[The PRINT OUT VERSION runs thirteen pages and includes the SYLLABUS, a list of COURSE OBJECTIVES in addition to a full COURSE SCHEDULE (including ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES and REQUIRED READINGS).  PLEASE NOTE: This version of the course syllabus and class schedule has not been updated since being uploaded to the course web site on January 13. 2003.  Please check the web site version for more up-to-date information.]

Power and Authority In Nonwestern Societies

 

INSTRUCTORS:

ROBERT CHARLICK, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
LEE MAKELA, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

 

SYLLABUS

 

INTRODUCTION: This course seeks to provoke an intellectual examination of issues connected to the concepts "power" and "authority" as exercised and experienced within selected nonwestern societies and cultures.  Using a cross disciplinary and interdisciplinary approach, the course will explore notions, types and uses of power and authority through political, historical and cultural "case studies" drawn from the experiences of the Hausa of Nigeria in Africa, the Japanese and the Hmong resident in Merced, California.  Our discussions also will provide implicit and explicit comparisons along the way with the function and use of power and authority in American culture and society. 
 
The variety of social and cultural contexts studied will enable students to examine, among other topics, the power and authority vested in traditional customs and beliefs, the impact of westernization and modernization on expressions of power and authority within nonwestern political traditions, the manifestations of power and authority in aspects of contemporary popular culture, the nature of the "postmodern" construction of power and authority and cross-cultural conflicts in the practice of medicine.

The course of study has been designed to encourage students to think “outside the box” about the ways in which “power” and “authority” (and other related concepts) influence -- and are affected by – individual lifestyles, community concerns, national issues and international affairs, both within the United States and abroad.  Those enrolled will be encouraged to develop and enhance communication skills, both oral and written, in the pursuit of this goal and should expect to emerge from the experience with both an enlarged, more detailed, more reflective understanding and appreciation of the world around them and with improved abilities to communicate that tolerance efficiently, accurately and with insight.
 
The course seeks to illuminate answers to the following specific set of related questions:

  • What is the nature of "power" and "authority"?  How do "power" and "authority" interact with one another both in theory and in practice?  How are the two concepts interrelated?  How are they made manifest in various social and cultural contexts?  How expressed?
     
  • Where does power and authority reside?  How do standards of power and authority gain legitimacy?
     
  • Who controls / possesses / shapes the exercise and imposition of power and authority within a given cultural or social context?

  • What relationship exists between expressions of cultural power and authority and political power and authority within any particular given societal context?
     

COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of fifteen weeks of instruction, students enrolled in POWER AND AUTHORITY IN NONWESTERN SOCIETIES should be able to --

  1. effectively conceptualize a variety of meanings inherent in usage of the terms "power" and "authority";
     
  2. analyze, using appropriate supporting examples and illustrations drawn from course content, various manifestations (economic, social, political, religious, cultural) of power and authority applicable in a variety of historical, social and cultural contexts;
     
  3. illustrate the interplay between power and authority utilizing a variety of specific illustrative examples drawn from the study of nonwestern societies and cultures;
     
  4. examine with insight and understanding the locus and controlling factors evident in the expression of power and authority in specific contexts (traditional / modern / contemporary / postmodern;  western / nonwestern)

Course content will be delivered through readings, video, discussion, the Internet, computer-aided presentations and lecture.  Students will expected to demonstrate mastery of this content through a series of four short (2 - 3 page) essays on assigned topics.  Readings for the course are available online through Electronic Course Reserve or at Barnes and Noble Bookstore.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

Monday, January 13, 2003
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE 

 
An introduction to the instructors and an overview of the syllabus, the objectives of the course of study, the course web site, course assignments, grading standards and the approach to the subject matter of the course. 

Wednesday, January 15, 2003
THINKING ABOUT COURSE CONCEPTS - DIFFERENTIATING AND DEFINING THE "NONWESTERN" 
  
How and why did the concept of the "nonwestern" emerge? What can the term itself help us understand about ourselves as "westerners" and the assumptions we make with regard to the rest of the world?

