Patrick Lynn Rivers

In 2003, Nikhil Pal Singh and Andrew F. Jones co-edited a special issue of positions, an insightful journal delving into the nuances of cultural critique with Asia and its diasporas at the center. Singh and Jones began with an underlying assumption. Specifically, if the 20th century was, as Time magazine publisher Henry Luce famously proclaimed, ¿the American Century,¿ the 21st century would be the century where Africa and Asia¿s historical links (economic, political, and especially cultural) would set the stage for the ascendance of two continents with converging and diverging colonial pasts. This course is used to revisit this argument by returning to the articles in that 2003 issue of positions. And, further, the course is a means to assess where Africa, Asia, and their diasporas are in the ¿Afro-Asian Century¿ by looking at more recent texts. Course texts mostly consist of readings (scholarly, creative, and journalistic writing) and films that address African and Asian cosmopolitanism and power. This ¿cosmopower¿ unfolds mostly through music, film, kung fu, photography, fashion, architecture, painting, and literature. All texts will be accessible on Canvas. Assignments will include a midterm and final exam as process work culminating in a final paper as well as occasional quizzes.

The course is a general introduction to politics in the United States, closely examining several current policy debates. Significant attention is given to the ways that the critical engagement and intervention of artists, writers, and other creators contribute to and shape these debates. Topics include but are not confined to Iraq and the politics of war, globalization and economic change, immigration 'reform,' global warming and environmental politics, cultural policymaking.

This introductory course is used to historicize globalization as well as to understand its contemporary dimensions. Emphasis is placed upon analyzing the rationales underlying globalization, the emergence of institutions making globalization possible, manifestations of globalization in culture (especially art and popular culture), and resistance to globalization as shaped by race, nation, gender, class, and their intersections. Possible authors and texts include Saskia Sassen, Deciphering the Global: Its Spaces, Scales and Subjects; Anita Chan, et. al., Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization; Ann Marie Stock, On Location in Cuba: Street Filmmaking During Times of Transition; Valentine Moghadam, Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks; and McKenzie Wark, A Hacker Manifesto.

This is an introductory course surveying themes in international politics. Possible themes include: theories of international relations, human rights, globalization, environmental concerns, defense and national security, international organizations and trade. Possible readings include: Kegley, World Politics: Trend and Transformation (2010); Hernandez-Truyol and Powell, Just Trade: A New Covenant Linking Trade and Human Rights (2009); Giddens, The Politics of Climate Change (2009); Sylvester, War, Feminism & International Relations (2010); Lisk, Global Institutions and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Responding to an International Crisis (2009).