Postcolonial Paradox: History and Theory in the Global South
HIST 368
Spring 2022
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01
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This seminar examines postcolonial theory in history, particularly in the wake of Edward Said's classic 1978 text, "Orientalism," and the historiographical intervention known as "Subaltern Studies" (which flourished in the 1980s and '90s). The paradox invoked in the title is both historical and historiographical. At one level it refers to the persistence of colonial practices, ideologies, and regimes of thought (or "epistemes") in the decolonized world; at another level it signals the critique by intellectuals, both within and beyond the "global south," of the forms of knowledge--especially history--that sustained European imperialism and colonialism. Students will explore how philosophically and theoretically inclined historians from the global south and beyond have wrestled with the double-bind of postcolonialism, beginning with historians in South Asia but extending to Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Latin America--and even the "global north." |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (HIST-MN)(HIST)(HRAD-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Gandhi, HIND SWARAJ
Fanon, THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTY
Cesaire, DISCOURSE ON COLONIALISM
Mbembe, ON THE POSTCOLONY
Said, ORIENTALISM and CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM
Chakrabarty, PROVINCIALIZING EUROPE (¿The Artifice of History¿)
Trouillot, SILENCING THE PAST
Hau¿ofa, OUR SEA OF ISLANDS
¿and other major texts in postcolonial theory and history
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two 8-10 page papers expanding on the readings, weekly discussion posts, class discussion/participation.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Pinch,William R. Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: BOGH115; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 6 | | |
| Seats Available: 15 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 0 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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