Critical Social Inquiry 0290 - Colonial & Decolonial Archives

This course is a methods-course for all students interested in historical inquiry that introduces students to primary research and various theoretical frameworks. We will start out by reading Gayatri Spivak's essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" that problematizes the difficulties of writing the history of disenfranchised peoples, then trace the after-life of her famous essay in South-Asian post-colonial and Latin American de-colonial historiography, and finally engage with Laura Ann Stoler's work on Dutch colonial archives and the politics of imperial intimacy. Students will pursue their own primary research in the various colonial and de-colonial archives at AC, MHC, and SC as well as the museum of art at MHC. These archives contain, among others, letters written by female missionaries in the Ottoman Empire (MHC alumnae), journals written by British governors' wives in India (AC alumni), and late 20th century collections of queer and anti-racist activists (SC alumnae). The aim is to produce a substantial original research paper.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.