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Global Encounters: Comparing World Views and Values Cross-Culturally
Ant 185
Fall 2012
Faculty: Susan S. Wadley, Ford Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies, sswadley@syr.edu
Office: 327 Eggers, Office hours M 10-11:30, W 2:30-3:30
Graduate Assistants: Paul Noe, pdnoe@maxwell.syr.edu
Taapsi Ramchandani, taramcha@syr.edu
Wajahat Ahmad, wahmad01@syr.edu
Cullen Black, cublack@syr.edu
This course is writing intensive, fulfills a humanities core requirement, and fulfills an IR core requirement.
Through the dual lenses of culture and globalization, this course explores a range of topics where cultures come
into contact with one another, sometimes accommodating the ‘other’, sometimes resisting the difference and the
values therein, sometimes facing similar issues in very diverse settings, sometimes using power (over
individuals, groups, or cultures) to control the encounter. We will begin by looking at one of the most everyday
cultural encounters—that around food. While seemingly an everyday fact of life, food is also a significant
marker of identity, culture and nation and is actually often contested. But food is also a commodity that
becomes increasingly globalized, so that we no longer eat what we grow but what we buy from across the
globe. And what we eat marks global encounters and our identities in interesting ways.
We will then move on to one of the most contentious of global encounters, war—an encounter where one group
seeks to impose its values on another by force--, looking specifically at the long term effects of war on
communities in Vietnam and the U.S. Here we will look specifically at how the cultures of Vietnam and the US
understood the after-effects of war on local populations.
Our third and fourth foci take us to South Asia: the first encounter is that of sex-trafficking, the dominance of an
individual for economic gain by others of their own or a different group. The next focus is on one of the most
recent and expanding global encounters, medical tourism. Here we will examine the global trade in organs and
in bodies. With both sex trafficking and medical tourism, we see effects of the power structures of First World
versus Third World; of rich versus poor; of male versus female. And in both instances, we see the
commodification of bodies—the female body for trafficking and surrogacy, the impoverished body of prisoner,
slum-dweller, etc. for organ transplants. This section concludes with a brief look at young women artists in rural
India who translate their culture for western audiences through new forms of art for social justice.
The final week takes us for a short look at the most pervasive global encounter of the 21st century, global
warming: here we will think about how the values of ‘western’ consumers have enormous effects on local
communities, with vastly different values, far from those creating the problem.
This is also a writing intensive course: the assignments on which you are to be graded all involve writing essays
of some sort.
READINGS
Most of your readings are articles on Blackboard. There are three books ordered at the SU Bookstore:
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War and Shadows: the Haunting of Vietnam by Mai Lan Gustaffson, Cornell University Press
Vietnam Shadows: the War, Its Ghosts and its Legacy by Arnold Isaacs, Johns Hopkins University Press.
Caste in India by Diane Mines, Association for Asian Studies.
SPECIAL EVENT
We have the opportunity to see the play, Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, at Syracuse Stage on either
Wed. Sept. 12 (preferred) or Tues., Sept. 18 at 7:30 pm. The play and ensuing discussion was last bout 2 hours.
I have ordered tickets for all of you. It will introduce the second section of the course on the long term effects of
that global encounter known as war….This is required and a brief one page review of the play will count
toward your discussion grade. More details on arrangements will be available in sections.
EXTRA CREDIT:
The film, Valley of Saints (on Kashmir) at the Human Rights Film Festival, Sat. Sept. 22. A one page review of
the film will give you 2 points of extra credit.
GRADING:
Discussion grade
Papers
Essay 1
Essay 2
Essay 3
Essay 4
Essay 5
30 points
12 points
18 points
18 points
18 points
4 points
Due Sept. 17
Due Oct. 8
Due Oct. 29
Due Dec. 3
Due Dec. 11
Final grades will be based on a standard scale. A is 93-100; A- is 90-92; B+ is 88-89, B is 83-88; B- is 80-82;
etc. Below 60 is an F .
All written work should be typed, double spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Bring a hard copy to class on
the due date: put it in the box marked with your TA’s name. Final papers can be sent by email by 5 p.m. on the
Dec. 11 or a hard copy can be put in the designated boxes in 209 Maxwell before 5 pm on Dec. 11.
We do not accept late work or incompletes unless extraordinary circumstances develop. It is vital that all your
papers be submitted on time. Your grade for that assignment will be cut 1/3 of a letter grade equivalent for
every ½ day late after it is due. Due means at the beginning of class on the due date!
You are expected to attend all lectures and discussion sections. Material will be covered in both that is NOT in
your readings, so attendance is necessary.
Laptops, phones and other forms of media are not allowed during class, either lecture of discussion. Keep them
in your backpacks or bags, as we will confiscate if we see them. Powerpoint slides from lectures that contain
detailed material (charts and numbers) will be put on Blackboard or emailed to you as a group, but you are
expected to take notes for the other material. You should take notes on the content of films, as these are
important sources of material for your papers.
