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Global Energy and the American Dream, aka Energy Politics

L48 ANTHRO 3472
Spring 2017 M/W 10:00-11:30 McMillan G052
Course blog for news & syllabus updates:
http://www.globalenergyandtheamericandream.blogspot.com

Prof: Bret Gustafson (gustafson@wustl.edu)

office: McMillan 334 Tues 2-4
TAs: Kelly Ervin (kellyervin@wustl.edu)
Office Hours: Monday 12 1pm
McMillan Room 313
Brad Jones (bradleyjones@wustl.edu)
Office Hours: Monday 9-10am
McMillan Room 309
Steven McPhee (stevenmcphee@wustl.edu)
Office Hours: Wednesday 12 1pm
McMillan Room 311

This course explores the cultural, social, and political dimensions of fossil-fuel
based energy production and use in the U.S. and around the world. The fossil fuels are
oil, natural gas, and coal. Humans dig up and burn fossil fuels to produce energy. We will
examine how fossil fuels as material things shape, and are shaped by, human lives,
politics, and cultural worlds. Virtually all of the globes social and natural landscapes bear
the imprint of fossil fuels, from the design of cities to the disruption of the climate. Fossil
fuels structure geopolitics as well, from conflict tied to climate displacement to pipeline
politics to oil wars in the Middle East. Fossil fuels also shape our cultural desires and
forms of consumption. These things have in some ways enabled what we know as
modern life. Yet their use depends on enactments of violence against people and nature.
Most alarming, the emissions created from burning fossil fuels are the most significant
contributor to anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming. The scientific consensus
suggests that we need to leave about 80% of known fossil fuel reserves underground if
we are to slow planetary warming to something less than catastrophic effects. Yet we are
currently on track to burn much more than this. What can and should be done?

We explore this question by first developing a critical knowledge of fossil fuels. We

will trace fossil fuel extraction, processing, transport, sale and use. We will think about
connections between our cultural and social lives and our use of fossil fuels. We will
explore fossil fuel-linked social and political conflicts around the world. We will then
return to think about how what can and should be done. Our approach can be
characterized as political anthropology but we also draw on geography, history, political
ecology, sociology, political science, and economics.

Why talk about the American Dream? The American Dream that all might aspire
to prosperity and a house in the suburbs is at once a myth, but also a nightmare. The
patterns of consumption it envisions is part of the problem. American foot-dragging on
climate change is contributing to further nightmare of global warming for much of the
planet. We invoke the dream in order to pursue a critical reflexivity. One of our
arguments is that the cultural narrative of the American Dream mythic as it may be
depends on the idea that Americans and growth-dependent capitalism should (or will)
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have limitless access, almost a sacred right to cheap fossil fuel resources. This sense of
entitlement applies whether these fossil fuels are under US soil or oceans or under some
far-off country. Consumer desires for the American Dream suburbia, car-centric lives,
SUVs and a beer fridge in the 3-car garage, huge TVs in every room depend deeply on
hyper-consumption of dirty energy. From soccer-mom commuting to the death of the
neighborhood school to over air-conditioning to NASCAR racing, our bodies and desires
are implicated in global warming. We call this freedom, the American way of life. But it is
also, without exaggeration, a path to planetary death. If we are so culturally bound up in
fossil fuels and we accept that this is having destructive consequences then thinking
about why and how we should move rapidly beyond fossil fuels is of central importance.

ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING (All assignments should be uploaded to Blackboard,

by 5 PM on due date. Late assignments receive letter grade reduction, i.e. 5
points, per day).

Midterm Exam (25%). Wednesday March 8. No make-up exams. Terms, short answer,
essay.

Film Reviews (10%). Of the 4 films we will view, in and out of class, you will write 2
film reviews, due on the Monday following the viewing. Films will be on reserve over the
weekend following their collective showing. You may watch the movie through your own
means, but we accept no late reviews.

