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SoSe 24: Gender, Borders, Memory

Gülay Caglar, Jessica Gienow-Hecht

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Topic: Borders form a principal instrument of organizing international society, both historically and actually. From the ancient Greek city states to the twentieth century, borders have featured at the center of both peace treaties and declarations of war. Borders connect and condone, yet also divide and drive apart. They can come about by agreement or violence, can be fortified or unguarded, can be visible or invisible. What is more, borders are and have always been in motion. Their shape and design depend on the political and economic context, scientific knowledge, natural adjustments, emotional investment as well as the migration and exchange of people, goods, services, ideas and capital. Experts have labeled some borders – such as the one between Mexico and the United States or along the Pacific Rim – as transnational spaces sui generis: their effect on international policy and adjacent states is not merely limited to the border region itself but fundamentally impacts our understanding of the state, citizenship, nation, and culture. Course: This course examines the interplay of gender, borders, and memory in history and in the present. We will examine different genres of borders across time and space with a particular eye on historical visions and gender-specific gaze. The course deals with a set of dimensions—material, symbolic, historical and discursive—relating to border politics, and it discusses the gendered effects of border politics. Moreover, the course introduces concepts of intersectionality and memory and probes the ways in which both territorial dividing lines and sociocultural boundaries, originate in historical visions and legacies. How do these visions and legacies (re)produce and exacerbate intersectional inequalities ? How do gender and memory affect border politics and lives on the border, and, in the process, construct gender, sexual, racial-ethnic and other identities ? What are their material effects? How do activists challenge practices of bordering? How do they renegotiate questions of territorial sovereignty and belonging? Team: This is a team-taught class orchestrated by political scientist Gülay Caglar and historian Jessica Gienow-Hecht.We will meet in class once each week, complemented by various excursions. Requirements: Students from history, political science, as well as the humanities and social sciences at large are very welcome. All students need a blackboard account. Each session consists of a brief introduction by the instructors followed by an all-class discussion and, sometimes, a student presentation to be discussed in advance. For each individual class, all students will compose short précis (no longer than 120 words) including a critical question relating to the respective reading. Précis need to be uploaded on Blackboard twenty-four hours prior to the beginning of class. At the end of the semester, students are required to compose a paper: either a reflective think piece responding to the course readings and discussions (3-5pp); or a research paper addressing a topic of their choice (20-25pp). Depending on the credit (Pass/Fail or Grade), the final paper is due either on July 31 at midnight (5pp, 12pt. Times Roman, 1.5 space), or August 31 at midnight (20-25pp, 12pt. Times Roman, 1.5 space). Schließen