topic

Abolitionist Feminisms at the Border

Instructors

Sarah Bey West

Meeting Info

Annenberg Hall G01: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Abolitionist politics demand sustained and nuanced critiques of world systems and an end to the ways they enact violence. To this end, to engage in abolitionist feminism is to consider assumptions around criminal punishment and carcerality, with an explicit attention to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, queer, and trans perspectives. From this vantage, this course will examine borders, both national and intimate, as one of the most violent and carceral spaces of our time. We ask, for example: What does it mean to abolish borders? What is the difference between this and open borders? Is the abolishment of ICE and other forms of border policing sufficient? Similarly, how has the social sphere adopted border logics? What do Indigenous "land back" initiatives look like under abolition? How might we "rehearse life" under current oppressive regimes as we work toward abolitionist futures?

Teaching Method

Discussion

Class Materials (Required)

On Canvas.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area