Independent or Group Projects (30%). You will develop and research an independent
case study on some dimension of energy politics with some orientation toward change
(i.e. policy recommendation, direct action plan, cultural or discursive transformation,
behavioral change, planning or reform proposal, campaign, political strategy, narrative
shift, etc.). This will be presented as an 8-10 page paper. The professor provides topic
ideas. You are encouraged to generate a topic of your own and discuss with professor or
T.A. The format will be discussed. Key to a good grade: Come up with a topic you are
passionate about, do first-hand empirical digging (research), think critically, creatively,
deeply, and independently. You may work in a group, see me for details. The project has
two parts:

(1) Proposal (10% of final grade). March 1. Topic, objective, methods, literature (at
least 3 academic sources). 1 single-spaced page is sufficient.

(2) Paper (20% of final grade). April 14. 8-10 double-spaced pages, not including
bibliography.

Final Exam (35%). On college-assigned date. No make-up exams. No early exams.

Please dont ask.

Extra credit (TBD). I will be teaching this class simultaneously (once a week) at the
Missouri Eastern Correctional Center for the Washington University Prison Education
Project. I will be enlisting students to work as research collaborators for students in that
program. We will discuss.

PLAGIARISM
Any kind or degree of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade
for the course.
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REQUIRED TEXTS
Mitchell, Timothy. 2013. Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil. London:
Verso.
978-1781681169.

Tinker Salas, Miguel. 2009. The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela.
Durham: Duke University Press. 978-0-8223-4419-3.

Bakke, Gretchen. 2016. The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy
Future. New York: Bloomsbury. 978-1608196104.

Note:
I have a critical perspective on the fossil fuel industry and will share that in this class.
This is a stance, not a bias. I develop my arguments, as all scholars do, through
consideration of empirically verifiable facts and consideration of opposing interpretations
and meanings. You are welcome to disagree on interpretations and meanings. You will be
graded not on agreement with me, but on adherence to empirically verifiable facts and
reasoned interpretation.
The Provost has asked faculty to include further important information on all
syllabi. This material is appended at the end of this document.
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Part 1. Fossil Fuels & Readings (for the week).

American (Un)Freedom
1/23 Fossil Fuels: Some Basics
1/30 Automobility
Part 2. Fossil Fuels: Our
Dealers
2/6 Oil Wars in the Middle East
Buder Center Event
***Film review due @ 5 PM
2/13 Book Discussion. Oil,
Militarism, & the US in the
Middle East
2/20 Tar Sands Resistance
***Film review due @ 5 PM
2/27 Latin America I: Critique of
the Resource Curse
3/6 Review & Book Discussion 3/8
(Enduring Legacy)
3/13 SPRING BREAK
Part 3. Back in the US of A:
Fossil Fuel Politics
3/20 Dirty Coal
3/27 Criminal Coal
***Film review due @ 5 PM
See syllabus for additional
articles.
1/18 Introduction
1/25 American Oil History Mitchell, Carbon
Democracy Chs.
Introduction & 1-2
2/1 Cheap Gas & (Un)Freedom Carbon Democracy, Chs 3-
FILM: Who Killed the Electric 5
Car? (2006)
2/8 Saudi Arabias Gift of Carbon Democracy, Chs 6-
Friendship 8, Conclusion.
2/15 Canadas Tar Sands Tinker-Salas, Enduring
FILM: (TBA) Legacy, 1-72
2/22 Nigeria Enduring Legacy, 73-170
3/1 Latin America II: Enduring Legacy, 171-250
Nationalism and
Redistribution
***Project proposal due @5PM
*** MIDTERM EXAM***
3/15 SPRING BREAK
3/22 Ameren & Coal Ash Bakke, Grid, Chs. 1-3
Pollution: Maxine Lipeles
FILM: The Last Mountain
3/29 From Deepwater Horizon Grid, Chs. 4-6
to #NoDAPL

4/3 Fracking: The EPA & H20
Part 4. The Way Forward
4/10 Carbon Lock-In &
Oiligarchy
***Film review due @ 5 PM
4/17 Seize the Grid
4/5 Fracking
FILM: Gasland II
4/12 Dismantling Carbon
Lock-In & Oiligarchy
4/19 Book & project
discussion (Grid)
Grid, Chs 7-9, & Afterword
Friday 4/14:
Final Project Due @ 5 PM
Finish Grid, if you havent
already.
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4/24 The Way Forward 4/26 Review

EXAM DATE T.B.D.

