Imperial and Anti-Imperial Formations

GEOG 595

Fall 2025
Thursday, 2:30-5:20, SMI 409

Download syllabus here

Class Description

This course will be an opportunity to think together around intersections of empire, colonialism, capitalism, and fascism globally, as well ongoing anti-imperial, anticapitalist, and antifascist struggles. We’ll read a bit from foundational texts as we explore what imperial formations are, and how they have been examined in critical geographic thought as well as in other fields such as critical race studies, feminist studies, science and technology studies, American studies, and anthropology. While paying attention to space, race, and interlocking systems of domination, we’ll also think through long histories of social movements and theorizations oriented towards conceptualizing, crafting, and sustaining anti-imperial spatial futures. We’ll then pivot towards reading interdisciplinary ethnographies and other critical engagements useful in assessing the contemporary political conjuncture and the multiple imperial legacies informing it. This will aid in our ability to map complex genealogies of anti-imperial revolution and resistance also shaping the contemporary world.

Course Requirements and Structure

Classroom Expectations

Your preparation for discussion and participation is extremely important. Here are some ground rules:

Respect for others is vital. As the instructor, I am concerned about the educational experience of each student in the class, respectful of individual differences, encouraging of creativity, reasonably open and accessible to discuss material and assignments, thorough in evaluating assignments, and rigorous yet supportive in maintaining high standards for performance. As a student, you are expected to work individually and with others, to create an atmosphere that is safe, valuing one another, and open to diverse perspectives. Everyone is expected to show courtesy, civility, and respect for one another. Comments or postings that degrade or ridicule another, whether based on individual or cultural differences, are unacceptable.

Step Up/Step Back. If you are the person who feels very comfortable sharing or sharing lots, take note of how often you are sharing, and consider giving time for others to share. By all means, be present and active in this conversation, but make sure others have the time to participate as well. If you tend to be a quiet participant, take a chance and “step up” with your idea, share your concerns, your ideas, concerns, and excitement with the group. I will in turn do my best to make sure that this is safe for you.

Participation/Engagement. Thinking is not a spectator sport. You need to participate in class by communicating your understanding and testing others’ understanding with questions and dialogue. This course requires active participation, which is crucial to your success in becoming a critical thinker. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Active participation includes being prepared to discuss readings, assignments, and concepts, engaging yourself in classroom activities and discussion, and putting your best effort in both formal and informal assignments. To this end, please refrain from using your phone in class unless it’s an emergency or related to classroom activities.

Have fun! This course is an adventure in exploring your thought processes, empowering yourself with the ability to evaluate information, and reasoning through arguments that you encounter. Some of what we do may be personally and intellectually uncomfortable. It is okay to express your discomfort so long as you are open to safely exploring beyond those comfort zones. Make the most of it and have fun!

Statement of Learning Success

Your success in this class is important to me. We all learn differently, and everyone struggles sometimes. You are not, ever, the only one! If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let me know as soon as possible. Together we’ll develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course. I also encourage you to reach out to the student resources available through UW, and I am happy to connect you with a person or center if you would like. It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students’ learning needs be addressed, and that the diversity that students bring to this class can be comfortably expressed and be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit to all students. Please come to me at any time with any concerns.

Expertise

I invite your expertise in improving this course. Please offer suggestions on materials that may enhance our discussions and exercise, and provide feedback on my approach to this course, with suggestions for additional topics or considerations. Thanks in advance!

Required Materials

Class materials, articles, chapters, supplemental resources, grades, and announcements will be posted in each class’s module on Canvas: https://canvas.uw.edu. There are 6 books that we will be reading for this course that you can either purchase, lend from the library, or obtain through other means. Let me know if you have trouble accessing anything and I can help! (Note: Sometimes we’ll be reading a few chapters of these books and not their entirety).

Required texts:

Abourahme, Nasser. 2025. The Time Beneath the Concrete: Palestine between Camp and Colony. Duke University Press.

Getachew, Adom. 2019. Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self Determination. University of Princeton Press.

Ghosh, Amitav. 2009. Sea of Poppies. Picador.

rhodes, heidi andrea restrepo. 2025. Afterlives of Discovery: Speculative Geographies in the Settler Colonial Imaginary. Duke University Press.

Scott, David. 2004. Conscripts of Modernity: The Tragedy of Colonial Enlightenment. Duke University Press.

Smith, Jen Rose. 2025. Ice Geographies: The Colonial Politics of Race and Indigeneity in the Arctic. Duke University Press.

