Of Violence and the U.S.

Empire: Militarization, Colonialism and Unruliness

Gallatin School of Individualized Study
New York University

Professor: Marie Cruz Soto Course: IDSEM-UG 1977

Office: 1 Washington Place Room 707 Semester: Fall 2018
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-6pm by appointment Time: Tues./Thurs. 11-12:15pm
Link for Appointments: http://goo.gl/K9GwY Location: 667, 24 Waverly Place
Contact: m.cruz@nyu.edu & (212) 992-7761

Entrance to Camp Schwab in Okinawa Protest Camp in front of Camp Schwab

(Photos taken in 2017 by Juan Hernández)

Course Description:
While the neoliberal ethos of the last decades has mandated the shrinking of
governments in their multiple iterations, militaries have come out rather unscathed. In
the 2019 fiscal year, for example, about half of the discretionary spending by the U.S.
federal government will go to the Department of Defense. The amount is one part of
the total military spending, which according to some estimates will reach $886 billions.
These figures follow a historical trend suggestive of the centrality of the Armed Forces
in U.S. nationalist imaginings and capitalist undertakings. The trend can also be
indicative of the difficulty of civil society in envisioning non-militarized ways of
existence. Such difficulty has a history and consequences. Their unveiling necessitates
a reckoning with the workings of settler colonialism and the U.S. Empire.

This course will focus on the tense and complex ways through which the U.S. has
organized itself to produce violence and legitimate its use. It will specifically
interrogate what militarization can mean and how it is linked to imperialism and to
colonialism. The class will further explore unruly calls for a different world in which
human relations are not mediated by (raw) violence and in which liberation, security and
humanitarianism are not militarized.

Course Objectives:
The main goals for the course are for students to explore how the U.S. has organized
itself to produce violence and legitimate its use; to interrogate what militarization can
mean and how it is linked to imperial and colonial projects; to engage with calls to
imagine a demilitarized and less violent world; and to foreground settler colonialism in
the makings and workings of the U.S. Empire.
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Course Requirements:
To successfully complete the course, students are required to attend and participate
actively in class, write eleven reactions and two essays, and do two class presentations.
The final grade for the course is divided into four parts: participation, first essay, second
essay and class presentations. Participation and the two essays are each worth 30% of
the final grade. The class presentations are 10% of the final grade.

The participation grade depends on the careful reading of course texts, attendance and
active involvement in class discussions. Students are expected to contribute on a
regular basis to class discussions with respectful and informed comments that engage
the course texts. Students are also expected to arrive on time to class. In terms of
attendance, each student is entitled to one unexcused absence. Each absence thereafter
will result in a one-fifth deduction of the participation grade.

The participation grade also depends on the writing of eleven reactions. These should
critically engage the content of the readings and identify connections between the texts
and topic for a particular week. Reactions are to be posted online at NYU Classes by
the Monday morning of the week assigned.

The first essay, due on October 16th, will address the close relationship between
imperialism, violence and militarization. The second essay, due on December 13th, will
focus on the U.S. as a militarized society and empire. The two essays, together
comprising about 20 pages of written work, are to be handed in at the beginning of
class. In addition, digital copies must be submitted through NYU Classes by the
assigned deadlines. Students should visit NYU Classes for detailed instructions about
the writing of these essays.

The first class presentation will be based on the topic and text(s) of the given day. The
second class presentation will engage some aspect of the student’s interests and
preoccupations with materials covered in class. The grade will depend on the
engagement with texts and class discussions and on the effectiveness in communicating
with class peers.

Deadlines:
Reactions and essays should be submitted by the established deadlines. Late papers will
not be accepted except with valid and preferably written medical excuses. Incompletes
are not an option. If a student has a compelling reason for wanting an incomplete, the
student should talk to the professor before the last day of class.

Accommodations:
Students who require accommodations because of a disability should visit the Henry and
Lucy Moses Center (726 Broadway, 2nd Floor) and talk to the professor during the first
week of class.

Writing:
Writing is an essential part of the course and of academic life in general. Great ideas
can be lost if the writing is not clear and evocative. Students are therefore encouraged
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to visit the professor during her office hours and the Gallatin Writing Center (1
Washington Place, Room 423) in order to discuss the writing process.

Gallatin Statement on Academic Integrity:

“As a Gallatin student you belong to an interdisciplinary community of artists and
scholars who value honest and open intellectual inquiry. This relationship depends on
mutual respect, responsibility, and integrity. Failure to uphold these values will be
subject to severe sanction, which may include dismissal from the University. Examples
of behaviors that compromise the academic integrity of the Gallatin School include
plagiarism, illicit collaboration, doubling or recycling coursework, and cheating. Please
consult the Gallatin Bulletin or Gallatin website
[http://gallatin.nyu.edu/academics/policies/policies1/academic-integrity.html] for a
full description of the academic integrity policy.”

Additional Information:
The use of electronic devices is not permitted in class.

Course Book:
Johnson, Chalmers. The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the
Republic. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004.

The book can be obtained at the NYU Bookstore (726 Broadway).

