Course Description: This course will rely on a diverse collection of cultural, political, historical and theoretical texts to promote critical exploration of how difference, structures of power, institutional hierarchies, representation and oppression, systemic and individual modalities, have shaped the kinds of human relations and contemporary cultures with which we identify. Various themes and topics give shape to our study: violence and war, race relations and racism, captivity and freedom, utopian thought, consumerism and mass culture, security and individualism, social media and attention etc. Students will practice the articulation of ideas and critical thinking related to the significance of structures of power that shape human relations.