Class discusses how 'Power and Violence' affect life

Many courses offered at IU have titles that are stronger than others, as they tackle issues beyond typical course disciplines. "Power and Violence" is one of those classes, teaching how coercion, persuasion, consensus and dissent operate in the politics and performances of everyday life. The class examines the idea of power and how it is present and active in everything people do or come into contact with. \nAssociate professor Jane Goodman, who has been teaching the course at IU since 2000, received her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology at Brandeis University. When Goodman took over for a previous professor, she gave the course a complete overhaul. \n"I don't think there is anything left that was part of the old course," Goodman said. "When you teach a course repeatedly, you need to reinvent it to keep it interesting." \nGoodman said one of her favorite things about teaching the class is bringing to life abstract theories of power by showing students how those theories are relevant to their own lives. \n"Ultimately, I hope students take away a more critical understanding of how power works and why it is relevant for them to understand the theories of power," she said. \nThe communication and culture course is a 400-level class offered once during the academic year. "Power and Violence" is divided into two parts. Goodman said the first half deals with the social structures humans are born into and how they can change and influence those structures. The second part is concerned with the structure of Western colonialism and its impact on the rest of the world, ending with the Rwandan genocide. \nGoodman said she tries to take a hands-on approach to her classroom.\n"There is a lot of emphasis on discussion and feeding ideas off of one another," she said.\nOne major component of this course is the ethnography project. Ethnography is a branch of anthropology concerned with the description of ethnic groups. For the projects, students select a specific issue in the Bloomington area that they would like to investigate. \nAfter conducting interviews and collecting data, students present their project to the class in the form of skits, mock debates or another medium of their choosing. \nPhilip Shelton, a senior majoring in international studies, is using the project to focus on subcultures in Bloomington, such as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organizations and Latino groups. \n"The project allows us to get out into the community and observe different power relations in town and to see how they affect Bloomington," Shelton said. "It's cool to actually be able to apply what I am learning in the class." \nWhile the course is open to all students, Goodman said she rarely sees anyone enrolled below junior standing, and said the class is usually predominately female.\nLauren Schaefer, a senior majoring in political science and international studies, said she decided to take the class because it was what she called a "useful elective" for her major and the course description made it sound interesting. \n"It is like a political science and anthropology course all in one," Schaefer said. "I like it because it makes me see my own world in a very different way. I can see my own place in society -- how I dominate and how I can affect power." \nBoth Schaefer and Shelton said they are pleased with the class and said they would recommend it to other students. \n"I recommend that people take this course," Shelton said. "The professor is very competent in the topic, probably more than most"