Lectures, Readings, and Assignments Articles on Blackboard Keep up with news on the
blog
*Asterisk = REQUIRED, others supplementary

Part 1. Fossil Fuels and American (Un)Freedom

W 1/18 Introduction: Energy and the American Dream

M 1/23 Fossil Fuels: Some Basics

Nader, Laura. 1981. Barriers to Thinking New about Energy. Physics Today 34, no. 2: 9.
Update yourself on IEAs World Energy Outlook 2016.

W 1/25 American Oil History

Burrough, Brian. 2008. The Man Who Was Texas at Vanity Fair (on Glenn McCarthy).
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/10/oil_excerpt200810?
printable=true&currentPage=all.
The Mike Wallace Interview of Glenn McCarthy, July 21, 1957. Video from the Harry
Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin.
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/mccarthy_glenn.html.
(Interview transcript on Blackboard.

If you are a movie buff, and have some kind of movie service, put Giant in your
queue.

M 1/30 Automobility
*Urry, John. 2004. The System of Automobility. Theory, Culture, Society 21(4/5):25-39.
Sheller, Mimi. 2004. Automotive Emotions: Feeling the Car. Theory, Culture, Society
21(4/5):221-242.

W 2/1 Cheap Gas & (Un)Freedom

Huber, Matthew. 2009. The Use of Gasoline: Value, Oil, and the American Way of Life.
Antipode 41(3): 465-486.
FILM (evening time, TBD): Who Killed the Electric Car?

Part 2. Fossil Fuels: Our Dealers

M 2/6 Oil Wars in the Middle East

***FILM REVIEW DUE @ 5 PM ***

W 2/8 Saudi Arabias Gift of Friendship

Le Billon, Phillippe; and Fouad El Khatib. 2004. From Free Oil to Freedom Oil: Terrorism,
War
and US Geopolitics in the Persian Gulf. Geopolitics 9(1):109-137.

M 2/13 Middle East Review & Book Discussion: Carbon Democracy

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W 2/15 Canada & the Tar Sands

*Zalik, Anna (2011). "Protest as Violence in Oilfields: The Contested Representation of
Profiteering in Two Extractive Sites" in S. Feldman, C. Geisler and G. Menon (eds)
Accumulating Insecurity. Athens, University of Georgia Press. p 261-284.

FILM: TBA

M 2/20 The Keystone XL

***FILM REVIEW DUE @ 5 PM***

W 2/22 Nigeria: Militarizing Africa

*Marclint Ebiede, Tarila. 2017. Beyond Rebellion: Uncaptured Dimensions of Violent
Conflicts and the Implications for Peacebuilding in Nigerias Niger Delta. African Security
10(1):1-22.

Zalik, Anna. 2004. The Niger Delta: Petro Violence and Partnership Development.
Review of
African Political Economy 101:401-424.
Lubeck, Paul M., Michael J. Watts, and Ronnie Lipschutz. 2007. Convergent Interests: U.S.
Energy Security and the Securing of Nigerian Democracy. CIP Report

M 2/27 Latin America: Critique of the Resource Curse

M Humphreys, J Sachs, and Joseph Stiglitz, What is the Problem with Natural Resource
Wealth? In Humphreys,M., Stiglitz, J. and J. Sachs, eds. Escaping the Resource Curse,
Chapter 1 pp.1-21. (Telesis)

W 3/1 Latin America: Nationalism and Redistribution/Venezuela

Gledhill, John. 2011. The Persistent Imaginary of the Peoples Oil: Nationalism,
Globalisation and the Possibility of Another Country in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. In
Crude Domination: An Anthropology of Oil. Behrends, Andrea, Stephen P. Reyna,
Gunther Schlee (eds). London: Bergahn Books.