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The Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity of the work
they submit. Students should be familiar with the Policy and know that it is their responsibility to learn about
instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper citation of sources in written work. The
policy also governs the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments as well as the veracity of
signatures on attendance sheets and other verifications of participation in class activities. Serious sanctions can
result from academic dishonesty of any sort. For more information and the complete policy, see
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu. If I find that you violated the integrity policy, you will receive an F on that
assignment, possibly for the course. You have a right to appeal the charge of violation.
Students who are in need of disability-related academic accommodations must register with the Office of
Disability Services (ODS), 804 University Avenue, Room 309, 315-443-4498. Students with authorized
disability-related accommodations should provide a current Accommodation Authorization Letter from ODS to
the instructor and review those accommodations with the instructor. Accommodations, such as exam
administration, are not provided retroactively; therefore, planning for accommodations as early as possible is
necessary. For further information, see the ODS website, Office of Disability Services
http://disabilityservices.syr.edu/
Religious holidays: SU’s religious observances policy, found at
http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm, recognizes the diversity of faiths represented
among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holy
days according to their tradition. Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any
examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify
their instructors before the end of the second week of classes. For fall and spring semesters, an online
notification process is available through MySlice/Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances from
the first day of class until the end of the second week of class. We will adjust oral presentations around any
holidays that you miss, pending your submission through the on-line process.
Readings
Week 1
Aug. 27
Aug. 29
Week 2
Sept. 3
Sept. 5
Week 3
Sept. 10
Introduction
What is Culture
Ember and Ember (BB)
What is Globalization?
Ferguson and Mansbach (BB)
Global Encounters: Food
Labor Day, no class
“Eating out”
Foster-1 (BB)
Hernandes in Watson (BB)
A Family’s Food History
Mintz (BB) (intro and chap 7)
Ray (BB)
Hernandez (BB)
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Sept. 12
Food and Nationality
Wilks (BB)
Video clip: http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/advertising-missionaries/clip1/
Sept. 12
Week 4
Voices from the Congo: required. At 7:30, Syracuse Stage
Paper # 1 Due Sept. 17 to be handed in at the beginning of class.
Sept. 17
Sept. 18
Global Encounters Through War
Thinking about war as a global encounter
Optional date: Voices from the Congo
At 7:30, Syracuse Stage
Sept. 19
The Background of the Vietnam War
Gustaffson
Wars and their after-effects: Viet Nam
Ghosts
Finish Gustaffson
Wars and their after-effects:
American Ghosts
Isaacs
Guest Lecture: recuperating at Walter Reed
Zoe Wool, Rutgers University
Isaacs
Messinger (BB)
Living under military rule
Guest: Wajahat Ahmad
Ahmad (BB)
finish Isaacs
Week 5
Sept. 24
Sept. 26
Week 6
Oct. 1
Oct 3
Week 7
Begin Gustaffson
Paper # 2 Due Oct. 8 to be handed in at the beginning of class.
Oct. 8
Global Encounters in South Asia: Sex Trafficking, Medicine, and Art
South Asian Social Organization: Caste
Mines
Oct. 10
Poverty in South Asia
Wadley-1 (BB)
Gender and Family in South Asia
Wadley-2 (BB)
Global Sex trafficking
Kara (BB)
Sex Trafficking in Nepal
Crawford-1 (BB)
Week 8
Oct. 15
Oct. 17
Week 9
Oct. 22
Oct. 24
Trafficked women in Kolkata
Crawford-2 (BB)
Optional: film, Born in Brothels, place and time tba
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Week 10
Paper # 3 Due on Oct. 29 to be handed in at the beginning of class.
Medical Tourism
Oct. 29
Medicine in the Global arena
Scheper Hughes-1 (BB)
Sharp (BB)
Oct. 31
The trade in organs
Moniruzzaman (BB)
Organ donations in South Asi
Scheper Hughes 2 (BB)
Seeking mothers: surrogacy
Pande 1(BB)
Pande 2 (BB)
Week 12
Nov. 12
Surrogacy in India
Pande 3 (BB)
Nov. 14
Surrogacy in India
Banerjee (BB)
Surrogacy discussion
reread above articles
South Asian women talk back:
Girls painting for social justice
tba
Week 11
Nov. 5
Nov. 7
Week 13
Nov. 26
Nov. 28
Week 14
Paper 4 Due Dec. 3 to be handed in at the beginning of class.
Global Warming: The Global Encounter that affects us all
Dec. 3
Global encounters everywhere: Global warming
Yamamoto and Esteban
Dec. 5
Global Warming continued
Ettenger
Paper 5 due Dec 11, 5 pm in 209 Maxwell or by email.