The "Insurgency Class" is Back ... and Better than Ever!

And, we're starting off with Malcolm X again. But before I tell you more about that, here's some general information on the "new and improved" class.

This course is repeatable, and many of you are taking it for the second time this semester. The required readings, therefore, have been overhauled so that “old” and “new” students alike can enjoy a challenging and rewarding semester-long exploration of insurgent discourse and action. This time, we will use literary fiction instead of sociological or theoretical texts as our primary material. Specifically, we will read two novels by Leslie Marmon Silko, one of which is very long(!!!) and will take seven weeks to complete, to structure our discussions throughout the semester. Please review the syllabus carefully and contact me as soon as possible if you have any questions related to the course content or expectations.

The questions we will explore this semester are not new or unique to our current historical moment. In his autobiography written by Alex Haley, Malcolm X (pictured here) recalls evading the draft in the early 1940s by dropping hints to recruiters that he was "frantic to join ... the Japanese army." Expressions of solidarity with the Japanese "enemy" played into fears of a race war shared by Secretary of War Henry Stimson and many other white people at the time. That fear was perhaps most clearly articulated by Japan scholar Edwin Reischauer, who warned government officials that Japan was attempting to launch a "holy crusade of the yellow and brown peoples for freedom from the white race."

Beginning with this historical moment, our class will explore the political theories of radical African American, Japanese American, Japanese, American Indian, Asian American, Latino/a, South Asian, and Middle Eastern intellectuals, artists, and activists who have seen themselves as connected in liberation struggle and how those theories have influenced and responded to subsequent “insurgencies,” as well as arts and social justice movements in Japan, the United States, and beyond (through the present). You will be encouraged to introduce related material you want us all to engage and study in class along the way. In other words, this time, the "Insurgency Class" will entail a "choose your own adventure" component.

Our required readings will be supplemented in class with “case studies” so that we can explore key questions in a variety of contexts. We will use the themes explored in the literary texts we read to analyze real life events, including those you all choose. For example, many were stunned in 2003 when Lee Kyung-Hae, a 56 year old Korean farmer, plunged a knife into his heart while protesting the WTO at its meeting in Cancun. In the note he left behind, Lee expressed outrage at what he saw as the pernicious and murderous ("farmer-killing") effects of an "undesirable globalization" orchestrated by the U.S. and Japan. His suicide/protest letter is one example of the type of material we will use to better understand Huey P. Newton's concept of “revolutionary suicide,” one of the key theories examined when this course was first offered and which we discuss again this semester. Students will be asked to think critically about the specificity of Lee's desperation and discontent, as well as the complex contexts (both global and local) out of which it emerged.

Because the movements and individuals we study have forged concrete and symbolic alliances across (or irrespective of) national borders, our course material will extend beyond North America and East Asia to address insurgent discourse and action in South America, Africa, and the Middle East. The notion of “Third World Solidarity,” for example, will figure prominently in many of our discussions. Assigned material will include literary fiction, primary source material, secondary sources, music, poetry, art, and film. All readings will be in English. No prior study of Japanese, Asian Studies, African American Studies, or Ethnic Studies is required or necessary.

Your first assignment involves thinking about insurgency and “self-help” philosophy. Read carefully and listen to “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X. If you have read it before, read it again, paying attention to as many details as possible.

Malcolm X gave slightly different versions of the speech in cities such as Detroit and Cleveland in the spring of 1964. Here is a version of the speech with a helpful introduction.

You also can find the text here.

You also can find “The Ballot or the Bullet” text and audio here.

You can access audio and commentary here.

If you haven't read or heard much about Malcolm X before, you might find this speech by Professor Manning Marable to be useful. And even if you read about Malcolm X morning, noon, and night, I'll bet you'll still want to listen to or watch this interview with Prof. Marable if you haven't already.



Finally, enjoy Mos Def reading Malcolm X! This particular speech is VERY germane to our class and will give us plenty to discuss from the get-go! Click on the "play" button to watch the video.