Topics in Sociological Analysis (376-0-20)

Topic

Colonial Citizenship

Instructors

katrina quisumbing king
kqk@northwestern.edu
Professor Quisumbing King's research and teaching interests lie in topics related to empire, race and ethnicity, citizenship and migration, law, and political and historical sociology.

Meeting Info

University Hall 102: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

"Colonial Citizenship"

Debates over who should belong are long standing in the United States and informed by ideas of race. In this course, students will explore how, as the United States empire expanded, powerful elites and politicians decided what kind of people could be part of the polity and on what terms. Students will learn the history of U.S. citizenship law, why certain people were eligible for U.S. citizenship, and why some territories became independent, others became states, and still others remained colonies. Course material will primarily draw on and emphasize historical and social scientific approaches to the study of race, immigration, citizenship, and empire. Students will benefit from previous courses in any of these topics.

This course puts the histories of U.S. territorial acquisition in North America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific in conversation with one another. The analytical focus is on how the U.S. conquered, defined territory and people, and determined rights and membership. By paying attention to how the United States constructed race in different times and for different populations, students are encouraged to see commonalities in the classification and treatment of Asian (American), Latin American (and LatinX) and Indigenous peoples. As a whole, the course will demonstrate how U.S. elites and state actors repeatedly invested in and defended the idea of the United States as a white nation.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this class, students should have a familiarity with the history of U.S. territorial expansion on the continent, in the Caribbean, and in the Pacific. They should be able to identify institutional, ideological, and material factors that contributed to expansion and the consequences of U.S. imperial rule for the geographic and demographic definitions of the United States. Students should also be able to compare the strategies and policies of U.S. imperial rule. Students will learn to assess, analyze, and interpret secondary sources and to use them to develop original arguments. Finally, students should develop a sense of ownership over and shared community in their coursework and learning.

Teaching Method

Lecture and small-group discussion

Evaluation Method

Attendance/participation, quizzes, group presentation, short paper

Class Materials (Required)

All materials for this course will be made available on Canvas - no purchase necessary.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area