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2006-2007 Program Theme: States of Inclusion

The now common focus on the excluded, the disempowered, and the marginalized often implies that critical investigation is demarcated if not limited by disadvantaged subjects or conditions themselves. In contrast, by focusing on the question of inclusion, we mark the inseparability of exclusion and inclusion -- that exclusion depends on complementary states of inclusion, and vice-versa. In the process, we underline the contested structures, histories, and subjectivities of the politics of belonging.

To consider states of inclusion is to address the conditions of social and cultural, national and international boundary-marking. A wide range of phenomena — geopolitical, national, racial, ethnic, gendered, sexed, classed, and so on — can be critically reconsidered by examining the structures, representations, and intentions through which subjects are included or hailed for inclusion in communities, polities, or assemblages. Because the frequently stated purpose of inclusion is not to exclude but to promote an expansion of collective capability and social progress, exclusionary results are often downplayed or masked. Across diverse levels and scales of analysis, a focus on inclusionary dynamics can shed new light on subtle and not so subtle processes of exclusion, disenfranchisement, and disempowerment.

The ICIS "States of Inclusion" theme program addresses these issues in broad terms, in specific cultural contexts, and through diverse modalities that range from the empirical or statistical to the interpretive or epistemic. Our specific initiatives address the relation between inclusionary and exclusionary dynamics across world areas and disciplinary boundaries, including features of subaltern citizenship, the relation between historical empires and contemporary nations, the localized gendering of globalisation, and the conditions and constructions of "strong" or "developed" state governments vis-à-vis those assessed as "weak," "failed," or "at risk."

During 2006-07, the following ICIS seminars will be associated with the "States of Inclusion"
program:

• Fall 2006
  "Subaltern Citizens and their Histories." Seminar leader: Professor Gyan Pandey (History)
  
• Spring 2007
  "Gender, Globalization, and Location." Seminar leaders: Professor Carla Freeman (Anthropology & Women’s Studies) and Deepika Bahri (English & Director, Asian Studies)