Political Science 195W – Spring 2004
Dr. Mike Williams
IPJ 214; MWF: 10-10:55 am
Office: IPJ 286B
Phone: 260-4012
Office Hours: MWF: 8 - 9 am; 11 am – 12 pm
Email: jmwilliams@sandiego.edu
Website: http://home.sandiego.edu/~jmwilliams/
Race, Ethnicity, and Nation in Comparative Perspective
Course Aims
This course examines the ways in which cultural identities manifest themselves as political identities. Over the last fifteen years, there has been an increase in what is often referred to as “ethnic conflict,” “nationalism,” and “religious fundamentalism.” We will examine the causes and consequences of these various phenomena with particular attention to the origins of the nation-state and national identities in various regions of the world. We will also explore how nation-states address the challenges of cultural pluralism and the demands of specific ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. We will distinguish and define different types of identities, such as ethnicity, race, language, and religion, which are oftentimes at the core of political mobilization. We will also consider how states accommodate cultural pluralism and the effect democratization has on national and sub-national identities and vice versa.
Course Requirements
Your daily participation and attendance are two of the most important features of this course and accounts for 15% of your grade. Each of us will bring different ideas and bits of knowledge to class discussions and the course is designed for us to share our different opinions in an intense, yet polite, manner. I do not claim to dispense Truth with respect to issues of cultural pluralism and nationalism, and it is my hope that we will learn from each other over the course of the semester. Thus, there will be very few traditional lectures given. Instead, each class I will choose - at random - two to three students to lead class discussion for that day. I will ask questions concerning the assigned readings and students will be expected to have read the material closely enough to respond in a thoughtful manner. Because you never know when your number may turn up, it is best to be prepared each class for your turn in the Ahot seat.@ Your class participation grade will depend on how prepared you are when you are one of the leaders of class discussion. I encourage you to take notes on the assigned readings and use these to help you answer questions, but you will not be allowed to re-read the text during the discussion. You are allowed to decline your role as class leader one time without any penalty, but more than this will affect (in a negative way) your class participation grade. While this process may seem intimidating at first, it will become more familiar to you over the course of the semester and will help you learn how to construct, and deconstruct, arguments. This, by the way, will prove to be helpful for the midterm, the writing assignments, and the final exam.
Regular attendance is required for this course and more than one absence will lower your participation will be lowered 5% for each subsequent absence unless you provide a verifiable written excuse from a doctor.
Arriving late to class is disruptive and rude. Your class participation and attendance grade will be lowered if you consistently come to class late.
The midterm will be on Monday, March 8 and will cover all the material assigned up to that date unless specified differently by the instructor. The midterm will include identification terms, short essays, and a long essay. The date and time of the final will be announced in class. The midterm and the final are both closed book exams. Under no circumstances will you be allowed to take the midterm or final at an earlier or later date.
This is an upper division-writing course that fulfills the written literacy (“W”) component of the University’s General Education Requirements. The purpose of this requirement is to teach students to clearly express their critical thinking skills in writing. Over the course of the semester, students will complete a 25-30 page research paper (double-spaced, typed, 12-point font, and one-inch margins). Your proposed topic is due on February 27, your thesis statement and bibliography is due on March 26 and the final draft of the research paper is due on May 10 before 5:00 pm. More details on the research paper will be given during the first week of class.
Midterm: 25%
Final: 30%
Participation and Attendance: 15%
Research Paper: 30%
All assignments are due in class on the specified due date. You may not email assignments unless I have given you prior permission. Missed or late exams or papers will not be accepted unless students notify me before the absence or late paper and have a written verifiable medical excuse. All late papers will be graded down one full grade per day and the assignment will not be accepted after three days. Those who present me with a verifiable medical excuse will be allowed to take a makeup exam that will be scheduled for the last day of the semester.
Academic Integrity
I expect you to comply fully with the standards of academic integrity set forth by the University of San Diego. Any incident of academic dishonesty (as defined in the Undergraduate Bulletin) will be punished to the full extent allowed by the University.
All of these books should be available in the bookstore. The other materials for the course are on E-Reserve and traditional reserve with Copley Library. These materials are designated with an “ER” in the syllabus. Please notify me as soon as possible if any of these materials are not available.
· Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (1991: revised edition)
· Readings available on E-Reserve [ER]
In order to keep up with topics related to cultural pluralism you should read regularly one or more of the following: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, or the Economist.
