This course examines the rise of humanitarianism as a dominant way in which both powerful and weak actors conceptualize and respond to a range of social problems and processes, such as political conflict, emancipation, poverty, and migration. This is core terrain for anthropology, because the figure of the human lies at the centre of humanitarian discourses and forms of action. In this course we historicize humanitarianism and ethnographically investigate the possibilities and limits of humanitarian frameworks and action as ways of confronting the challenges that face our world.
The seminar will be in English as will be the readings. However,
students are welcome to speak German in class as well as submit their
course requirements in German.
- Course owner: Dr. Andrew Gilbert (he/him)