Anthropology 316 - Topic: the West & the Rest

This course traces the otherization of Muslims in Europe and the U.S. in the aftermath of September 11. The course examines the mechanisms through which dehumanizing, racial meanings are extended to designate Muslims as a coherent, timeless category associated with backwardness, violence and an urgent threat. By the end of the semester, the students will gain a critical, comparative perspective to identify and analyze some common mechanisms such as securitization, profiling, and gendering as well as tools such as stigmatization and surveillance that travel across time and space to define certain groups as 'dangerous others.'

Prereq: 8 credits from the Anthropology department.