"POLS 450A The Politics of Memory Rahman Fall 2024" by Smita A. Rahman
 

Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Fall 9-1-2024

Course Description

This seminar attempts to explore the many ways in which we construct, appropriate and negotiate collective memory in our politics. We will read a number of texts in modern and contemporary political theory that will allow us to explore the relationship between how we construct memory, both individually and collectively, and its impact on politics in terms of its representation and use. We will explore how political theory can proceed once it becomes aware of a complex temporal relationship between the past, present and future, by examining the works of Nietzsche, Connolly, Wolin, and more. This extensive engagement with the political theory of memory will then allow us to examine the role it plays in political life. If the past remains present through our construction of memory, how do injured societies, ethnic groups and other collectives, come to terms with their grievance for the sake of a better political future? How does the construction of memory inscribe us in relationships of power that we seemingly cannot escape? We will examine the issue of collective memory on multiple fronts, such as the advantages and disadvantages of solutions to the problem of memory such as war crimes trials, truth commissions and indemnity legislation. We will also look at how race intersects with time and memory and how this plays out in the controversy of Confederate monuments in American politics. In doing so, we will connect the theoretical and empirical understanding of politics through a deep and sustained engagement with the concepts of time and memory

Student Outcomes

After completing the course students will be able to • Understand and interrogate foundational theoretical concepts of time and memory and their political consequences • Unpack and critically analyze highly rigorous and advanced texts in political theory • Improve their ability to speak clearly about complex theoretical concepts • Write an independent research paper in political theory of the highest quality with in depth case study research

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