PHIL 330: Postcolonial
Theory.
Earlham College, Spring Semester 2006-2007
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50. Carpenter 322 Monday
4:00-6:00. LBC 105
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399 (voice mail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/postcolonialtheory2007.html
Moodle Page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=155
Course Description: After an introduction to the field
of postcolonial theory we will concentrate on selected topics in this
field. The two themes of this course are the nation
and the veil. The question of identity formed
around the notion of nationality is important for the modern colonial
project, as well as, for the anti-colonial struggles. We
will look at the question of nationhood in terms of its role in the
decolonization process and in the constitution of the postcolonial
identity. The second theme of the course will be the
problem of the veil. As a physical object and as a metaphor, the
veilhas important implications for modern scientific knowledge and its
relation to the
colonial project, as well as, for the intersection ofpostcolonial
identity with questions of gender, religion, and culture.
We will see how these seemingly unrelated themes are connected in the
field of postcolonial theory.
Rather than being topics of a certain academic interest, the questions
of postcoloniality permeate modern intellectual, political and
cultural life. We will observe and analyze the implications
ofpostcolonial theory through screening of films on or related to this
topic. We will reflect on howpostcolonial theory provides us
with tools to analyze certain films and in return how such
cultural objects demonstrate the pervasiveness of the questions
concerning postcoloniality.
Required Texts: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Leela Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction,
(New York: Columbia University, 1998)
Edward Said. Orientalism, (New York: Vintage Books, 1978)
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, (New York: Grove
Press, 1963)
Meyda Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University
Press, 1998).
In addition to these texts, there will be additional reading
material on Moodle.
Films: Hideous Kinky, The Battle of Algiers,
Cache, Chocolat, Cry Freedom, Paradise Now, Xala
Course Requirement and Evaluation:
You are expected to write two (10-12 page) papers. These papers will be
on the texts we read in the course. You are also required to write a
report on every film we watch. I will provide paper topics for each
assignment. For every paper you are responsible for following the
general guidelines. (See "Comments
and Suggestions for Papers").
For each week, two students will prepare a two paged
(single-spaced)
protocol of the material discussed during the previous week.
A protocol is a carefully edited summary of the previous class sessions
written in full sentences. Protocols will be photocopied
by
the students who wrote it and handed out to all students at the
beginning
of each Monday to be read aloud, and will serve as a cumulative record
of the course. The student who prepares the protocol will be required
to
come to class a couple of minutes early, so that the protocols will
have
been distributed at the beginning of the class (i.e., at 11:00). In
addition
to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, the protocol
should
include announcements made in class, questions raised, and, if
possible,
future questions for the material to come. The best protocols will be
those
that do not simply reproduce word for word everything that was said
during
class, but those that rearrange the material thematically, editing out
what was unimportant, and emphasizing what was significant. The point
of
this is to allow you to think during class, and not just take notes;
because
someone will be taking notes for you, you can concentrate on the ideas
being presented, and participate without having to write constantly.
Also
you will have a summary of every class which will help you with writing
papers.
There will be no final examination!
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
Paper I: 25%, Paper II: 25%, Film Reports: 30%, Protocol: 10%, Class
Participation and Attendance: 10%.
Class participation and attendance:
Attendance and participation
are important dimensions of the course and
your grade. I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to
participate,
i.e., having read the text carefully, and ready to raise and answer
questions. If you have not completed the reading for the day, you
will not be able to participate in class discussions.
The success of this course depends on your attendance. If you miss three sessions, you will lose your
entire participation grade (%10). If you miss more than five
sessions, you will fail this course regardless of your grade.
Our sessions will start at 11:00 am (and 4pm on Monday).
Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the
classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for
everybody. For every two late attendance (or early exit) you will
be marked as absent for one class session.
You are required to bring the
text (the book or photocopied material) to class, and refer to them
during discussions.
Any student with a documented disability (e.g.,
physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to
arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and
Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning
of the semester. Accommodation arrangements
must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.
Calendar:
There may be some modifications to this calender. It is your
responsibility
to be aware of these changes. These changes may be announced in class.
If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about
the
assignments for the next session.
Week 1:
January 10: Introduction
January 12: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
Week 2:
January 15: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory Film:
Hideous Kinky
January 17: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
January 19: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
Week 3:
January 22: Hegel, Master-Slave Dialectic; Film: A Passage to
India
January 24: Hegel, Master-Slave Dialectic
January 26: Hegel, Master-Slave Dialectic
Week 4:
January 29: Derrida, "The Crisis in the Teaching of
Philosophy"; Film: Cache
January 31: Derrida, "The Crisis in the Teaching of Philosophy"
February 2: Derrida, "The Crisis in the Teaching of
Philosophy"
Week 5:
February 5: Orientalism, 1-110; Film: Orientalism
February 7: Orientalism, 1-110
February 9: Orientalism, 110-166
Week 6:
February 12: Orientalism, 110-166; Film: Paradise Now
February 14: Orientalism, 110-166
February 16: Orientalism, 199-328
Week 7:
February 19: Orientalism, Review
February 21: Orientalism, Review, 1st Paper Due
February 23: Mid-semester Break
Week 8:
February 26: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies,
1-67
February 28: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, 1-67
March 2: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, 1-67
Week 9:
March 5: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, 68-144; Film:
Chocolat
March 7: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, 68-144
March 9: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies, 68-144
Week 10:
March 12: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth; Film: Black Skin White Mask
March 14: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
March 16: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
March 19--March 23: Spring Break
Week 11:
March 26: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth; Film: The Battle
of
Algiers
March 28: Fanon, Algeria Unveiled
March 30: Fanon, Algeria Unveiled
Week 12:
April 2: Bhabha, "Narrating the Nation" from Nation and Narration.
Film: Xala
April 4: Bhabha, "Narrating the Nation"; Renan, "What is A Nation?"
from Nation and Narration
April 6: Renan, "What is A Nation?"
Week 13:
April 9: B. Anderson, Imagined Communities; Film: Cry Freedom
April 11: B. Anderson, Imagined Communities;
April 13: B. Anderson, Imagined Communities;
Week 14:
April 16: Cheah, Spectral Nationality
April 18: Cheah, Spectral Nationality
April 20: Cheah, Spectral Nationality
Week 15:
April 23: Review
April 25: Review
April 27: Review and Evaluation;
April 30: Final Paper Due