Anthropology of Protest - Detailseite

Anthropology of Protest is a proposed course that examines the sonic and embodied dimensions of protest as a tool aimed at influencing the democratic process. This course asks specifically how discrepant ideologies within social and political movements are adjudicated into collective and coordinated action. Students will engage with ethnographic case studies to assess the utility of protest in public space. Motivated by an interest in political movements and the role of public assembly, I will encourage students to think about economic precarity and social marginalization as factors that motivate assembly. Demanding attention in public and diverting attention away from the normalcy of civic life, protest can be enacted in many forms—through collective sounding, direct action, performative satire, or even physical violence. The readings and discussion are global in scope, looking at the varied contexts in which protest can arise and its ability (or inability) to effectively circulate alternative viewpoints to the broader public. One directive of the seminar is to examine the degree of impact that protest can have upon preexisting structures of power. Both the government and media have incredible influence over public perception, as they are able to frame and interpret events on a larger platform. As such, collective agency is a central theme of this seminar—what is the crowd’s capacity to affect change?

            Students’ opinions and critiques of reading material are a key component of the course content. In class, they are encouraged to highlight what arguments they find most significant, what aspects they agree/disagree with, and how their understanding of protest and democracy has changed throughout the course of the seminar. Readings and arguments can be compared to one another, highlighting the differences and similarities between each author’s arguments. The end of semester term paper is meant to help develop each student’s personal understanding of protest, the ethics of collective action, and the role of the state in managing collective action in public space. Students will be tasked with writing a research paper that engages with issues related to collective organization, protest, and democracy. Students may consider adopting a case study that pertains to a particular political movement or a series of recent protests. The goal of the final paper will be to construct a thesis statement that engages with and takes a position in relation to the readings and overarching themes of the course. The length of the final paper and the weekly volume of reading can be adjusted to make this a BA or MA level course.

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