Assignments and Grading

1. Seminar Participation (15% of grade)
   For the purposes of this class, participation means attending class (pending extenuating circumstances) and in class, practicing engagement. I understand that folks “engage” in different ways – some like to talk it out, some like to listen and absorb, some write it down for later digestion. When I say “obvious engagement,” I mean being punctual, alert and attentive. Just to be clear, clues that you are not engaged and participating include head down on the desk, texting or generally having a mobile device in your hand, not being a contributing member of small teamwork we do in class, or talking amongst your classmates about something not related to what we’re discussing.
   
   
2. Reading Reflections (25% of grade)
   All students are responsible for reading all provided material, some of which can be found on Canvas, while the rest is available in the bookstore, library, or electronically. You are responsible for writing 5 reading reflections. These should be roughly 2 pages and double-spaced and should be uploaded to the designated folder in Canvas before our Thursday classes begin in which the papers or readings that you write about are discussed.
   
   Reading Reflections can be opportunities to think with the text in relation to your own lives, research, and experiences, or can respond to one or more of the questions below. They can either dwell on one of the week’s readings or what they collectively do together. The goal for writing these response papers is to spark classroom conversation and produce more collaborative engagement, as well as to help you think through concepts that you might later develop in your final paper. Reflections should not overlap with weeks that you are already engaged in discussion leadership. Please only write 1 per week. So, in other words, you need to write these for 5 separate weeks.
   
   Possible questions to address in your responses:

• Is there one paragraph or section of the article or chapters that excites, inspires, or confuses you and why? (Please choose a part beyond the introduction).
• What sources and methods do the author or authors use, and what does this allow them to argue or highlight?
• What is a particular piece or group of pieces trying to accomplish—in the world, for the discipline, or for a particular research sub-area?
• What kinds of “knowledge politics” are being practiced by this piece or group of pieces?
• As a system for advancing an argument, how does this text work – what are its different parts or strategies and what is each doing?
• How do this week’s readings relate to those of other weeks?

3. Discussion Leadership (15% of grade)
   With the exception of Week 1, you’ll each take a turn facilitating our seminar discussion (perhaps with one other person pending class size). Either solo or with your co-leader, please develop some creative ways of guiding our engagement with ideas in the readings. I very much welcome you to bring in real world examples of concepts that we engage with in the readings.
   
   As you design your session, you may decide to focus mainly on the substance of the readings (what are they ‘about’ in terms of their theoretical and empirical contributions, individually and as a set). Or you may decide to also guide us toward additional ways of engaging these pieces: What is a particular piece or group of pieces trying to accomplish, in the world, for the discipline, or for a particular research sub-area? What kinds of “knowledge politics” are being practiced by this piece? As a system for advancing an argument, how does this text work – what are its different parts or strategies and what is each doing?
   
   Generally, we’ll spend the first half of class with you facilitating the discussion, then break for 15 minutes, and then I will continue to facilitate.
   
   
4. Final Paper Abstract (5% of grade)
   You will be responsible for handing in an abstract of what your final paper will be about midway through the quarter. These will then be peer reviewed by your classmates during class.

3. Final Paper (40% of grade)
   Each student will be responsible for a final paper. Final papers should grow out of class readings and discussions but also be an opportunity for you to develop a line of research or question that you are interested in pertaining to imperial and anti-imperial formations. This might relate to research that you are already engaged in but could also be opportunities to explore something new. I would advise you to ground your paper in something material, whether that means utilizing primary or secondary sources, or perhaps engaging with ethnography, photographs, poetry, speculative fiction, media, or other objects.
   
   The two requirements are that:
   a) You reference 4 texts that we have read in class.
   b) Papers should be minimally 12 pages in length, 12pt font, and double-spaced, plus a bibliography (using any style guide of your choosing).
   
   Class time will be dedicated for students to discuss and collectively workshop their paper ideas, as well as work out how these papers are situated within their MA or PhD research (if applicable). Students will present their final paper ideas the last week of class during the second half of class (5% of which will count towards your final paper grade).

Inclusivity. A robustly inclusively public university is one of the cornerstones of a healthy society – one of the most important institutions of a democracy. I strive to make my classroom a place where each of us contributes to this by fostering a climate of inclusiveness that respects all points of view, facilitates constructive dialogue across the full spectrum of community membership, and serves to enhance everyone’s learning and understanding. You are a tremendously diverse group of people with respect to race, gender, religion, age, citizenship status, first language, ability, sexuality, socio-economic status, veteran status and much more. Each of you is a welcome and invaluable part of this community. 

