Inheritance is an ordinary English word that is a very difficult concept. Inheritance brings things together rather than specifying or narrowing them. Is it a "historical process" that leaves within you an "infinity of traces without leaving an inventory" (Gramsci), is it a refusal "of proffered desire" (Rose) of projects that claim you when you would otherwise? What are the prime sites where we can "see" inheritance at work? This class is a beginning into some of this terrain, picking some of these threads rather than all. It will focus on three major themes: property; the family; the psychic, and discuss them in relation to two forms, 1) that which is known to be inherited (even as secrets) and 2) that which is unknown that we inherit anyway. We will often read full length ethnographies and significant chunks of historical and sociological scholarship to pick out our own interpretations. Readings in the class deal with time and "deep time", law and property , movement and circulation, the familial and reproducible, and trauma and the unconscious. Throughout, readings examine how inheritance is structured through racialization, class and gender. The final project (which can take multiple forms as long as it is agreed upon with the instructor) will be to think through inheritance through your own work. Students are encouraged to work on this final project throughout the class.
5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
Inheritance is an ordinary English word that is a very difficult concept. Inheritance brings things together rather than specifying or narrowing them. Is it a "historical process" that leaves within you an "infinity of traces without leaving an inventory" (Gramsci), is it a refusal "of proffered desire" (Rose) of projects that claim you when you would otherwise? What are the prime sites where we can "see" inheritance at work? This class is a beginning into some of this terrain, picking some of these threads rather than all. It will focus on three major themes: property; the family; the psychic, and discuss them in relation to two forms, 1) that which is known to be inherited (even as secrets) and 2) that which is unknown that we inherit anyway. We will often read full length ethnographies and significant chunks of historical and sociological scholarship to pick out our own interpretations. Readings in the class deal with time and "deep time", law and property , movement and circulation, the familial and reproducible, and trauma and the unconscious. Throughout, readings examine how inheritance is structured through racialization, class and gender. The final project (which can take multiple forms as long as it is agreed upon with the instructor) will be to think through inheritance through your own work. Students are encouraged to work on this final project throughout the class.