Why I took this Class

The standard answer to this question from every senior would range from: “It was a requirement” to “it was the least worse option”. While I agree with some of these, this class stood out to me because of its subject matter: Political Theory. 

For the longest time, I have been enamoured with political theories. From “Why countries wage wars” to the cliche “why some countries are poorer than others”. These questions are hallmarks of political epistemology and are staples of any politics course. However, they are based on a post-Westphalian understanding of politics, which considers states as the most important actors in politics. Anti-colonialists like Fanon and Kwame Nkurumah believed that liberation from colonialism through self-managed statehood was the solution for former colonies.

 In a post-colonial world, however, this assumption has begun to be questioned. One need only look at the tensions between countries as a result of tribes being separated by borders drawn by colonialists in order to sense the absurdity. I believe this absurdity originates from the tension between the colonised seeking the tools of the coloniser for liberation. This tension is the reason why I choose to study this course. I want to understand what other alternative political realities exist for former colonies.

To achieve this goal, I hope to engage in vigorous debate stemming from the readings assigned in the course. It is my hope that by critically engaging with the readings through annotation on perusall and discussion with my classmates, I will arrive towards multiple ways of observing politics. This semester, I will also be taking an anthropology class on violence which will draw from multiple political theories. It is my hope that this class will allow me to have a deeper understanding of the absurdist tensions presented within the readings and discussions surrounding the concepts of war and peace. My findings from anthropology will also feed into my experience and discussion of topics in this philosophy class as well. Hopefully, this will materialize into a final project that interrogates the political theories underpinning violence between states.