Course Schedule:
WEEK I:
INTRODUCTION
ÓSeptember 4th and 6thÔ

Texts for Thursday:

Amadeo, Kimberly. “U.S. Federal Budget Breakdown.” The balance. [2018]. the
Balance: Make money personal. 11 August 2018
<https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305789>.
Amadeo, Kimberly. “U.S. Military Budget: Components, Challenges, Growth.” the
balance. [2018]. the Balance: Make money personal. 11 August 2018
<https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-
growth-3306320>.
Bryant, Howard. “Veterans Speak Out Against The Militarization of Sports.” wbur:
90.9. 2018. WBUR. 11 August 2018
<http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/07/20/military-sports-astore-
francona>.
“Donald Trump announces US Space Force: ‘We must have American dominance in
space.’” YouTube. 2018. YouTube. 11 August 2018
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBbAm2x6z6Y>.

WEEK II:
VIOLENCE, CAPITALISM AND (DE)COLONIZATION
ÓSeptember 11th and 13thÔ
Reaction One
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Texts for Tuesday:

Arendt, Hannah. “A Special Supplement: Reflections on Violence.” The New York
Review of Books. (27 February 1969). The New York Review of Books. 2018.
NYREV, Inc. 10 August 2018
<https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1969/02/27/a-special-supplement-
reflections-on-violence/>.
“Slavoj Žižek: ‘Violence’ | Talks at Google [12 September 2018].” YouTube. 2018.
YouTube. 10 August 2018
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x0eyNkNpL0>.

Texts for Thursday:

Marx, Karl. “Chapter 26: The Secret of Primitive Accumulation,” “Chapter 27:
Expropriation of the Agricultural Population from the Land,” and “Chapter 32:
Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation.” Marx’s Capital: A Student
Edition. Ed. C J Arthur. London: The Electric Book Company, 2001. 520-533
and 538-542.
Marx, Karl. “Chapter 33: The Modern Theory of Colonisation.” Capital: Volume One.
London: the Electric Book Company, 2001. 1094-1107.

WEEK III:
VIOLENCE, CAPITALISM AND (DE)COLONIZATION, CONT.
ÓSeptember 18th and 20thÔ
Reaction Two

Text for Tuesday:

Dwyer, Philip and Amanda Nettelbeck. “‘Savage Wars of Peace’: Colonialism and
Empire in the Modern World.” Violence, Colonialism and Empire in the
Modern World. Eds. Philip Dwyer and Amanda Nettelbeck. [U.S.]: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2018. 1-22.

Text for Thursday:

Fanon, Frantz. “Concerning Violence.” The Wretched of the Earth. Trans. Constance
Farrington. New York: Grove Press, 1963. 35-106.

WEEK IV:
(U.S.) EMPIRE AND MILITARIZATION
ÓSeptember 25th and 27thÔ
Reaction Three

Texts for Tuesday

Kaplan, Amy. “Violent Belongings and the Question of Empire Today.” American
Quarterly 56:1 (March 2004): 1-18.
Lutz, Catherine. “Empire is in the details.” American Ethnologist 33:4 (November
2006): 593-611.
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Text for Thursday:

Lutz, Catherine. “Chapter 20: Militarization.” A Companion to the Anthropology of
Politics. Eds. David Nugent and Joan Vincent. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons,
2008. 318-331.

WEEK V:
SETTLER COLONIALISM
ÓOctober 2nd and 4thÔ
Reaction Four

Text for Tuesday:

Wolfe, Patrick. “Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native.” Journal of
Genocide Research 8:4 (June 2006): 387-409.

Text for Thursday:

Blackhawk, Ned. “Introduction: The Indigenous Body in Pain” and “Chapter Six:
Colorado Utes and the Traumatic Storms of Expansion.” Violence over the
Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 2006. 1-12 and 176-225.

WEEK VI:
(THE CLOSING OF) THE FRONTIER
ÓOctober 11thÔ
Reaction Five

Texts for Thursday:

Turner, Frederick Jackson. “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.”
1893.
Williams, William Appleman. “The Frontier Thesis and American Foreign Policy.”
Pacific Historical Review 24:4 (November 1955): 379-395.

WEEK VII:
THE U.S. NAVY AND PUERTO RICO
ÓOctober 16th and 18thÔ
First Essay Due on Tuesday October 16th

Texts for Tuesday:

Mahan, Alfred T. The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783. 1890.
Symonds, Craig L. “Chapter 6: The Doldrums and The New Navy (1865-1900)” to
“Chapter 10: The U.S. Navy in the Twenty-First Century.” American Naval
History: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
57-122.

Texts for Thursday:

Cruz Soto, Marie. “Strategic Spaces, Disposable Peoples: Imperial Imaginings and
Colonial Unruliness from Vieques, Puerto Rico.”
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Rodríguez Beruff, Jorge. “From Winship to Leahy: Crisis, War, and Transition in
Puerto Rico.” Colonial Crucible: Empire in the Making of the Modern American
State. Eds. Alfred W. McCoy and Francisco Scarano. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press, 2009. 431-440.

