CHID 390 B: Colloquium in the History of Ideas

THE POLITICS OF LIFE THIS SEMINAR INVITES STUDENTS TO THINK DEEPLY AND CRITICALLY ABOUT THE BROAD THEME OF LIFE. DRAWING ON SCHOLARLY, LITERARY, AND VISUAL TEXTS, WE WILL MOVE FROM DISCUSSIONS ABOUT CURRENT CONCERNS OVER RACE AND IMMIGRATION, TO CONSIDERATIONS OF INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY AND THE POLITICS OF EXTRACTION. FINALLY, WE WILL EXPAND DISCUSSIONS OF LIFE TO INCLUDE NON-HUMAN OTHERS. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT ROCKS LISTEN AND "EARTH- BEINGS" (SUCH AS RIVERS AND GLACIERS) SPEAK? IT IS MY HOPE THAT OUR RIGOROUS EXAMINATION OF THESE AND OTHER ISSUES WILL SERVE AS WINDOWS THROUGH WHICH WE CAN VIEW THE WORKINGS OF ALTERITY, MARGINALIZATION, AND VULNERABILITY, AS WELL AS SURVEY PATHWAYS TO ALTERNATIVE AND BETTER FUTURES.