301271 Sovereignty and Autonomy in the Americas. (S) (WiSe 2024/2025)

In the Americas, two central concepts of political science and theory, sovereignty and autonomy, offer interesting new paths for rethinking citizenship. The British settler colonialist histories in the U.S. and Canada speak of sovereignty rights for indigenous nations. Latin American academics and indigenous movements refer to autonomy when addressing the constitutional rights of self-determination in ibero-american colonial legacies. Still, formal legal rights remain in constant tension with political practices and institutional frameworks. In this interdisciplinary seminar between political studies, social anthropology, legal studies, and cultural history, we focus on the differences and similarities of conceptualizations of sovereignty and autonomy, citizenship, social justice, and pluricultural political orders. The literature contains references to aboriginal governance of Australia and New Zealand, focusing on current developments on belonging and self-determination in the historical contexts of the Americas. The aim is to bring indigenous and non-indigenous ways of life from Latin and North America into conversation. The program comprises an initial block on conceptual ideas and then sessions with concrete examples and case studies to illustrate research problems and practical challenges, with particular attention to gender issues and political ecology.

This course will be taught in English. For Spanish or German original literature, English translations will be provided.

Bibliography

Background readings:
• Mora, Mariana (2017). Kuxlejal politics. Indigenous autonomy, race, and decolonizing research in Zapatista communities. Austin, University of Texas Press.
• O'Sullivan, Dominic (2020). 'We are all here to stay'. Citizenship, sovereignty and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canberra, ACT, Australia, Australian National University Press.
• Porter, Robert Odawi (2005). Sovereignty, colonialism, and the indigenous nations. A reader. Durham, NC, Carolina Academic Press.
• Schouls, Tim (2024). The Spaces in Between. Indigenous Sovereignty Within the Canadian State. Toronto, University of Toronto Press.
• Stepputat, Finn (Ed.) (2016). Governing the dead: sovereignty and the politics of dead bodies. Manchester, Manchester Univ Press.
• Young, Iris Marion, 2007: Global Challenges: War, Self-Determination and Responsibility for Justice, Cambridge /Malden.