MAP ASSIGNMENT DUE

Friday, January 17, 2003
APPROACHES TO THE CONCEPTS OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" - THE INFLUENCE OF MODERNIZATION THEORY 
  
Is there a meaningful difference between "western" and "modern"? How does this distinction relate to our assumption of the "nonwest" as "third world" and/or "traditional"? How has the general acceptance of the West's pattern of development as "normal" influence our views of the nonwestern world?

READING ASSIGNMENTS (to be completed BEFORE coming to class):

  • Howard Wiarda, Non-Western Theories of Development, pp vii - viii; AND
    John Kautsky, The Political Consequences of Modernization, pp. 15 - 17;
    OR
  • Marion J. Levy, Modernization and the Structure of Societies, pp. 89 – 92; AND
    Kautsky, The Political Consequences of Modernization, pp. 49 - 59.

WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ON ASSIGNED READING DUE   

Monday, January 20, 2003
HOLIDAY (MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY)

Wednesday, January 22, 2003
EXPLORING SOCIALLY - DEFINED CULTURAL DISTINCTIONS AS SOURCES OF POWER

An examination of the interactions between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft social orientations as aspects of cultural identity

 

WEB ASSIGNMENT (to be completed BEFORE coming to class):

·         review Niger / Hausa slide show images

·         view Osaka 2001: at the Dawn of a New Millennium images

Both these sets of images are meant to provide a visual introduction to one or the other of the two major cultures under consideration in the course and to stimulate your thinking about some of the concepts and approaches being discussed in class with reference to “real” examples of these ideas in action.  As you examine (or re-examine) these sets of photographs, for example, think particularly about how they might be changing your preconceptions about the “nonwestern world” in general or about Japan and Nigeria in particular.

WRITTEN REACTIONS TO OSAKA 2001 SURVEY DUE  

Friday, January 24, 2003
EXPLORING THE CONCEPT OF THE "NONWESTERN" AS CULTURAL IDENTITY
  
An examination of various ways in which attitude, attribute and affiliation patterns help define variations within notion of "nonwestern culture”.

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

  • B.C.Smith, Understanding Third World Politics, pp. 69 – 72.

WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ON ASSIGNED READING DUE  

Monday, January 27, 2003
SOCIETY AND THE INDIVIDUAL: COMMANDING AND OBEYING 
  
Coming to grips with the most important concepts with which we will be dealing over the course of the semester ahead:  How are we to distinguish the implicit or explicit use of coercion (“hard power”) from the recognized legitimacy granted those exercising “authority” in the exercise of various forms of social, political, economic, religious, cultural and ideological influence?

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

  • Robert Dahl, Modern Political Analysis, pp. 32 - 34.
  • Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz, Power and Poverty, pp. 21 - 38.

WRITTEN REACTIONS TO ISSUES RAISED IN DISCUSSION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY DUE

Wednesday, January 29, 2003
DISTINGUISHING “SOFT” POWER FROM “HARD” POWER

An exploration of Joseph Nye’s conceptualization of “soft power” and its importance particularly in the exercise of  international influence.

READING ASSIGNMENT:

WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS ON ASSIGNED READING DUE

Friday, January 31, 2003
LOOKING AT ISSUES OF POWER AND AUTHORITY IN JAPAN: "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES"

A case study drawn from the Meiji era (1868 - 1912) in Japanese history focusing on the "real life' application of concepts discussed to this point in the course to the definition of imperial authority and power in late nineteenth century Japan.

READING ASSIGNMENT:

  • "Introduction" and "Chapter One" from T. Fujitani's Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pagentry in Modern Japan, pp. 1 - 18.

WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS ON ASSIGNED READING DUE  

Monday, February 3, 2003
LOOKING AT ISSUES OF POWER AND AUTHORITY AMONG THE HAUSA: THE FOUNDING MYTH - THE BAYAJIDDA STORY

READING ASSIGNMENT:

·         Antony Kirke-Green, The Emirates of Nortern Nigeria, pp.145-146.

WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS ON ASSIGNED READING DUE

Wednesday, February 5, 2003
LOOKING AT ISSUES OF POWER AND AUTHORITY AMONG THE HMONG

An overview discussion of the historical process bringing a large community of Hmong refugees to the small community of Merced, California, to live and work beginning in the mid-1970s.

 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

  • Chapter 12 ("Flight") from Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (a book not on Electronic Course Reserve but which can be purchased at the CSU Barnes and Noble Bookstore), pp. 154 - 170.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT ONE DUE

Friday, February 7, 2003
CONCEPTUALIZING "POPULAR CULTURE"

An examination of differences between "popular" and "high" culture and what an examination of the former can tell us about the nature and exercise of “power” and “authority”.

Monday, February 10, 2003
JAPANESE “SOFT POWER” IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

An illustrated overview consideration of aspects of current Japanese popular culture as examples of Joseph Nye’s “soft power” at work in the contemporary international context.

·         Joseph S. Nye, “Asia’s First Globalizer”, The Washington Quarterly, Autumn 2002. pp. 121 – 124.

Wednesday, February 12, 2003
MANIFESTATIONS OF AMERICAN “SOFT POWER" IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE 
  
A video entitled "The Japanese Version" explores how aspects of American culture are integrated into contemporary Japanese life and serves as an example of the nature of (locally-transformed) American cultural "soft power" at work in modern Japanese life and culture.

Friday, February 14, 2003
ISSUES OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE
  
A directed discussion of examples drawn from earlier considerations of Japanese “soft power” in the international context and "The Japanese Version" video as illustrations of the "power" and "authority" vested in popular culture in Japan today and in the relationship of “popular culture” in general to the larger global context.

Monday, February 17, 2003
HOLIDAY (PRESIDENTS’ DAY)

Wednesday, February 19, 2003
WILD IRISES AND THE EIGHT- FOLD BRIDGE

An illustrated exploration of the depiction of irises and wooden plank bridges in literature, poetry, garden design, fashion and art as an introduction to a consideration of the role of allusion and metaphor in traditional Japan as sources of “power” and “authority” influencing manifestations of culture in all these various areas of aesthetic expression.

Friday, February 21, 2003
TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN JAPANESE CULTURE I  
  
Using the written results of a completed web assignment as the basis for our conversation, we will discuss how the realities behind this exercise demonstrate the "power" and "authority" vested in cultural tradition even in contemporary Japanese social and cultural life.

web assignment:  
Thinking About 'Meaning' in Traditional Japanese Art

Monday, February 24, 2003
TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN JAPANESE CULTURE II

A further examination of the ways in which traditional sources of cultural "power" and "authority" influence the reading of Japanese poetry.

reading assignment:

Haruo Shirane's "Lyricism and Intertextuality: An Approach to Shunzei's Poetics", Chapter Four in Charles Wei-Hsun Fu and Steven Heine, editors, Japan in Traditional and Postmodern Perspectives (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995), pages 81 - 94. 

Wednesday, February 26, 2003
SOURCES OF CULTURAL "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN THE TALE OF GENJI I 
  
The first in a three - part consideration of the exercise of "power" and "authority" in Japanese culture through the force and influence associated with a single work of literature, Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh century novel The Tale of Genji. 
  
reading assignment:

"Evening Faces", Chapter Four in Edward Sidenstecker's translation of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (New York: Knopf, 1976), pages 57 - 83. 
  
"Impact, Influence and Reception", Chapter Four in Richard Bowring's Landmarks in World Literature: Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1988), pages 81 - 102.  

Friday, February 28, 2003
SOURCES OF CULTURAL "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN THE TALE OF GENJI II 
 
Continuing our exploration of the ongoing influence exerted by The Tale of Genji through the ages and how this source of "cultural legitimacy" has been transformed to reflect changing values and cultural influences at work over the centuries. 

web assignment:
Japanese Popular Culture -- the Traditional in the Modern

Monday, March 3, 2003
MITATE IN PRACTICE

Discussion of various other examples of allusion, metaphor and motif at work in Japanese society as a reflection of traditional sources of cultural power and authority.

