Sem (BA/MEd/MA-EU) Postcolonialism
Instructors: Dr. Annette SchmittShortname: Sem Postcolonialism
Course Type: Seminar
Requirements / organisational issues
If you cannot attend the first session of the seminar, please send a respective e-mail to the instructor. Otherwise, you will forfeit your claim to attending this course.Anwesenheitspflicht
It is mandatory to attend at least the first session. Further mandatory sessions will be announced in the first session.Recommended reading list
For a good start, please take a look at:Robert Young (2020). A very short introduction to Postcolonialism. 4th reprint. Oxford: OUP
Contents
Postcolonialism“ is a contested concept – different authors mean different things when they use this term. In our seminar, we will discuss “Postcolonialism” with respect to three phenomena characterizing the era “post” colonialism.1. „Finally free“: independence from colonial rule.
In the first part of the seminar, we will discuss the following questions:
- definition: what are we talking about when we use the term “colonialism”?
- history: what do we know about the era of colonialism? How did it come to an end? How was independence achieved and what came afterwards?
- evaluation: what was wrong with colonialism?
2. “Mental decolonization”: Formal colonialism may be a thing of the past, but colonialism “in the minds” is not: Robert Young talks about the “continuing need to combat residual social, cultural, and political attitudes or institutional practices that endure in the present …”
In the second part of the seminar, we will, thus, focus on this lasting impact of colonialism, especially on its enduring effects in the form of stereotypes and prejudices.
3. “But is colonialism over after all?”: The former colonies may have gained formal independence from their former oppressors. But has this new-won independence not given way to profound economic dependence on almost the same political actors of the global north and their internationally operating enterprises?
In the third part of the seminar, we will especially focus on a new and very potent actor in this regard, China: we will discuss its “Belt-and-Road”-Project as an example of Neocolonialism.
Dates
| Date (Day of the week) | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 04/15/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 04/22/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 04/29/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 05/06/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 05/13/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 05/20/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 05/27/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 06/03/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 06/10/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 06/17/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 06/24/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 07/01/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 07/08/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
| 07/15/2025 (Tuesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 02 617 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi) |
