Beyond Bordered Logics: Teaching International Studies

Has our perception of the world as a neatly arranged puzzle of nation-states, fixed on static maps, distorted our approach to social analysis? Categories such as state, nation, politics, economy, culture, and identity are often collapse onto one another. Methodological abstractions and Weberian “ideal types,” intended as analytical tools, instead masquerade as concrete realities, obscuring the dynamic and interconnected nature of the world. This “bordered logic” fails to recognize how seemingly distinct spaces and peoples co-constitute one another, albeit hierarchically. What are the political and scholarly implications of these paradigms? How do race and questions of sovereignty manifest within this logic? Should we—and can we—move beyond it? This presentation reflects on these issues and puts forward an argument for a relational or dialectical approach to social analysis.

Speaker: Dr. Yousef Baker, International Studies

Location: LA2-106

Day & Time: Thursday, March 13, 12:30-1:45 p.m.