POSC 688: Postcolonial Political Theory Syllabus Fall 2019

Professor David Temin 6664 Haven Hall Office Hours: Mondays, 1-3 and by appointment POSC 688: Postcolonial Political Theory (F 2019) Tuesdays, 11:00-2:00, Dana Hall 3038 This course explores academic debates in anti-colonial, post-colonial, de-colonial, and Indigenous and settler-colonial traditions of inquiry. We explore these literatures in relation to analyses of empire and imperialism; anticolonial movements and thought; and political theories of decolonization. It has long been typical to regard “postcolonialism” (like “poststructuralism”) as an independent body of thought with a standard set of approaches to culture, subjectivity, nation, race, representation, science, rationality, etc. Such a framing of postcolonial theory tends to foreground epistemological debates (debates about how we know what we know), with two effects: First, it suggests a more monolithic “postcolonialism” than reflects the reality of diverse aims, locations, and approaches employed within the associated bodies of scholarship. Second, it focuses more on “meta” concerns that pertain to questions of representation. The meta focus unfortunately has meant less historical sensitivity to concretely identifying (and differentiating) practices of empire and imperialism, decolonization, and their enduring political legacies today (even as all of these literatures depend upon an assessment of the forms of anti-colonial political struggles). Above all, we will direct our attention to how political and cultural theorists have engaged political concepts in light of specific historical transformations. The course is divided into two modules. First, we explore the intellectual foundations of anti-colonialism in the context of global decolonization movements. Since World War II, much of political theory and political science has presumed a world of nation-states interacting on a basis of rough equality in an anarchic international sphere. Historical narratives of global order underpinned this consensus. More recent scholarship has recovered the fact that throughout modernity, empires, colonies, and hierarchy have structured the global order—and, therefore, the practices that inhere in our concepts. Our focus is, then, on how this shift transforms core concepts of political and social theory: We investigate imperialism as a global system of racial subordination, colonial genocide, and capitalist economic extraction and dependency. The approaches we encounter seek to identity the over-determined harms and structures of empire, as well as the complex tensions involved in seeking a path beyond empire—insights that emerged alongside/with the complex practices of anti-colonial struggles across the globe. Second, we will explore how more recent interventions since the 1970s have revisited the historiography of empire, the success and failings of anticolonial nationalism, the representational and cultural legacies of empire, and the forms of power that exceed/endure in formal and informal logics of empire. This second module is a mix of key “canonical” texts and schools of thought (e.g. Saidian “colonial discourse,” Subaltern Studies, Latin American Coloniality/Modernity, Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies) as well as texts that theorize specific concepts (e.g. sovereignty, nation and state, coloniality, resurgence). We take these approaches as interventions into larger questions of economic freedom and distributive justice, structural power, democracy and self-determination, gender equity and heterosexism, ecological flourishing, and cultural interchange and parity, inter alia. Student Learning Outcomes: At the end of the semester you should: Be able to identify and evaluate the significance of key concepts, thinkers, and schools of thought. Be able to reconstruct and assess for your own scholarly purposes current interpretive debates on the foregoing concepts. Develop refined sensibilities about the relationship between such interpretive choices and political stakes. Be able to communicate and contextualize how you are framing arguments, including to what scholarly audiences you are speaking and why. Be able to write clearly and forcefully by developing the core competencies of academic writing, including: distilling core arguments, elucidating conceptual/interpretive/and political stakes, and framing/explaining what can be done politically with a text or concept. Be able to revise your writing to sharpen your key argumentative “moves” in response to feedback. Course Readings: Required Readings: All of the readings will be posted on the canvas website to make the course financially affordable. Where possible, and especially where you expect to work with these texts in your current and future scholarship, I highly recommended purchasing these books for note-taking and ease of access. Despite the proliferation of e-books, most scholars in the social sciences and humanities maintain a dedicated physical library with books they draw on frequently in their scholarship and teaching. I also highly recommended purchasing the following book, which has really good advice on writing in the academy: Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say/I Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, 2nd Edition (Norton, 