James Scott, a prolific political anthropologist, will be presenting two Patten lectures next month at IU.
Scott will evaluate the history of stateless zones and human organization in modern states in his lectures.
Scott serves as the Sterling Professor of political science, a professor of anthropology and a professor in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
He is also founding director of an agrarian studies program at Yale University.
As an activist, Scott works on behalf of people in Southeast Asia. He has worked in several minority communities in the Burmese uplands by supporting democratic opposition in the country, according to an IU press release.
Both of Scott’s Patten lectures are free and open to the public. They will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Franklin Hall.
On Tuesday, March 8, Scott will deliver his address “The Domestication of Fire, Plants, Animals ... and Us.”
This lecture will tackle the process of human organization into states. Scott will explain how the histories of statehood, social contracts, agriculture, reproduction and property can help answer questions about future human development.
On Thursday, March 10, Scott will deliver his address “A Brief History of Flight from the State.” In this lecture, Scott will explore the role of stateless zones such as “Zomia,” an area in Southeast Asia that has always evaded the reach of various governments.
He will outline the geography and social structures contributing to state avoidance and the historical precedent of Zomia as a haven for state-fleeing refugees.
Scott has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He holds an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden.
Scott received Japan’s Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize and the University of Copenhagen’s Ester Boserup Prize for Research on Development.
On a farm in rural Connecticut, Scott raises sheep, chickens and bees, according to a press release. This rural lifestyle is invaluable for Scott.
He said it helps him have a better understanding of the people on whom his research is centered: those who live independently of the government and formal markets.
He has also written several books, including “Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed,” “Domination and the Arts of Resistance” and “Weapons of the Weak.”
Many of these works also focus on resistance movements, human organization and grassroots politics.
The Patten lecture series started in 1937 and is the oldest lecture series at IU. The series is funded through the William T. Patten Foundation and seeks to bring distinguished scholars in the humanities, arts and sciences to Bloomington for a week.
More than 150 scholars have been brought to the University through the series since it began.
Taylor Telford
