Political Science 293PC - S-Postcolonial Poli Thought

This is a survey of the major texts of postcolonial political thought, including Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Partha Chatterjee, Uday Mehta, and others. These texts will help us explore the following questions about political life in postcolonial societies: More generally, this course explores the following questions: how do postcolonial thinkers conceive of freedom, reason, equality, and political emancipation in the wake of a colonial domination that has fundamentally (if diversely) re-shaped their modes of living and producing? In what ways do their formulations of these central concepts of European modernity embrace, question, critique, and/or cast doubt on the applicability of these concepts to postcolonial societies? How do gender, race, class, and caste figure in colonial and postcolonial discourse (i.e. discourses within postcolonial societies)? What alternatives, if any, do postcolonial thinkers put forward for the political future of their respective societies?

Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only.