The Social and Political Life of Infrastructure

Catalog description

Infrastructures are often understood to be inert, technical support structures that exist as a sort of background to social and political life. In contrast, this course considers infrastructures as key conduits of social and political power. It draws on an explosion over the last two decades of a critical literature in the humanities and social sciences that upends how we think of infrastructure. The first half of the class explores many of the now foundational texts in geography, anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, and history that unpack the social and political life of infrastructure. The second half of the class then delves into case studies of infrastructural politics across the global South. Through examining the far reaching role of diverse infrastructures—road networks, dams, electricity grids, water and waste management systems, security apparatuses—we will reveal how supposedly neutral systems and technologies play key roles in animating social, political, and economic life. In so doing, we will ask questions like: Why do some infrastructures inspire awe while others incite disgust or rebellion? How have infrastructures served as architectures of racist domination—or, on the other hand—the material fodder for democratic social movements, even revolutions? How does the matter organized by infrastructural systems—trash, water, electricity—shape the kinds of politics these systems engender? Authors may include: Brian Larkin, Antina von Schnitzler, Nikhil Anand, and Ashley Carse.