Instructor:
This class examines the concept of ‘enforcement’ from different perspectives and from various disciplines, genres, and media. From parents enforcing household rules, to the legitimacy of the police, we will ask how conflicting ideas of enforcement alter and determine the way we think about issues such as regulation, agency, and power. We will examine whether all possible social arrangements include an element of enforcement? If they do, what does that say about human social relations? If not, what would a society without enforcement look like? Is enforcement something to be overcome, or a necessary aspect of human social existence? The class will begin with an examination of various philosophical accounts of discipline and punishment, as well as historical analyses and cultural artifacts—from contemporary issues such as face-mask regulations to more long-standing issues such as the enforcement of norms through popular culture. Using this shared background, we will engage ethical questions that concern race, gender, and sexuality. We will be guided by questions concerning different theories of ‘enforcement’ as a concept, in order to examine, in a concrete way, the social and political experience of enforcement in the world today. We will, for example, use our theoretical readings to develop explorative projects concerning different elements of enforcement in the ever-changing political landscape of our contemporary era.