READING and INTERNET ART EXHIBIT: Isamu Kurita, "Japanese Art and the Japanese View of Nature", an essay prepared as part of the exhibition SETSUGEKKA, "Snow, Moon and Flowers: The Japanese View of Nature" at the MOA Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan

Wednesday, March 5, 2003
THE EXERCISE OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN THE WORLD OF THE CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ARTS 
 
Taking a closer look at the way in which a modern woodblock print artist and a modern poet combine influences drawn from the past with contemporary issues and influences to produce works of art both provocative and controversial, illustrations of the exercise of the "authority" invested in tradition within a contemporary setting. 
 
reading assignment: 

"Morning Necktie" and "Afterword" from Machi Tawara's Salad Anniversary (New York: Kodansha International, 1989), pages 47 - 52 

 

web assignment:

 

Contemporary Manifestations of Japanese Popular Culture

 

Friday, March 7, 2003
THE FUTURE OF "POWER" AND "AUTHORITY" IN JAPANESE CULTURE: THE POSTMODERN ALTERNATIVE

An examination of the concept of the "postmodern" as a cultural construct with examples drawn from the Japanese experience.

Monday, March 10, 2003
SPRING BREAK

Wednesday, March 12, 2003
SPRING BREAK

Friday, March 14, 2003
SPRING BREAK

Monday, March 17, 2003
EXPLORATIONS OF THE POSTMODERN IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE

Examples drawn from the world of Japanese animation (anime) and popular music videos provide evidence of the persuasive presence of the "postmodern" in numerous arenas of today's popular culture in Japan.

reading assignment: 

Lee A. Makela, "The Postmodern in Japanese Popular Culture and the Film World of Shunji Iwai" (unpublished manuscript), pages 1 - 13.

web assignment:

EVANGELION, A POSTMODERN ANIMATED FILM

Wednesday, March 19, 2003
THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN TRADITION AND ITS REJECTION IN THE JAPANESE POSTMODERN WORLD

A discussion of the subtle interactions between maintained elements of traditional cultural "power" and "authority" and the rejection thereof in the playgrounds of Japanese postmodern popular culture.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT TWO DUE

Friday, March 21, 2003:
GENERAL ORIENTATIONS

Who are the Hausa, and where are they in the world?

 

reading assignment: 

Charlick, 1974, selection 1

web assignment:

Go to the Niger Hausa Slide Show and answer as many of the questions you find there as you can, completing the assignment BEFORE coming to class.

Monday March 24, 2003:
PRINCIPLES OF POWER AND AUTHORITY IN HAUSA SOCIETY: TRADITIONAL AND MODERN

Web exercise: Compare the identities of CSU students with Hausa Identities. What strikes you the most? Click here to do this exercise.

reading assignment: 

Charlick (1974), Selection 2; Charlick (1991), pp. 18-23, 68; Robinson (1983), pp. 106-118, 122-123

Wednesday March 26, 2003:
LOCAL LEVEL HAUSA POLITICS

What are the Basic Principles of Power and Authority in Hausa Culture? What Roles and Functions Do Hausa Authorities Fulfill?

reading assignment: 

Mary Smith (1954), pp. 27-31, 240-241; Gregoire (1992), pp. 32-34; Miles (1993), pp. 39-47; Miles (1994), 146-154,157-163, 167-168.