If you know of any factors in your life that require us to adapt aspects of the course to help you learn up to your potential, please make an appointment with me to discuss. If these factors are recognized disabilities under the ADA, please register with Disability Resources for Students (DRS) and bring your letter of accommodation to me as soon as possible so that we develop a plan to accommodate your needs. DRS: http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs, 011 Mary Gates Hall; 206-543-8924 (Voice and relay); E-mail: uwdrs@uw.edu. 

Stay connected. Read syllabus, instructions, class emails carefully. Announcements will go to YourNetID@uw.edu– so check this account or set it up to forward. You will need to use your UW Google Account for this class (This is DIFFERENT than personal gmail/Google accounts you may have been using before you came to UW, and requires you to activate UW Google apps for your NetID. If you have not done this, or aren’t sure, visit this page: http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/connect/email/google-apps/getting-started). 

Be professional, build a positive community. Treat one another with respect. Ask constructive questions. Listen to each other. Be a full participant. Be a resource for our collaboration. No vulgarity; no personal attacks; no hostile, discriminatory, or stereotyping remarks about other social groups – race, ethnicity, gender, age, class, housing status, and so on. 

Be honest. Academic dishonesty, including but not limited to plagiarism, cheating, or submitting academic work that has previously been submitted (without citation or previous permission of instructor) will be penalized. If you have questions about the policy, see me or review details here: https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf. Academic dishonesty will be handled according to the University’s Student Conduct Code: http://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/WAC/478-121TOC.html. 

Complete assignments on time. Please be sure to hand your reading reflections in prior to class so that you are prepared for classroom conversation. Let me know if you need an extension with these and we can discuss. Similarly, I will need your final papers in on time to get you a grade for the class at the end of the quarter.

Student Code of Conduct for Geography Classrooms
The Department of Geography is committed to ensuring a classroom environment that contributes to optimum teaching and learning for all students. Individuals who engage in disruptive behavior that creates a negative or threatening environment for teaching and learning will be asked to leave the classroom by the instructor. These requests are not negotiable. Disruptive behavior includes verbal or physical aggression toward other students or faculty, threats of violence, unyielding argument or debate, yelling inside or outside of the classroom, untimely outbursts, violating class policies about technology use or seating, refusing to follow faculty directions, and entering and exiting the classroom in disruptive ways. (from https://geography.washington.edu/student-code-conduct) 

Student Care & Safety Resources
It is important that you take care of yourselves inside and outside of class as you work through stress and other obstacles. There are many different support services on campus that can help, such as the Counseling Center, Hall Health, and the IMA. UW’s Student Care program can help you connect to these and other resources around campus. You can learn more and contact them directly: http://depts.washington.edu/livewell/student-care, livewell@uw.edu, or 206.543.6085. If you are concerned about yourself or a friend who is struggling, SafeCampus is a helpful resource to learn more about how to facilitate access to campus-based support services. Please save the number for SafeCampus, 206.685.7233 in your cell phones. 

Access and Accommodations
Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. 

Religious Accommodations
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request).

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. 

Class Schedule

I may change readings around depending on how everyone is doing. If so, I’ll announce it in Canvas - so stay tuned!

Since the quarter moves fast and there is a lot to cover, we will be diving into the readings for Week 1 on the first day of class. No need to prepare a reading reflection on these but I encourage you to read them so that we can better be on the same page together.

Week 1, Thurs September 25^th: Imperial Formations

Stoler, Ann Laura. 2008. “Imperial Debris: Reflections on Ruins and Ruination.” Cultural Anthropology 23 (2): 191–219.

Lowe, Lisa. 2015. “Chapter One: The Intimacies of Four Continents.” The Intimacies of Four Continents. Duke University Press.

Chakrabarty, Dipesh. “The Idea of Provincializing Europe.” In Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference (New Edition), 3-23. Princeton University Press, 2007.

Chari, Sharad, and Katherine Verdery. 2009. “Thinking between the Posts: Postcolonialism Postsocialism, and Ethnography after the Cold War.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 51 (1): 6–34.

Week 2, Thurs Oct 2^nd: Imperialism, Fascism, and Race

Césaire, Aimé. 2023. “Discourse on Colonialism.” In Postcolonialism, pp. 310-339. Routledge.

Fanon, Frantz. 1970. “The So-Called Dependency Complex of Colonized Peoples,” 86-108. Black Skin, White Masks. London: Paladin.

