SHIPS IN THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Upper-Level

This course interrogates what we can learn about social, political and economic life by examining ships. Ships have long inspired social theory and anthropological thinking. Seen from the shore, ships not only carried commodities, but also signified conquest, disease, and imperial power. They were characterized as instruments of economic development for some and as tools of oppression for others. As shipping and logistics have emerged as defining features of contemporary global exchange, ships have acquired new forms and functions. In addition to analyzing shipyards, ports, and ship-breaking facilities, this course will look at a wide-range of vessels, such as slave ships, spaceships, containerships, pirate ships, and rescue vessels and refugee ships in different parts of the world. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ANTH 514 .