2009) I continue to consult this book as well as other books on writing, both to improve my own writing skills and to get going when I’m experiencing writers’ block. Tips and tricks help, even as you move farther along in the profession. Participation and Response Notes (100 points): Participation is a crucial aspect of the seminar experience. Because we will be grappling with difficult and “essentially contestable” concepts, the discussion and debate in class will be a crucial component of your learning in the seminar. Please come having read the text closely and taken good notes, so that you can engage with your seminar-mates. You will be evaluated on your regular effort at respectfully engaging about the texts with your peers in class as opposed to the quality of your comments. Clarification questions about key concepts and moments in the text are especially, especially valuable and welcome interventions. Response notes will be due on our email thread by 9am the day of class so that everyone has time to read one another’s questions beforehand. You have two options for this exercise. You can take the opportunity to write a single question with a longer lead-in (7-10 sentences) or you may write two brief questions (3-4 sentences). Each of these response notes will narrow in on a passage, problem, or concept that caught your eye and/or puzzled you that you would like to discuss further in class. These will be graded for participation as opposed to the substance of what you are writing. I highly encourage notes that will lead to a discussion of a concept and increase our ability to make historical and conceptual connections. I discourage notes that are jargon-laden and close down discussion. Please come to class having read others’ notes. I will use these as the basis for class discussion. First Draft of Paper or Annotated Bibliography (10-15 Pages) and 150 Word Abstract (100 points): In consultation with the professor early on in the semester, you will propose a topic for either an essay or an annotated bibliography related to the themes and approaches we broach in the course. You should meet with me at least by October 15 so that we can figure out together what a useful paper approach for you might be. I encourage all students to use the opportunity to write a paper that is relevant to their research interests, while drawing on the course material and discussions. You will compose a first draft due November 1. In addition to the draft, you should include an abstract of 150 words. I will provide a sheet with additional guidance in advance of the deadlines. Though you will be required to consult additional scholarship, these papers and annotated bibliographies should not just be descriptive literature reviews. You should seek to advance a clear thesis about the text/concept/political problem/interpretive tradition that you choose to take up, and the scholarship you consult should help you build the case for your thesis. Second Draft of Paper or Annotated Bibliography (15-20 pages) and Justification of Changes Made (1-2 pages) (100 points): After getting feedback from the professor, you will compose a second draft of your paper due December 16. This draft should expand on core themes as well as incorporating and constructively responding to feedback. In addition to composing the paper, you will also write a 1-2 page justification of how the changes you’ve made respond to the professor’s feedback. This latter exercise is intended to model the blind peer-review process for screening journal articles, which typically requires that authors justify the revisions they make in response to reviewers. This exercise will help you strengthen and sharpen your argument. Late Policy: Papers should meet length requirements, be double-spaced, and submitted with standard 1” margins in Times New Roman 12 pt. font. All due dates listed in this syllabus are final. Late papers will be penalized at 2 points per 24 hours of being late. If you know that you won’t be able to get a paper finished on time, please get in touch via email so I know when to expect your assignment. All papers must be turned in and must receive a passing grade in order to pass the course. Papers more than ten days late will not be accepted, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Extensions on papers and incompletes in the course are not usually granted. Should you have a medical or family emergency, I will request official documentation and need notification before the due date of papers and assignments (to the extent possible). Following Standard University of Michigan policy, your final grade will be based on the following rubric: A (93% and above) A- (90% to 92%) B+ (87% to 89%) B (84% to 86%) B- (80% to 83%) C+ (77% to 79%) C: (74% to 76%) C-: (70% to 73%) D+: (67% to 69%) D: (64%-66%) D-: (60% to 63%) F: (0% to 59%) Class Rules and Policies Accessibility All students are welcome in the course. If you have a condition that affects your ability to participate fully in class or to meet all course requirements, you should contact Services for Students with Disability (SSD). SSD (734-763-3000; http://ssd.umich.edu) recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. Once you have a VISA form, please present it to me so that we can make appropriate arrangements for you. Any information