The final section of this class considers “the global” in contemporary political thought. We tend to think of our world today as a globalized world, with connections from anywhere to anywhere else. We are reading a set of texts that consider how it is that the world came to be so global (hint: they argue mainly through catastrophes and evil acts: capitalism, slavery, colonialism, etc.) but also given that we are global, where do we go from here? There is also a sense in these texts that the interconnectedness of the world makes every question a universal question, there is no longer any such thing as local politics, everything matters to everything else in a way that may seem very empowering but (they worry) perhaps just serves to paralyze us.
In this final paper, I want you to consider any question of modernity or that you wish that pertains to this problem of universality and global politics.
Prompt:
Explain the relationship between violence and humanity in Frantz Fanon’s theory of violence. How does violence relate to humanization or dehumanization? Why does Fanon consider violence necessary.
To properly answer this question, your paper needs three elements: 1) an interpretation and analysis of the particular text, 2) an evaluation of that text, i.e. an assertion, backed up by evidence, about what the text is trying to say and whether they succeed or fail in articulating it; and 3) an argument about what we can learn from them.
Your paper should be 1500 words and should have one to two assignments as its primary text. NB: you must use textual evidence to justify any claims that you make.
Formatting: please use 1-inch margins, Times New Roman Font, double spaced. Any citation style is fine, but be consistent with your choice.