Toscano, Alberto. 2021. “Incipient Fascism: Black Radical Perspectives.” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 23 (1). https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.4015.

Toscano, Alberto. “New Fascisms and the Crises of Empire: Lessons from the Americas.” South Atlantic Quarterly 123, no. 2 (2024): 255–72.

Week 3, Thurs October 9th: US Empire and Militarism 

(online)

Kaplan, Amy. 2004. “Violent Belongings and the Question of Empire Today: Presidential Address to the American Studies Association, October 17, 2003.” American Quarterly 56 (1): 1–18.

Schaeffer, Felicity Amaya. 2022. “’The Eyes of the Army’: Indian Scouts and the Rise of Military Innovation During the Apache Wars,” 30-54. Unsettled Borders: The Militarized Science of Surveillance on Sacred Indigenous Land. Duke University Press.

Clarno, Andy, Janaé Bonsu-Love, Enrique Alvear Moreno, Dana Lydia, Michael Muñiz, Ilā Ravichandran, and Haley Volpintesta. 2024. “Introduction: Imperial Policing in Chicago,” 1-36 and “Manufacturing Terrorists: Palestinian Americans and the Dif/Fusion of Surveillance,”153-181. Imperial Policing: Weaponized Data in Carceral Chicago. University of Minnesota Press.

Vine, David. 2018. “Islands of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Ethnography of US Empire.” In Ethnographies of U.S. Empire, edited by Carole McGranahan and John F. Collins. Duke University Press, p. 249-269.

Optional: Arneil, Barbara. 2024. “Colonialism versus Imperialism.” Political Theory 52(1):146–76. 

Week 4, Thurs October 16th: Empire, Affect, and Capital

Lenin, Vladimir I. “Concentration of Production and Monopolies,” “Imperialism, as a Special Stage of Capitalism,” “The Place of Imperialism in History.” Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. International Publishers, 1969.

Hardt, Michael, and Antonio Negri. “Part 1,” 3-66. Empire. Harvard University Press, 2000.

Padios, Jan M. 2018. “Exceptionalism as a Way of Life: U.S. Empire, Filipino Subjectivity, and the Global Call Center Industry.” In Ethnographies of U.S. Empire, edited by Carole McGranahan and John F. Collins. Duke University Press.

Khalili, Laleh. “The Uses of Happiness in Counterinsurgencies.” Social Text 32, no. 1 (118) (2014): 23–43.

Riley, Dylan, and Daniel Denvir. “Revisiting Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire.” Jacobin, April 2024. https://jacobin.com/2024/04/marx-eighteenth-brumaire-louis-napoleon-us-politics.

Optional: Harvey, David. “The ‘New’ Imperialism: Accumulation by Dispossession.” In Karl Marx. Routledge, 2012.

Week 5, Thurs October 23rd: Afterlives of Discovery (heidi will visit us for class!)

heidi andrea restrepo rhodes. 2025. Afterlives of Discovery: Speculative Geographies in the Settler Colonial Imaginary. Duke University Press.

Week 6, Thurs October 30th: After Empire

Getachew, Adom. 2019. Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self Determination. University of Princeton Press.

• Final paper abstracts due Friday by midnight on Canvas.

Week 7, Thurs November 6th: Temporality and Empire

Scott, David. 2004. Conscripts of Modernity: The Tragedy of Colonial Enlightenment. Duke University Press.

Barad, Karen. 2017. “Troubling Time/s and Ecologies of Nothingness: Re-Turning, Re-Membering, and Facing the Incalculable.” New Formations 92: 56–86.

• Abstract peer review exercise in class

Week 8, Thurs November 13th: Beneath the Concrete

Abourahme, Nasser. 2025. The Time Beneath the Concrete: Palestine between Camp and Colony. Duke University Press.

Said, Edward W. 1985. “Orientalism Reconsidered.” Cultural Critique, no. 1: 89–107.

• Mini presentations of final paper ideas

Week 9, Thurs November 20^th: Sea of Poppies (online)

Ghosh, Amitav. 2009. Sea of Poppies. Picador.

Thurs November 27^th: NO CLASS – Catch up on readings and writing

Week 10, Thurs December 4^th: Ice Geographies

Smith, Jen Rose. 2025. Ice Geographies: The Colonial Politics of Race and Indigeneity in the Arctic. Duke University Press.

Course Evaluation

Present final paper progress in class

Final Papers

Final papers due: Friday December 12 by midnight on Canvas.