Special Topics in Area Studies: Ethnic Politics

This graduate seminar is designed to introduce students to the comparative study of ethnic politics. It provides an overview of theoretical frameworks and methodological innovations across topics such as group mobilization, cleavage activation, identity representation, redistributive politics, and political violence. The readings are drawn from various political science subfields as well as other disciplines, reflecting a range of regional and country contexts. The purpose of the course is to provide graduate students with the background necessary for undertaking original research on questions relating to various forms of identity politics. The seminar should enable them to critically engage recent scholarship, understanding which theories have yet to be adequately tested and which theoretically interesting questions have yet to be asked. Students will ultimately be able to produce a research paper that serves as the basis for a prospectus, dissertation chapter, or publishable article.