WEEK VIII:
THE EMPIRE OF BASES
ÓOctober 23rd and 25thÔ
Reaction Six

Text for Tuesday and Thursday:

Johnson, Chalmers. “Prologue: The Unveiling of the American Empire,” “Chapter 4:
The Institutions of American Militarism,” “Chapter 6: The Empire of Bases” and
“Chapter 10: The Sorrows of Empire.” The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism,
Secrecy, and the End of the Republic. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004. 1-
14, 97-130, 151-186 and 283-312.

WEEK IX:
THE EMPIRE OF BASES AND OKINAWA, JAPAN
ÓOctober 30th and November 1stÔ
Reaction Seven

Texts for Tuesday:

Living Along the Fenceline. Dir. Lina Hoshino. Many Threads and Women for
Genuine Security, 2011.
Yoneyama, Lisa. “Liberation under Siege: U.S. Military Occupation and Japanese
Women’s Enfranchisement.” American Quarterly 57:3 (September 2005): 885-
910.

Texts for Thursday:

Akibayashi, Kozue and Suzuyo Takazato. “Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for
Demilitarization.” The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle against U.S.
Military Posts. Ed. Catherine Lutz. New York: New York University Press,
2009. 243-269.
Ginoza, Ayano. “R&R at the Intersection of US and Japanese Dual Empire: Okinawan
Women and the Decolonizing Militarized Heterosexuality.” American
Quarterly 68:3 (September 2016): 583-591.
Tanji, Miyume. “Chapter 5. The first wave: Opposition to US military land acquisition.”
Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa. London and New York: Routledge,
2006. 53-76.

WEEK X:
THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS
ÓNovember 6th and 8thÔ
Reaction Eight
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Text for Tuesday and Thursday:

Gill, Lesley. “Introduction: The Military, Political Violence, and Impunity,” “Chapter 1:
Georgia Not on Their Minds,” “Chapter 2: De-Mining Humanitarianism,”
“Chapter 3: Foot Soldiers of the U.S. Empire” and “Chapter 6: Human Wrongs
and Rights.” The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political
Violence in the Americas. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004. 1-89 and 137-
162.

WEEK XI:
HOMELAND (IN)SECURITY
ÓNovember 13th and 15thÔ
Reaction Nine

Texts for Tuesday:

Hirshberg, Lauren. “Home Land (In)security: The Labor of U.S. Cold War Military
Empire in the Marshall Islands.” Making the Empire Work: Labor and United
States Imperialism. Eds. Daniel E. Bender and Jana K. Lipman. New York: New
York University Press, 2015. 335-356.
The Atomic Cafe. Dir. Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty. The Archives
Project, 1982.

Text for Thursday:

Pinar, William F. “Chapter 14: Cultures of Torture.” Warfare in the American
Homeland: Policing and Prison in a Penal Democracy. Ed. Joy James. Durham:
Duke University Press, 2007. 290-304.
Sexton, Jared. “Chapter 9: Racial Profiling and the Societies of Control.” Warfare in
the American Homeland: Policing and Prison in a Penal Democracy. Ed. Joy
James. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007. 197-218.

WEEK XII:
FEMINIST CRITIQUES TO MILITARIZATION
ÓNovember 20thÔ
Reaction Ten

Text for Tuesday:

Enloe, Cynthia. “Chapter 7: Filling the Ranks: Militarizing Women as Mothers,
Soldiers, Feminists, and Fashion Designers.” Maneuvers: The International
Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives. Berkeley: University of California Press,
2000. 235-287.

WEEK XIII:
UNRULY IMAGININGS
ÓNovember 27th and 29thÔ
Reaction Eleven
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Texts for Tuesday:

Gutmann, Matthew and Catherine Lutz. “Chapter Eight: Speaking Out.” Breaking the
Ranks: Iraq Veterans Speak Out against the War. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2010. 162-186.
Shigematsu, Setsu, Anuradha Kristina Bhagwati and Eli PaintedCrow. “Women-of-
Color Veterans on War, Militarism, and Feminism.” Feminism and War:
Confronting U.S. Imperialism. Eds. Robin L. Riley, Chandra Talpade Mohanty
and Minnie Bruce Pratt. London: Zed Books, 2008. 93-102.

Texts for Thursday:

“From Latin America to Palestine: Activists Resist Militarization.” teleSUR. 27 July
2018. teleSUR. 15 August 2018
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/From-Latin-America-to-Palestine-
Activists-Resist-Militarization-20180727-0008.html>.
Global Campaign Against US/NATO Military Bases: Close All US/NATO Bases!.
2018. Global Campaign Against US/Nato Military Bases. 15 August 2018
<http://nousnatobases.org/>.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Beyond Vietnam [4 April 1967 Speech].” The Martin Luther
King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. [2018]. Stanford University. 9
August 2018 <https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-
papers/documents/beyond-vietnam>.
Women for Genuine Security. [2018]. Women for Genuine Security. 15 August 2018
<http://www.genuinesecurity.org/>.

WEEK XIV:
INTERESTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS
ÓDecember 4th and 6thÔ

Readings to be announced

WEEK XV:
CONCLUSIONS
ÓDecember 11th and 13thÔ
Final Essay Due on Thursday December 13th

* Bring to class an electronic device to complete the course evaluation.