Amit Prakash

The European Catastrophe, 1914-1945
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to what began as a political, economic, socio-cultural, and security crisis in Europe and quickly spread across the globe. Through the lens of history, philosophy, sociology, literature, film, and memoir, we will explore a range of topics and themes: the perfection of mechanized warfare, the fall of the European imperial state system, the economic crises of the 1920s and the Great Depression, the birth of bolshevism and fascism, the rise of experimental artistic movements in the interwar period, the psychological understanding of authoritarianism, the Holocaust, and the origins of the postwar order. There will be a bi-weekly film viewing associated with the class.

Borders, Migration, and Identification in Global Perspective
In this course we will investigate the concept and historical emergence of borders, their relation to mobility, and the identification regimes that grew up around them. After interrogating the implications of what a border can mean and the different forms it can take—ideal and material, of mind and body—we will focus our study on the historical origins of modern state borders, various representations of borders, and case studies that particularly highlight the importance of borders regarding the supervision and the sorting of movement. Topics of study will include cities, physical barriers, refugees, and passportization. Regions of study will include the United States, France, Israel, Angola, and Guantanamo Bay. 3 hrs. sem.