PHIL 330/PAGS 330: POSTCOLONIAL THEORY
Earlham College, Spring Semester 2008-2009
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50, Carpenter 220
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/postcolonialtheory2009.html
Moodle Page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=317
Course Description: After an introduction to the field
of postcolonial theory we will concentrate on selected topics in this
field. 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. We will also concentrate on a number of issues around the metaphorics and symbolism of the veil. As a physical object and as a metaphor, the
veil has important implications for modern scientific knowledge and its
relation to the
colonial project, as well as, for the intersection of postcolonial
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
of postcolonial theory in terms of the production and presentation of public narratives through various media and scholarship. We will reflect on how postcolonial theory provides us
with tools to analyze how certain cultural objects demonstrate the pervasiveness of the questions
concerning postcoloniality. We will also "apply" these tools to understand a present case of colonialism in the context of Israel-Palestine conflict. First, we will engage in historical analysis of the conflict. Unlike the popular conceptions of the conflict suggest, it does not have it roots in an almost archaic, ancient history, but rather in a quite recent colonial design. After this historical analysis, we will see how Postcolonial Theory can help us to understand current political conflicts in Israel and Palestine.
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).
Nadia Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self Fashioning in Israeli Society, (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2001)
In addition to these texts, there will be additional reading
material on Moodle
Course Requirement and Evaluation:
You are expected to write three (8-10 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.
You will also prepare a library/internet research in which you will contribute to two different bibliographies, one on Postcolonial Theory in general, and one in Israel-Palestine conflict in particular.
There will be no final examination!
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
Paper I: 20%, Paper II: 20%, Paper III: 30%, Protocol: 10%, Library Research: 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 six
sessions, you will fail this course regardless of your grade.
Our sessions will start at 11:00 am.
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 14: Introduction
January 16: Introduction; Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
Week 2:
January 19: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
January 21: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory; Library Assignment
January 23: Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory
Week 3:
January 26: Hegel, Master-Slave Dialectic
January 28: Hegel, Master-Slave Dialectic
January 30: Derrida, "The Crisis in the Teaching of
Philosophy"
Week 4:
February 2: Said, Orientalism
February 4: Said, Orientalism
February 6: Said, Orientalism
Week 5:
February 9: Said, Orientalism
February 11: Said, Orientalism
February 13: Said, Orientalism
Week 6:
February 16: Said, Orientalism; First paper due
February 18: Said, Orientalism
February 20: Mid-Semester Break
Week 7:
February 23: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
February 25: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
February 27: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
Week 8:
March 2: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
March 4: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
March 6: Yegenoglu, Colonial Fantasies
Week 9:
March 9: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
March 11: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
March 13: Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
March 15-March 20: Spring Break
Week 10:
March 23: The Israel/Palestine Question; Second Paper due
March 25:
March 27:
Week 11:
March 30: The Israel/Palestine Question
April 1:
April 3:
Week 12:
April 6: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
April 8:
April 10:
Week 13:
April 13: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
April 15: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
April 17: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
Week 14:
April 20: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
April 22: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
April 24: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
Week 15:
April 27: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
April 29: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
May 1: Abu El-Haj, Facts on the Ground
May 3: Final Paper Due