Level 4: Introduction to Human Geography

Anarchisms, Postanarchisms and Ethics, 2020

Bibliography of the text (contains a few errors and omissions)

Course Description: Historically, the study of religions has tried to provide a means of sympathetically exploring and understanding the diverse cultures, beliefs and practices of the world using a variety of methodological approaches and orientations. However, contemporary critical theories have problematised these approaches, suggesting that in spite of claims within the Study of Religions to apparent neutrality or empathy, unreflexive scholarly methods and assumptions continue to universalise the category of ‘religion’ and play a significant role in producing and maintaining western imperialist knowledge formations within the field. This third-year undergraduate course provides a survey of these criticisms alongside an advanced overview of three main bodies of critical theory (poststructuralist, postcolonial, and gender theory with attention also paid to disabilities and queer studies), plotting the intersections and points of departure between them. We will trace their implications for the academic study of religions and for the wider ‘politics of location’ within the western academy, asking whether there is a future for the study of religions and if so, what its task might be.

This book is a collection of foundational concepts in the humanities and social sciences and will be of particular use to undergraduate students. This book has been written as a textbook for the interdisciplinary core arts subjects Rethinking Our Humanity and Ideas that Shook the World, and the authors hope that the interdisciplinary nature of these subjects ensures that the book's contents will be useful to any reader who wants to better understand key terms and concepts relevant to human cultures and their history. The reader should note, however, that the terms included in the book have originated from the needs of these two undergraduate subjects, which focus on concepts as they apply to contemporary Australian culture. This means that there are some biases and omissions within this first edition of the book. For instance, the terms within lean heavily towards the Western tradition, and other traditions are more cursorily covered. In subsequent editions of this book, the authors will expand the coverage of other traditions and concepts. The authors have made a conscientious effort to ensure that each definition is concise. Overly complicated language has been avoided for clarity, but terms have not been oversimplified, and scholarly references have been provided for all entries so readers know where to find a more in-depth discussion of the term should they need it. When terms contained within the book are mentioned in another entry, readers can navigate between them using hyperlinks. Every reference cited in the book is also included in the extensive bibliography, which will be a useful resource to readers in and of itself. By including succinct definitions and further resources together, the book acts as a starting point for research that guides students through the process. An impetus for writing this book was that similar volumes often approach terms from a disciplinary perspective. This meant students need to access several resources when researching terms across disciplines. The authors wanted to create an interdisciplinary resource that would allow their students to access concepts across disciplines in the same place. Our hope is that the book will be useful to students as they progress in their studies and even after they have graduated.

A. Nocella and J. Sorenson (ed) Critical Animal Studies Reader: An Introduction to an Intersectional Social Justice Approach to Animal Liberation, Peter Lang Publishing Group: New York.

Drawing on anarchist theory and practice, this chapter carries forward the invitation to “take it to the streets” by focusing on ways to provoke the individual consciousness to think critically, and act constructively, to challenge systems of exploitation, injustice, domination, oppression, torture and killing that concern humans and nonhuman animals. In this way, the chapter emphasises the fact that anarchist praxis has much to offer the excellent contribution that critical animal studies has brought to understanding the interlocking nature of systems of power and domination.

This first chapter introduces readers to the main theoretical orientations within postcolonial studies, but also to the most prominent postcolonial theorists associated with these orientations. Additionally, it also discusses the relevance of race and gender to better understand past and contemporary world politics.

International relations theory has broadened out considerably since the end of the Cold War. Topics and issues once deemed irrelevant to the discipline have been systematically drawn into the debate and great strides have been made in the areas of culture/identity, race, and gender in the discipline. However, despite these major developments over the last two decades, currently there are no comprehensive textbooks that deal with race, gender, and culture in IR from a postcolonial perspective. This textbook fills this important gap. Persaud and Sajed have drawn together an outstanding lineup of scholars, with each chapter illustrating the ways these specific lenses (race, gender, culture) condition or alter our assumptions about world politics. Drawing together prominent scholars in critical International Relations, this work shows why and how race, gender and culture matter and will be essential reading for all students of global politics and International Relations theory.