Critical Social Inquiry 0232 - Rivers of Life and Death

Rivers have become sites of contention surrounding how they can best serve the people living along them and the nations through which they flow. For some, they provide cultural meanings and livelihoods; for others, they represent progress in the ways they can be developed and used. We will critically examine several case studies of rivers to unpack the cultural, environmental, economic, and identity conflicts that arise worldwide as people's concepts of rivers collide. Issues explored will include colonization and trade, indigenous histories and rights, economic development and dams, water rights, environmental debates, and transnationalism. The rivers we will look at will likely include the Connecticut, the Mekong (Southeast Asia), the Ganges (India), the Yangtze (China), and the Amazon (South America), each bringing different stories of meaning, conflict, development, and environmentalism. Students will research a river of their choice throughout the semester. Theories from anthropology, history, human rights and agrarian studies will inform our explorations of these rivers and their controversies.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.