The US Empire in the Present

Session Submission Type: Paper Session (90 minute)

Description

The US empire as a political entity, rather than a metaphor or a symbol, expanded globally in the era of ostensible decolonization after World War II. While developing liberal practices of ruling through diplomacy, ideology, and cultural exchanges, it has anchored its dominance in unprecedented military power bolstered by the domestic and global networks of bases. In the face of ongoing authoritarian turns in US politics, this panel invites critical analyses of various forces and dynamics that have contributed to the unravelling of the empire’s liberal practices of ruling locally, nationally, and globally. Proposal topics may include, but are not limited to:
-- Intersectionality of class, gender, race, & sexuality in and around US military bases as transnational borderlands
-- Diverse forms of labor that enable smooth workings of the empire domestically and globally
-- Transnational migration and the remaking of boundaries of citizenship and residency
-- Impacts of global capitalism on US military operations transnationally
-- Impacts of global capitalism on the workings of liberal democracy in the US
-- Performative aspects of liberal politics and war preparation
-- Militarization of policing and surveillance
-- Militarization of entertainment and leisure activities

Sub Unit

• Global and Transnational Sociology Section / The US Empire in the Present

Presider

• Seungsook Moon, Vassar College

Individual Presentations

• Contradictions of Empire and Care - Amy Chin, Vassar College

• Gender Ideology and USAID: A Test Case for American Authoritarianism? - Sophia Boutilier, Fresno State University; Christina Gordon; Liliane Eleni Claire Boch, California State University, Fresno

• Intersocial Constitution of the Exception: Venezuela and the United States, 2024-26 - David A. Smilde, Tulane University

• In the Air, over the Sea, through an Empire: Aviation Infrastructure and Territorial Affect across Micronesia - Ryan Centner, London School of Economics

• Veil of Empire: Racialized Control and Abandonment in the U.S. Occupation of Afghanistan - Syeda Quratulain Masood, Hamline University

Session Organizer

• Seungsook Moon, Vassar College