you provide is private and confidential and will be treated as such. Student Mental Health and Well-Being Graduate school can be stressful and difficult. If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and/or in need of support, you may find it helpful to contact Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at (734) 764-8312 and https://caps.umich.edu/ during and after hours, on weekends and holidays, or through its counselors physically located in schools on both North and Central Campus. You may also consult University Health Service (UHS) at (734) 764-8320 and http://www.uhs.umich.edu/mentalhealthsvcs, or for alcohol or drug concerns, see www.uhs.umich.edu/aodresources. Class Norms and Course Expectations The following are course expectations: Please bring the text(s) for the week and bring to class. Read the texts before class and come ready to discuss, ask questions, clarify concepts and themes, etc. Send in response notes on time (9am the day of class) Read your fellow students response notes. Be on time to class. Our class overlaps with the lunch hour, so please feel free to bring lunch or a snack if you are so inclined. Policy on Children in Class Currently, the university does not have a formal policy on children in the classroom. The policy described here is thus, a reflection of my own beliefs and commitments to student, staff and faculty parents.  1) All exclusively breastfeeding babies are welcome in class as often as is necessary to support the breastfeeding relationship. Because not all women can pump sufficient milk, and not all babies will take a bottle reliably, I never want students to feel like they have to choose between feeding their baby and continuing their education. You and your nursing baby are welcome in class anytime. 2) For older children and babies, I understand that minor illnesses and unforeseen disruptions in childcare often put parents in the position of having to choose between missing class to stay home with a child and leaving him or her with someone you or the child does not feel comfortable with. While this is not meant to be a long-term childcare solution, occasionally bringing a child to class in order to cover gaps in care is perfectly acceptable. 3) I ask that all students work with me to create a welcoming environment that is respectful of all forms of diversity, including diversity in parenting status. 4) In all cases where babies and children come to class, I ask that you sit close to the door so that if your little one needs special attention and is disrupting learning for other students, you may step outside until their need has been met. Non-parents in the class, please reserve seats near the door for your parenting classmates. 5) Finally, I understand that often the largest barrier to completing your coursework once you become a parent is the tiredness many parents feel in the evening once children have finally gone to sleep. The struggles of balancing school, childcare and often another job are exhausting! I hope that you will feel comfortable disclosing your student-parent status to me. This is the first step in my being able to accommodate any special needs that arise. While I maintain the same high expectations for all student in my classes regardless of parenting status, I am happy to problem solve with you in a way that makes you feel supported as you strive for school-parenting balance. Thank you for the diversity you bring to our classroom. [Adapted from Dr. Melissa Cheyney] When/If Problems Come Up My goal is always for everyone in this class to be successful. I understand that your world does not begin and end with your academic work. You may have multiple responsibilities in addition to this course (such as family obligations, religious holidays, illness, etc.). Please keep me informed and we will work out a solution that works for you, the class, and the instructor. Office Hours I will hold office hours this semester on Mondays from 1-3pm. However, I encourage graduate students not to waste their valuable time waiting if there is a line. Please instead reach out to make an appointment with me, and we’ll find a time to meet. Friday mornings will likely be my best time this semester. Academic Honesty Students are expected to submit only their own work on papers and examinations. Turning in someone else's work as if it were your own constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is an act of intellectual dishonesty and theft. The academic consequences of plagiarism are automatic failure in the course. All such offenses are automatically reported to the Dean of Students, who will impose additional administrative consequences, which can include suspension or expulsion from the university. