Currents of Political Thought – Final Book Review Assignment  Instructions Your task is straightforward: Choose one

Currents of Political Thought – Final Book Review Assignment 
 
Instructions
 
Your task is straightforward: Choose one of the following books on contemporary politics and  review  it with  an  eye  to  their  implications  for  understandings of  freedom, domination,  and/or responsibility developed  throughout  the  course. This  could  involve ‘testing’ conceptions of freedom we’ve encountered. For example, which conception of freedom   best   speaks   to   the   question   of   police   abolition? Or   this   could   involve ‘constructing’ a conception of freedom from what we’ve encountered. For example, what conception of freedom best responds to the problem outlined by the author?  Please note that a review is not a summary, so you should not recount every detail or argument the author(s)  provides.  There  might  be  a  couple  chapters  that  will  be  most  relevant  to  the concern of freedom, domination, or responsibility – if so, focus on those. Some of these books  (Threadcraft,  McKean) are  written  by  political  theorists  and  so  they  do  this comparative ‘testing’ and ‘constructing’ themselves, and your task here will be more one of explication and reflection. There are two options for the review. 
 
The first option is a standard book review. This should be between 5-7 pages (12-point font, double-spaced) and include references (and a bibliography) to material covered in the course( Chicago, APA, etc. are fine). 
 
Here you should:
 
1. Briefly review the book’s content: What is the book about? What is the book’s argument? How persuasively does the author demonstrate that argument?
2. Identify the book’s key strengths: What does the book do exceptionally well? 
3. Offer constructive criticism: What are key limitations or problems with the book and its argument(s)?
4. Situate the book within our discussions of freedom, domination, and responsibility, and highlight its contribution:  How does the book relate to our discussions of freedom, domination, and responsibility? Does it affirm or challenge certain conceptions of freedom, domination, and responsibility over others?
 
The second option is to provide a book review in an alternative format. This could look like  a  Twitter  thread,  a  mini-podcast  or  interview, a  series  of  Instagram  posts,  etc.  You could also do something even more creative – a collage, a painting, etc. – if this is one of your  strengths.  The  more  creative  and  abstract  you  get  will  require  at  least  an accompanying one page ‘interpretative’ reflection that makes explicit the relation to course themes, and the book under consideration. If you are doing a book review in an alternative format, please reach out to me with a brief explanation of what you plan to do. This way we can both be on the same page regarding expectations.
 
Both options will be evaluated on the same criteria: Did you connect the book to course discussions  on  freedom,  responsibility  and  domination?  Have  you  communicated  your ideas clearly? As you’ll see below, complimenting this assignment is an online discussion board for your book chosen (this is worth 10% of your final grade). The purpose of this is to help resolve confusions the texts raise, as well as to assist in coming up with ideas of what to discuss in your reviews. 
 
The books to choose from are as follows:
 
•Harsha Walia, Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism (2021)
•Mariame  Kaba, We Do This ‘Til We Free Us:  Abolitionist  Organizing  and Transforming Justice (2021)
•William  Anderson  and  Zoe  Samudzi, As  Black  as  Resistance:  Finding  the Conditions for Liberation (2018)  (choose this book)
•Jovan Scott Lewis, Scammer’s Yard: The Crime of Black Repair in Jamaica (2020)
•Benjamin  McKean, Disorienting  Neoliberalism:  Global  Justice  and  the Outer Limits of Freedom (2020)
•Giorgio Kallis, Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care (2019)
•Robin   Kimmerer, Braiding   Sweetgrass:   Indigenous   Wisdom,   Scientific Knowledge (2013)
•Shatema  Threadcraft, Intimate  Justice:  The  Black  Female  Body  and  the Body Politic (2016)