Standard Oil Co. by Pablo Neruda. http://movingpoems.com/2009/03/standard-oil-co/

***PROPOSAL DUE TODAY, 5 PM, to Blackboard.

M 3/6 Review & Book Discussion, Enduring Legacy

W 3/8 MIDTERM EXAM

SPRING BREAK
M 3/20 Dirty Coal

W 3/22 Ameren and Coal Ash.

Guest speaker: Maxine Lipeles
FILM: The Last Mountain

M 3/27 Criminal Coal

FILM REVIEW DUE @ 5 PM
Goodell, Jeff. 2010. The Dark Lord of Coal Country. Rolling Stone (December 2010).
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-dark-lord-of-coal-country-20101129?
print=true
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W 3/29 Deepwater Horizon

*Junod, Tom. 2011. Eleven Lives. Esquire (August 2010).

Watch the Mark Wahlberg/Peter Berg version: Deepwater Horizon (2016)

M 4/3 Fracking

W 4/5 Fracking Mother Earth: The Politics of Sovereignty, Water &

Cheap Gas
*Brave NoiseCat, Julian, and Anne Spice. 2016. A History and Future of Resistance.
Jacobin, September 8.

FILM: Gasland II

Part 4. The Way Forward

M 4/10 Carbon Lock-In & Oiligarchy

FILM REVIEW DUE @ 5 PM

*Seto, Karen C. et al. 2016. Carbon Lock-In: Types, Causes, and Policy Implications.
Annual Review of Environment and Resources 41:425-452.
Unruh, Gregory C. 2000. Understanding Carbon Lock-In. Energy Policy 28:817-830

W 4/12 Dismantling Carbon-Lock In & Oiligarchy

*Gustafson, Bret. 2011. Fossil Knowledge Networks: Industry Strategy, Public Culture, and
the
Challenge for Critical Research. In Flammable Societies: Studies on the Socio-economics
of Oil and Gas. JA MacNeish and Owen Logan, eds. London: Pluto Press.

FRIDAY 4/15 FRIDAY @ 5 PM: ***FINAL PROJECT DUE

M 4/17 Seize the Grid

W 4/19 Book discussion

M 4/24 The Way Forward

W 4/26 Exam Review

Exam will be on university scheduled date.

The Provost has asked all faculty to include this in their syllabi:
Accommodations based upon sexual assault:
The University is committed to offering reasonable academic accommodations to students
who are victims of sexual assault. Depending on the specific nature of the allegation, such
measures may include but are not limited to: implementation of a no-contact order,
course/classroom assignment changes, and other academic support services and
accommodations. If you need to request such accommodations, please direct your request to
Kim Webb (kim_webb@wustl.edu), Director of the Relationship and Sexual Violence
Prevention Center. Ms. Webb is a confidential resource; however, requests for
accommodations will be shared with the appropriate University administration and faculty.
The University will maintain as confidential any accommodations or protective measures
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provided to an individual student so long as it does not impair the ability to provide such
measures.
Bias Reporting:
The University has a process through which students, faculty, staff and community members
who have experienced or witnessed incidents of bias, prejudice or discrimination against a
student can report their experiences to the Universitys Bias Report and Support System
(BRSS) team. See: diversityinclusion.wustl.edu/brss/
Mental Health:
Mental Health Services professional staff members work with students to resolve personal
and interpersonal difficulties, many of which can affect the academic experience. These
include conflicts with or worry about friends or family, concerns about eating or drinking
patterns, and feelings of anxiety and depression. See: shs.wustl.edu/MentalHealth