Topic for Winter 2023: Reading Afghanistan
Prerequisites: No pre-requisites
This discussion-based course offers a non-major-friendly introduction to the politics and political history of Afghanistan, from the 19th century to the present. What legacies have repeated foreign interventions left on the country’s society, economy, and politics? How have ordinary Afghans negotiated life and politics in the midst of prolonged war and unstable detente? How have drugs and warlords intersected with national politics? How and why did the country’s nascent post-war political institutions fall apart so rapidly in 2021? Although readings will be drawn from a range of genres, students will become acquainted with some core concepts and theories in comparative political science along the way. Assignments will include regular response papers and basic research tasks designed to complement assigned readings.