Karl Jacoby

Professor Jacoby is wonderful, kind and accommodating. He cares about his students and takes the time to get to know each of us. I have never felt more seen and heard by a professor. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: HISTUN3518_001_2023_3-COLUMBIAUNI&SLAVERY : HISTUN3518_001_2023_3 - COLUMBIA UNI & SLAVERY Instructor: Karl Jacoby

I learnt about the theorization of the borderlands, the limits of state power, the ethics of writing history about the borderlands, and the utility of different methodologies in discussing the borderlands areas.

I learned a lot about colonization in the past, present, and what it might look like in the future. This class expanded my views and also challenged them. I also gained an understanding about how interdisciplinary this problem is, and how we can do something about it in any field we might find ourselves in.

This course did a lot to widen my perspective on nation-state or 'international' history more broadly. I too learned a great deal about US/Mexico history through this borderlands lense, which I found both useful and fascinating.

I learned a lot about Columbia's ties to colonialism. I also learned about how to analyze and look at primary sources, and connect ideas across different sources.

The biggest takeaway from the course was its comparative aspect. By complementing, in an interesting dichotomy, Karl's familiarity and specialisation on the US- Mexico border with Manan's own work, expertise, and lived experience, the common fabric from which all borderlands are weaved becomes readily apparent through the explorations of violence, carcerality, social life, environment, and sovereignty detailed by the works studied. The course teaches critical evaluations of the state and state violence, challenges students and candidates to explore non-Western epistemes, and provides a robust understanding of the larger historiography of Borderlands.

This course not only teaches students about the decolonization process, but challenges students to reimagine how they interact with the world around them. From discussions on rethinking history's relation to the present to imagining how language can be used as a colonial tool, we truly covered many different topics and ideas in class.

Huge amount. Developed my critical reading skills; familiarity with borderlands historiography; pushed myself to consider new modes of historical writing.

Professor Jacoby has crafted a class that is, in my opinion, the perfect way to critically reflect on what I learned in Contemporary Civilizations. It is a way of thinking of world history and power that makes you critically examine the status quo.

This was the best course I took all semester. I learned so much about the Mexican border, colonization in the US, Mexico, South and Southeast Asia. I learned even more about how to do history. Very careful attention to word choice, sources, whether the narratives we read uphold or question state power. There is a great selection of reading from all kinds of fields, from histories, ethnologies, journalism, all kinds of great stuff. Really fun challenging course.