Friday March 28, 2003:
HAUSA CHIEFS AND VILLAGE HEADMEN

Video Segment from "Ta Dona"

reading assignment: 

The Role and Status of the Chief (Sarki): Charlick, 1991, 18-20 and 22-23 (gift giving); Robinson, 1983, pp. 106-113; The Royal Court and Administrative Structure: Miles, 1994, pp. 160-163; A. Hausa Woman's perspective: Smith, 1954, pp 27-31 and 240-241 (Baba's story)

Monday March 31, 2003:
PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE POLITICALLY INFLUENTIAL HAUSA AUTHORITIES AND "MODERNIZATION" / "WESTERNIZATION" (Part I)

 

reading assignment: 

Miles, 1994, pp 146-160

Wednesday April 2, 2003:
PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE POLITICALLY INFLUENTIAL HAUSA AUTHORITIES AND "MODERNIZATION" / "WESTERNIZATION" (Part II)

Using "Traditional" Authorities: Hausa Authorities and the Modern Nation/State

reading assignment: 

Charlick (1974) Selection 3, from Power and Participation in Rural Hausa Communities; Colonial era and nationalist period: Charlick, 1991, 20-22 and 42-52; Robinson, 1983, pp. 110-112; Miles,1993, p.39; Chiefs under a Single Party State: Robinson, 1983, pp. 110-118; Hausa Sarkis today: Miles, 1994, pp. 167-68; Sarkis and the Military Regime: Robinson, pp.122-23; Miles 1993, pp. 39-40; Charlick 1991, p. 68; Sarkis and the Era of Democracy: Miles, 1993, pp.41-47

Friday April 4, 2003:
EXPANDING MASS PARTICIPATION AND DEMOCRACY

reading assignment: 

Community Development (animation rurale) and the Single Party State: Charlick, Selection 5; The Military and the "Development Society" (Société de Développement): Charlick, Selection 6; "Elections": Charlick, Selection 7 and Charlick, Selection 8

Monday, April 7, 2003:
SOLVING PROBLEMS IN HAUSA SOCIETY : Challenging a Headman

reading assignment: 

Charlick / Faulkingham, Selection 4

Wednesday, April 9, 2003:
SOLVING PROBLEMS IN HAUSA SOCIETY :
Family Feuds and The Struggle for PowerI)

Friday, April 11, 2003:
Principles of Land Use and Sources of Disputes

reading assignment: 

Saunders / Charlick, Selection 9

Monday, April 14, 2003:
Deciding Among Conflicting Principles- the Role of Power

 

reading assignment: 

Tidiane Ngaido, "Implementing the Rural Code: Perceptions and Expectations in Rural Niger," Madison, WI: Land Tenure Center, Discussion Paper 7, 1993, pp 20-32; Allocation of Land in Maradi: Claude Raynaut / Charlick, Selection 10

Wednesday, April 16, 2003:
Governing Public Resources-- Disputes over use of the forests and grassland

Friday, April 18, 2003:
More Disputes: Government versus villagers

reading assignment: 

Thomson / Charlick, Selection 11

Monday, April 21, 2003:
Norms and Accountability: Summarizing Hausa Authority Patterns

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT TWO DUE

Wednesday, April 23, 2003
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN JAPAN

WEB READING ASSIGNMENTS:

A brief introduction to Kampo - Japanese Herbal Medicine, a treatment available to patients at Kailash Centre of Oriental Medicine in London.

Tsukasa Miyaji's "Japanese Healing Strategy: Background on Traditional Japanese Medicine" from North American Journal of Oriental Medicine (Vol. 4, No. 9 March 1997).

Friday, April 25, 2003
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN AFRICA

lecture notes:

"Hausa Conceptions of Health, Illness and Healing" (Robert Charlick)

reading assignment:

"Medicine of the Prophet", a poem by Nana Asma'u from Beverly B. Mack and Jean Boyd's One Woman's Jihad (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000), pages 102 - 119

Monday, April 28, 2003
DISCUSSION: ANNE FADIMAN'S THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN, Chapters One through Ten (pp. 3 - 139)

Wednesday, April 30, 2003
DISCUSSION: ANNE FADIMAN'S THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN, Chapters Eleven through Sixteen (pp. 140 - 249)

Friday, May 2, 2003
DISCUSSION: ANNE FADIMAN'S THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN, Chapters Seventeen through Nineteen (pp. 250 - 288)

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT FOUR DUE

Monday, May 9, 2003 (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
COURSE EVALUATION SESSION