CONVENOR: GURMINDER K. BHAMBRA

EMAIL: G.K.BHAMBRA@WARWICK.AC.UK

ROOM: R2.28

MODULE CODE: SO9A1

Sociology and Postcolonialism is available to postgraduate students studying in the Department of Sociology or other cognate departments in the University of Warwick. PhD students are also welcome to participate. The module is assessed by a 5,000 word essay.

The emergence of postcolonial theory rests on the idea of coming after colonialism. Yet, colonialism does not necessarily end with the end of colonial oppression. This module examines the emergence of postcolonial theory and its relationship to sociology as well as interrogating key sociological ideas from the position of postcolonial studies.  Postcolonial theory is most usually associated with the trimvirate of Edward W. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Homi K. Bhabha although contributors to the field both pre-date these theorists and are disciplinarily more diverse. This course provides a critical introduction to postcolonial theory in the context of the social sciences and discusses key points of intersection between these fields. It addresses the centrality of colonialism and imperialism to modernity and postcolonial critiques thereof. The course also addresses salient themes within the field such as Orientalism, feminism, and subaltern studies and focuses on contested sites such as the possibility of universal categories and critiques of postcolonial theory.

Indicative Reading:

Fanon, Frantz (1967 [1952]) Black Skin, White Masks New York: Grove Press

Hall, S. (1996) „When was "the Post-Colonial"? Thinking at the Limit‟, in I. Chambers and L. Curti (eds) The Post-Colonial Question: Common Skies, Divided Horizons.

James, C.L.R. (1938) The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. London: Secker and Warburg.

Said, E. W. 1995 [1978]. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. Penguin.

Seidman, S. 1997. Difference Troubles: Queering Social Theory and Sexual Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakrabarty 1988. „Can the subaltern speak?‟ in Cary Nelson and Lawrence (eds.) Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Grossberg University of Illinois Press: Chicago, pp271-318

Williams, Eric (1964) Capitalism and Slavery. London: Andre Deutsch.

Method of Assessment:

One 5,000 word essay.

Day and Time:

Tuesdays, 4-6pm in R3.25

For further information, please contact Chris Wilson, Postgraduate Secretary by email: Christine.Wilson@warwick.ac.uk

Module Handbook

Seminars:

Autumn Term
Tuesday, 4-6pm
R3.25

READINGS:

A copy of all essential readings are available for you to *borrow* from R2.15 - they are in a boxfile labelled Sociology and Postcolonialism