analysis paper
Your critical analysis of the readings from weeks six is to be based on Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 from Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Each paper should be 1000-1200 words max. font 11, Times New Roman and double spaced. Paper should reflect the theoretical content taught in week six of the course. Boo’s book is a story of poverty and destitution in an informal settlement in Mumbai. The inhabitants of this settlement are primarily engaged in recycling waste, but the lack of state recognition of the settlement brings harassment from the police, local politicians and the state government. When you read the book, you should try to find excerpts from at least two chapters (of that particular week’s readings) that highlight social relations, gender relations within the settlement, the experiences of destitution and the aspirations of the poor in a city that is witnessing rapid economic growth. What are the main constraints the dwellers of the informal settlements face in their engagement with a corrupt state? Who are the slumlords and what are their machinations? What does the book tell you about Mumbai and urban India? How does the evidence in the book relate to urbanism in India and elsewhere that have been discussed in the first three weeks of class? These are some questions you could try to answer in both these papers. It is key that you have a separate and focused argument or insight in each of these papers.