Course Outline and Readings
Section I: Introduction and Theories of Ethnic Politics and Nationalism
Jan. 26 Introduction to class
Jan. 28 Hutchinson, selected essays [ER]
Jan. 30 Young, The Politics of Cultural Pluralism [ER]
Feb. 2 Barth, Ethnic Boundaries [ER]
Feb. 4 Hechter, “Rational Choice Theory and the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations” [ER]
Feb. 6 Anderson, Imagined Communities (pages 1-46)
Section II: The Origin of the Nation-State and Nationalism
Feb. 9 Anderson, Imagined Communities (47-82)
Feb. 11 Greenfeld, “God’s Firstborn: England” [ER]
Feb. 13 Greenfeld, “The Perilous Escape: Redefinition and Reorganization of the Noblesse” [ER]
Section III: Exporting the Nation and Nationalism Outside of Europe
Feb. 16 Anderson, Imagined Communities (83-112; 141-154)
Feb. 18 Anderson, Imagined Communities (163-186)
Feb. 20 Anderson, Imagined Communities (113-140)
Feb. 23 Kuzio, “History, Memory, and Nation Building in the Post-Soviet Colonial Space” [ER]
Feb. 25 Dutt, “Identities and the Indian state: an overview” [ER]
Feb. 27 Hamayotsu, “Islam and Nation Building in Southeast Asia: Malaysia and Indonesia in Comparative Perspective [ER]; Topic Proposal Due
Mar. 1 Marx, “Race-Making and the Nation-State” [ER]
Mar. 3 Barnett, “The Creation of ‘Arab’ Politics, 1920-1945” [ER]
Mar. 5 Harpviken, “The Hazara of Afghanistan: The Thorny Path Towards Political Unity, 1978-1992” [ER]; “Ethnic Identity versus Nationalism: The Uzbeks of North-Eastern Afghanistan and the Afghan State” [ER]
Mar. 8 MIDTERM
Mar. 10 Movie
Mar. 12 Movie
Mar. 15 Spring Break
Mar. 17 Spring Break
Mar. 19 Spring Break
Section IV: Understanding and Solving National and Sub-National Conflict
Mar. 22 Horowitz, “Group Comparison and the Sources of Conflict” [ER]
Mar. 24 CanagaRetna, “A Nation at the Crossroads: Sri Lanka in the mid-1990s” [ER]
Mar. 26 Cohen, “India, Pakistan and Kashmir” [ER]; Thesis Statement and Bibliography Due
Mar. 29 Bieber, “Nationalist Mobilization and Stories of Serb Suffering: The Kosovo myth from 600th anniversary to the present” [ER]
Mar. 31 Power, “Srebrenica: Getting Creamed” [ER]
April 2 Buchanan, “Theories of Secession” [ER]
April 5 Lyon and Ucarer, “Mobilizing ethnic conflict: Kurdish separatism in Germany and the PKK” [ER]
April 7 Woldemikael, “The Cultural Construction of Eritrean Nationalist Movements” [ER]
April 9 Easter Break
April 12 Easter Break
Section V: Democracy and the Challenges of Cultural Pluralism
April 14 Lichtenberg, “How liberal can nationalism be?” [ER]; Yack, “The myth of the civic nation” [ER]
April 16 Horowitz, “The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict: Democracy in Divided Societies” [ER]
April 19 Ping, “Stability in Racially Divided Societies: Malaysia” [ER]
April 21 Darby, “Northern Ireland: Beyond the Time of Troubles” [ER]; Newman, “Northern Ireland: Ethnic Violence and Democracy” [ER]
April 23 Wimmer, “Democracy and Ethno-religious Conflict in Iraq” [ER]
April 26 Fuchs, “Race, Religion, Ethnicity and the Civic Culture in the United States” [ER]
April 28 Chua, selections from World on Fire [ER]
April 30 Yashar, “Contesting Citizenship: Indigenous Politics and Democracy in Latin America” [ER]
May 3 Anderson, “Fulfilling Prophesies: State Policy and Islamist Radicalism” [ER]
May 5 Legrain, “HAMAS: Legitimate Heir of Palestinian Nationalism?” [ER]
Section VI: The End of the Nation-State?
May 7 Dittgen, “World without borders? Reflections on the future of the nation-state” [ER]
May 10 Berking, “'Ethnicity is Everywhere': On Globalization and the Transformation of Cultural Identity” [ER]; Research Paper Due