Social Thought & Polic. Econ 492H - STPEC Focus Seminar II

A four credit honors seminar for senior STPEC students who have completed STPEC 391H with a grade of C or better. Seminar topic changes each semester.

STPEC 391H Postcolonialism has generally referred to the study of the histories, politics, economics, literature and social milieus of nations within Latin and South America, Africa and Asia. While these continental regions are also variously referenced as "the Third World" and "the Global South," the frame of 'postcolonialism' marks scholarship that has placed the history of colonialism and its aftermath at the center of our understanding of places that are often marked as being in a lesser relation to the "developed" world. Understanding hugely influential Marxist social movements and theories is essential to understanding how and why the postcolonial world comes to be, the challenges that activists working in countries in these regions face, and what the possibilities of mobilizing against right wing populism there might entail. The seminar will be taught from a feminist, queer and anthropological perspective, while focusing on foundational works on postcolonialism and its relationship with Marxist politics, theories, and movements. These include works by Marx, Trotsky, Gramsci, Goldman, James Trouillot, Goldman, Beverley, Mbembe, Fanon, Nandy, and the Subaltern Studies Group.