Critical Social Inquiry 0247 - Border Matters

The U.S.-Mexico border was described by Anzaldua as the "thin edge of barbwire...where the Third World grates against the First and bleeds." Nowhere else in the world is there such physical proximity of a post-industrial nation and a developing one. While NAFTA called for the free movement of capital, goods and managerial personnel across the border, its basic assumptions are under assault by the new US administration. The Mexican body has been criminalized, stripped of rights and targeted for detention and expulsion by various forms of policing by state and non-state actors. Deeply held notions of racial, ethnic and national boundaries mark the social terrain, yet are challenged by the long history of transborder circuits and communities and their recent explosive growth along the border and throughout the American heartland. Emphasizing historical analysis and contemporary theories of nationalism, governmentality, globalization, and transnationalism, the course will challenge students to rethink the meaning of the border, the place of Mexicans in the U.S., and the role of the U. S. in Mexico. The course will prepare students to deepen their border knowledge through participation in the two-week field course "Interrogating the US-Mexico Border" in late May 2019. Visit https://www.hampshire.edu/geo/interrogating-the-us-mexico-bo rder for more information.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.