S. S*ng

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Citizenship and Pluralism (S. S*ng)

This course examines the concept of citizenship—-its history, substance, location, and scope—-and its relationship to national, subnational, and supranational memberships. We will explore how different conceptions of citizenship address the challenges raised by both global and local pressures. Questions to be pursued include: In a world of increasingly de-territorialized politics, what justifies retaining nation-state borders? Are other group affiliations, such as ethnicity, conducive to democratic citizenship or an obstacle to it? What assumptions about sovereignty, territory, state unity, and individual agency underlie various recent efforts by political theorists to come to terms with the ramifications of late modern diversities and global capitalism for democratic citizenship? Do debates about cultural pluralism work to obscure other important differences or inequalities, such as sex and class? What are the sources of citizen solidarity? Is such solidarity important? What, if anything, can justify differential treatment of citizens and noncitizens, including legal and undocumented immigrants?