Universität Wien
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240542 SE Borders from Below (P4) (2022S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 24 - Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Participation at first session is obligatory!

The lecturer can invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial achievements. Partial achievements that are obtained by fraud or plagiarized result in the non-evaluation of the course (entry 'X' in certificate). The plagiarism software 'Turnitin' will be used for courses with continuous assessment.

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

If possible, the course is to be conducted in presence. Due to the respective applicable distance regulations and other measures, adjustments may be made.

  • Wednesday 02.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Thursday 03.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Friday 04.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 07.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Übungsraum (A414) NIG 4. Stock
  • Tuesday 08.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 09.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Übungsraum (A414) NIG 4. Stock
  • Thursday 10.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Übungsraum (A414) NIG 4. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

We live in a time of wall fetishism. Never have human beings been so obsessed with building walls as they are today. Walls are, however, age-old. Empires built walls. And if we look closer, we can see that there are still traces of the old imperial visions in the modern borders and border walls. While borders of different kinds seem to be everywhere, yet some borders are more visible than others due to their design; some perform heavier than others due to their distinctive material qualities; some are more lethal than others because of the way they perform; some borders operate not only to repress but to produce different sorts of subject, wealth and capital and they do so due to their specific design and materiality.
This course by weaving two modes of inquiry aims to provide a space for thinking and discussing as well as intervening in how the materiality and performativity of borders operate and what they produce in different sites and moments. Building on recent scholarship in border studies and critical theory, this course aims to approach the border from the subject position the border is constructed for. In other words, this course aims to answer the question: What do we see if we look at the border from the other side?
The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the anthropology of objects, practices and spaces of borders and borderings through implying different ethnographic concepts and methods.
Teaching activities include a series of lectures, seminars, presentations, and workshops. Class attendance is obligatory. The language of instruction is English.

Assessment and permitted materials

Besides active participation in the course and seminar discussions (10%), the students are expected to deliver two main assignments:
(I) Conduct and present visually or/and materially a specific project that addresses encounters, negotiations and challenges around a site or situation of borderwork. This can be individually or in a group of two if desired. (40%)
(II) Write a final paper of max. 3000 words reflecting critically on the process of their work by analysing and referring to the course literature and their ethnographic practice. (50%)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All students will be assessed for their active participation in class, their oral presentations of the project and for the quality of their final paper. Each individual part of the assessment has to be completed in order to successfully pass the course.

• 91-100 points - 1 (excellent)
• 81-90 points - 2 (good)
• 71-80 points - 3 (satisfactory)
• 61-70 points - 4 (sufficient)
In order to complete the course, one needs to obtain at least 61 points.

Examination topics

Reading list

Keshavarz, Mahmoud (2020) Violent Compassions: Humanitarian Design and the Politics of Borders. Design Issues; 36 (4): 20–32. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_a_00611

Khosravi, Shahram (2019) What do we see if we look at the border from the other side?. Soc Anthropol, 27: 409-424. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8676.12685

Rajaram, Prem. K. 2018. ‘Refugees as surplus population: race, migration and capitalist value regimes’, New Political Economy 23: 627–39.
Sur, Malini (2020). Jungle Passports : Fences, Mobility, and Citizenship at the Northeast India-Bangladesh Border

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 03.03.2022 16:09