GRS 200, Spring 2015
Seminar in Global Studies
American Military Bases and the Construction of Global Hegemony
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3:00–3:50
Old Mill 523
Instructor: Andy Buchanan
Email: Andrew.Buchanan@uvm.edu
Office: Wheeler House 210, phone: 656-8312
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1:00–3:00, and by appointment
Seminar Description and Assignments.
Drawing on the work of anthropologists, architects, economists, historians, political
scientists, and specialists in women’s studies and environmental studies, this seminar will
offer an interdisciplinary exploration of the construction of American global hegemony
during and following World War II. In particular, we will approach this issue through an
examination of the siting, construction, and operation of American military bases around
the world—a process that inevitably touches on broader questions of international law
and extra-territoriality, grand strategy, and on relations with local populations and “host”
countries.
Seminars will be based on discussing an assigned book, academic article, or film. Over
the course of the semester, each seminar participant will prepare one short (5 page)
review of one of the assigned texts, and they will be responsible—together with two or
three other students—for initiating the seminar discussion on that text. Reviews should
include reference to at least one review of the book published in an academic journal. All
seminar participants are expected to read the assigned texts and come to the seminar
ready to discuss them. We will also discuss a number of easily-available movies, which
should be viewed before the class.
Over the course of the semester, you will write a 20-page research paper on a topic of
your choosing, using both relevant primary materials and a selection of secondary
sources. Primary materials may include film and literary works, as well as written
sources such as newspapers and government documents. During the first four weeks of
the semester, and in consultation with me, you’ll choose a topic for your research paper
and prepare a brief bibliography and an outline of the primary materials you’ll be using.
Before spring break, you will present a brief outline of your topic and of the main
argument that you’ll be advancing for discussion and comment by fellow seminar
participants. At the end of term you will have an opportunity to present your final paper
to the seminar for discussion and comment. The final draft of your paper will be due on
the last day of class, Wednesday April 29. Finished papers should include a statement of
your main argument, a review of the relevant literature, a detailed narrative and analysis
based on primary and secondary sources, and clear concluding comments. Your text
must be supported with footnotes and a bibliography in approved style.
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Grading
Your final grade will include the following elements:
Research paper:
50%
Review and introduction of assigned text:
25%
Participation in discussion over the semester:
25%
Required Reading and Blackboard Website
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Andrew Bacevich, Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War, (New
York: Metropolitan Books, 2011).
Mary L. Dudziak, Wartime: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences, (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2013).
Matthew Farish, The Contour’s of America’s Cold War, (Minneapolis: The
University if Minnesota Press, 2010).
Mark Gillem, America Town: Building the Outposts of Empire, Minneapolis: The
University if Minnesota Press, 2007).
Gretchen Heefner, The Missile Next Door: The Minuteman in the American
Heartland, (Harvard, 2012).
Meredith Lair, Armed With Abundance: Consumerism and Soldiering in the
Vietnam War, (University of North Carolina Press, 2011).
Catherine Lutz (ed.), The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle against U.S.
Military Posts, (New York: New York University Press, 2009).
Additional readings will be posted on the Blackboard website.
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Calendar
Monday
January 12
Introductions and overview of the Course
Discussion on newspaper publisher Henry Luce’s February 1941
editorial article “The American Century,” posted on Blackboard.
Wednesday
January 14
What is hegemony?
Discussion on extracts from works by Antonio Gramsci and Giovanni
Arrighi on the meaning of hegemony. Extracts posted on Blackboard.
Friday
January 16
Capitalism and the succession of world systems
Discussion on extract from Immanuel Wallerstein’s World Systems
Analysis, posted on Blackboard.
Monday
January 19
Wednesday
January 21
MLK Day—No Class
The economic roots of American hegemony
Discussion on Henry Morgenthau’s article “Bretton Woods and
International Cooperation,” available on Blackboard. Morgenthau was
the Treasury Secretary in President Roosevelt’s wartime administration.
In the discussion, we will also look at the character of “free” trade.
Friday
January 23
World War II and the establishment of American hegemony
Lecture summarizing the main theme of the seminar
Monday
January 26
The contours of America’s Cold War
Discussion on geographer Matthew Farish’s The Contours of America’s
Cold War. This is one of the assigned books. The discussion will be
initiated by three students, who will also be responsible for producing
written reviews of the book.
Wednesday
January 28
The contours of America’s Cold War (continued)
Discussion on Matthew Farish’s The Contours of America’s Cold War.
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Friday
January 30
Dr. Strangelove: The strange geographies of nuclear war
Before the seminar, please watch Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 movie, Dr.
Strangelove. Today’s seminar will be based on class discussion of the
movie.
Monday
February 2
The structure and functioning of American hegemony today
Discussion on Andrew Bacevich’s Washington Rules: America’s Path to
Permanent War. This is one of the assigned books. The discussion will
be initiated by three students, who will also be responsible for producing
written reviews of the book.
