Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC2103: Introduction to Postcolonialism

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your critical thinking about postcolonialism; deploy an interpretive and decolonial research method to understand the world; and, to enable you to understand the nature of power relations in the modern global order. By the end of the course, you should be able to interrogate and examine the categories of race, gender and class through a postcolonial and decolonial lens. The module will also prepare you for academic and other careers in the field of development, international politics, critical theory and security studies.

 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Discuss, analyse and critically evaluate competing theoretical perspectives in the study of postcolonialism.
2. Demonstrate a familiarity with relevant empirical issues and examples.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. Grasp and apply a variety of theories found in Politics and International Studies in order to assess and/or critique each theory and its application to specific practices.
4. Locate these theories and the debates/questions which surround them in the larger context of the study of Politics, for example contending conceptualisations of power, identity, colonialism, and rival framings of world politics.
Personal and Key Skills5. Engage with, and analyse challenging literature and articulating complex
6. Design and deliver presentations to peers, communicate effectively in speech and writing.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

 

  • ‘White Man’s Burden’: Introduction to Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial approaches I

 

  • ‘The Intimate Enemy’: Introduction to Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial approaches II

 

  • Understanding Decoloniality: Introduction to Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial approaches III

 

  • Sites of Postcolonial Encounters: Museums, Statues and Curriculums

 

  • The Colonial Subjectivity: Race, Gender and Class I

 

  • Mobility and Identity: Race, Gender and Class II

 

  • ‘Writing Back’: The Subaltern Studies

 

  • The Postcolonial Global Order: International Relations and Security Studies

 

  • ‘Rule of Experts’: Postcolonial Approaches to Development

 

 

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities2211x 2 hour seminars
Guided Independent Study60Seminar preparation through directed reading
Guided Independent Study10To complete the formative essay plan
Guided independent study58To complete the mid-term essay, critical research paper and examination revision.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).