Politics, Polity, and the Power of Words

3 Hours

Examine the place of language in a variety of different political settings--from oblique oratory in small-scale egalitarian communities to ritual "poetry" in cosmic polities to procedural prose in mass bureaucratic states--to illustrate the power of words. Identify the varied ways language sustains and transforms power relations in different political contexts, and thereby takes on a power of its own. Explore a variety of political situations, different modes of political communication, as well as different theories of the "performative" power of words. Only one of the following may be counted: Anthropology 320F, 320L (Topic: Polit/Polity/Power of Words), 320L (Topic 11). Three lecture hours a week for one semester.