The Politics of Everyday Life - POL00105M

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Module summary

How can we study politics from below? What are the promises and perils of social research that engages with the unruly minutiae of everyday life? This module offers an advanced introduction into the ethnographic study of politics. In particular, it will explore how the immersion of researchers in the world can contribute to the study of power through close engagements with an array of works that examine how ordinary people act and think politically. The readings will draw from exemplar ethnographies in political science, sociology, and anthropology while engaging with three key concepts: resistance, authority and hegemony. While the module focuses primarily on understanding the variety of ways in which ethnographers have sought to analyse everyday life, students will also be encouraged to practice conducting ethnography and to theorize modes of inhabiting power relations they encounter in their own lives.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

- Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the most recent works in political ethnography

- Understand the application of ethnographic methods to political problems, questions and issues, using the tools covered in this module.

- Conduct ethnography independently while deploying appropriate theories and concepts.

- Develop interpretative and analytical abilities through seminar discussion and a study of key texts.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

- Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the most recent works in political ethnography

- Understand the application of ethnographic methods to political problems, questions and issues, using the tools covered in this module.

- Conduct ethnography independently while deploying appropriate theories and concepts.

- Develop interpretative and analytical abilities through seminar discussion and a study of key texts.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

Students will receive timely written feedback on their formative assessment. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's feedback and guidance hours.

Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment no later than six weeks after submission; and the module tutor will hold a specific session to discuss feedback, which students can also opt to attend. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's regular feedback and guidance hours.

Indicative reading

• James Scott, The Art of not being Governed (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010)

• Rosalind Fredercisk, Garbage Citizenship: Vital Infrastructures of Labor in Dakar Senegal (Duyrham: Duke University Press, 2018).

• Lisa Wedeen, Ambiguities of Domination (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015)

• Asef Bayat, Life is Politics: How Ordinary People change the Middle East (Stanford: Stanford University, Press, 2013)

Nikhil Anand, Hydraulic City: Water and the Infrastructures of Citizenship in Mumbai (Durham: Duke University Press, 2017).