Wednesday
February 4
The structure and functioning of American hegemony today
(continued)
Discussion on Andrew Bacevich’s Washington Rules: America’s Path to
Permanent War
Friday
February 6
Distant outposts in a “Permanent War”: The film Restrepo
Monday
February 9
Building the outposts of empire
Before the seminar, please watch Sebastian Junger and Tim
Hetherington’s 2010 documentary movie, Restrepo. Today’s seminar
will be based on class discussion of the movie.
Discussion on architect Mark Gillem’s America Town: Building the
Outposts of Empire. This is one of the assigned books. The discussion
will be initiated by three students, who will also be responsible for
producing written reviews of the book.
Wednesday
February 11
Building the outposts of empire
Discussion continued
Friday
February 13
Building the outposts of empire
Discussion continued
Monday
February 16
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President’s Day: No Class
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Wednesday
February 18
The bases of empire: The global struggle against U.S. military posts
Discussion on anthropologist Catherine Lutz’s The Bases of Empire: The
Global Struggle against U.S. Military Posts. This is one of the assigned
books. The discussion will be initiated by three students, who will also
be responsible for producing written reviews of the book.
Friday
February 20
The bases of empire: The global struggle against U.S. military posts
Discussion (continued)
Monday
February 23
The bases of empire: The global struggle against U.S. military posts
Discussion (continued)
Wednesday
February 25
Friday
February 27
Monday
March 2
Wednesday
March 4
Friday
March 6
Monday
March 9
Initial presentations of research projects
Initial presentations of research projects
Spring Recess—No Class
Spring Recess—No Class
Spring Recess—No Class
Hegemony, bases, and national sovereignty: Review of some key
themes
Lecture and Discussion
Wednesday
March 11
Friday
March 13
Base women: The sexual politics of U.S. military bases
Discussion on Chapter 4 of Cythia Enloe’s Bananas, Beaches and
Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, available on
Blackboard.
Base women: The sexual politics of U.S. military bases
Discussion (continued)
Monday
March 16
Base women: Teahouse of the August Moon
Before the seminar, please watch Daniel Mann’s 1956 movie, Teahouse
of the August Moon. Today’s seminar will be based on class discussion
of the movie
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Wednesday
March 18
Armed with abundance: Bases, hegemony, and the Vietnam War
Discussion on Meredith Lair, Armed With Abundance: Consumerism and
Soldiering in the Vietnam War. This is one of the assigned books. The
discussion will be initiated by three students, who will also be
responsible for producing written reviews of the book.
Friday
March 20
Armed with abundance: Bases, hegemony, and the Vietnam War
Discussion (continued)
Monday
March 23
Hegemony and moral ambiguity: Apocalypse Now
Before the seminar, please watch Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 movie
Apocalypse Now. Today’s seminar will be based on class discussion of
the movie
Wednesday
March 25
The militarization of the United States
Discussion on Gretchen Heefner’s The Missile Next Door: The
Minuteman in the American Heartland. This is one of the assigned
books. The discussion will be initiated by three students, who will also
be responsible for producing written reviews of the book.
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Friday
March 27
The militarization of the United States
Discussion (continued)
Monday
March 30
The environmental consequences of military dominance
Discussion on Katherine T. McCaffery’s article “The Battle for Vieques’
Future,” available on Blackboard.
Wednesday
April 1
The environmental consequences of military dominance
Discussion (continued)
Friday
April 3
Networks of bases, networks of crime.
Discussion on David Vine’s Anthropology Now article “Married to the
Mob: The Relationship between the U.S. Military and the Mafia in
Southern Italy,” available on Blackboard..
Monday
April 6
Wartime: The United States and the regime of permanent warfare
Discussion on legal scholar Mary Dudziak’s Wartime: An Idea, Its
History, Its Consequences. This is one of the assigned books. The
discussion will be initiated by three students, who will also be
responsible for producing written reviews of the book.
Wednesday
April 8
Wartime: The United States and the regime of permanent warfare
Discussion (continued)
Friday
April 10
Wartime: The United States and the regime of permanent warfare
Discussion (continued)
Monday
April 13
Challenges to American hegemony: The Rise of China
Discussion
Reading: Vitaliy O. Pradun’s 2011 Naval War College Review article
“From Bottle Rockets to Lightning Bolts: China’s Missile Revolution
and PLA Strategy against U.S. Military Intervention.” The article is
available on Blackboard.
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Wednesday
April 15
Challenges to American hegemony: Crisis in the Middle East
Discussion. Reading to be announced
Friday
April 17
Challenges to American hegemony: From One World System to the
Next?
Discussion. Reading to be announced
Monday
April 20
Review of some of the main themes of the seminar
Lecture and Discussion
Wednesday
April 22
Friday
April 24
Monday
April 27
Wednesday
April 29
Class discussion of research papers
Class discussion of research papers
Class discussion of research papers
Class discussion of research papers
All research papers due
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