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: turning in another student's paper as if it were your own; collaboration with another student in writing the paper; quoting, paraphrasing, or borrowing ideas from published or unpublished material written by someone other than yourself, without specific acknowledgement of the source. For more information, the Sweetland Center for Writing has some useful resources on identifying and avoiding plagiarism for both instructors and students: http://www.beyondplagiarism.sweetland.lsa.umich.edu/. If you have any questions about plagiarism, you should consult with me. Reading List and Course Schedule Module I: Empire, Anti-colonialism, Decolonization September 3: Course Introduction: Rethinking the Cosmos, from Nation-State to Empire Temin Lecture Suggested Readings: J.A. Hobson, Imperialism; Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism; Robert J.C. Young, Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction; Lake and Reynolds, White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality; Aziz Rana, The Two Faces of American Freedom; Mike Davis, Late Victorian Holocausts September 10: Du Bois: Empire as Transnational White Supremacy W.E.B Du Bois, “The Souls of White Folk” and “The Hands of Ethiopia” in Darkwater: Voices from Behind the Veil (1921) W.E.B Du Bois, “The Disenfranchised Colonies” in Color and Democracy: Colonies and Peace (1945) CLR James, “Intervening in Abyssinia” (1935) Erez Manela, “Self-Determination for Whom?” in The Wilsonian Moment (2007) Suggested Reading: Du Bois, Color and Democracy; Jessica Blatt, Race and the Making of American Political Science, Robert Vitalis, White World Order, Black Power Politics; Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery; CLR James (many works); Penny Von Eschen, Race Against Empire; John Munro, The Anti-colonial Front; Cedric Robinson, Black Marxism September 17: What was the “Third World?”: The Currents of Anti-colonial Politics Mark Berger, “After the Third World?: History, Destiny, and the Fate of Third Worldism,” Third World Quarterly (2004) Adom Getachew, “The Anti-Colonial Reinvention of Self-Determination” in Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination (2019) Robert J.C. Young, “The National Liberation Movements: Introduction, “Marxism and National Liberation Movements,” in Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (2001) Suggested Readings: Robert J.C. Young, “The Tricontinental,” “Women and Anticolonialism”; Vijay Prasad, The Darker Nations; Margaret Kohn and Keally McBride, Political Theories of Decolonization: Postcolonialism and the Problem of Foundations September 24: Négritude Aime Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism (all) Suzanne Césaire, “The Malaise of a Civilization,” “The Great Camouflage” Suggested Readings: Gary Wilder, Freedom Time October 1: Fanon and Cabral, or Decolonization and National Liberation Frantz Fanon, “On Violence,” in Wretched of the Earth (1961) Amilcar Cabral, “National Liberation and Culture” in Return to the Source: Selected Speeches of Amilcar Cabral (1973) Suggested Readings: Anuja Bose, Nigel Gibson, Lewis Gordon, David Macey, Jane Anna Gordon. October 8: The Political Economy of (Neo)Imperialism: Dependency, Underdevelopment, and the Limits of Formal Decolonization Kwame Nkrumah, Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965), pp.ix-51, pp.239-259 Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1973), pp.75-90, 135-154, 164-180, 223-238. Tianna Paschel, “Walter Rodney and the Racial Underpinnings of Global Inequality” (2016) Maria Mies, Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale (1986), pp.6-14, 37-40, 112-134 Suggested Readings: Du Bois, “The Sage of Nkrumah”; Rodney (all); Robert J.C. Young, “Neocolonialism,” in Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction; Paget Henry, Peripheral Capitalism in Antigua; Michael Manley, Julius Nyerere, George Padmore, Azizkwe, Samir Amin, Theotonio Dos Santos, Andre Gunder Frank, Immanuel Wallerstein, Ronaldo Munck, Raoul Prebisch. October 15 (no class: Enjoy fall beak.) October 22: The Fourth World: Indigenous Accounts of Colonial Conquest Zitkala-Ša (Gertrude Bonnin) “The Sioux Claims” (1923) Vine Deloria Jr., “Chapter II: Laws and Treaties,” in Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969) George Manuel and Michael Posluns, “Introduction: ‘Does Indians Have Feelings?’” and “Chapter 3: The Earth and My Grandmother,” in The Fourth World: An Indian Reality (1974) Glen Sean Coulthard, “A Fourth World Resurgent” (2019) Suggested: David Myer Temin, “Custer’s Sins”; Jonathan Crossen, “Another Wave of Anticolonialism,” Sheryl Lightfoot, Global Indigenous Politics; Ronald Niezen; Zitkala-Ša, American Indian Stories; Allison Brysk, From Tribal Village to Global Village; Mariategui; James Tully, “The Struggles of Indigenous Peoples of and for Freedom”; Laura Cornelius Kellogg; Charles Eastman; William Apess; Sarah Winnemucca; Howard Adams, Prison of Grass. Module II: Postcolonial/Decolonial Studies October 29: Orientalism and Colonial Discourse Robert J.C. Young, “Postcolonialism,” in Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (2001) Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourse” (1984) Edward Said, “Introduction”; “Chapter 1: The Scope of Orientalism: I-II” in Orientalism (1979) November 5: Nation/State Partha Chatterjee, “The Imagined Community,” “The Colonial State,” “The Nation and its Outcasts,” The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories (1994) Achille Mbembe, “Of Commandment,” “On Private, Indirect Government,” in On the Postcolony (2001) Suggested Reading: Homi Bhabha, Partha Chaterjee. November 12: Subaltern Ranajit Guha, “On Some Aspects of the Historiography of Colonial India” (1988) Gayatri Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak” (1988) Dipesh Chakrabarty, “Introduction: The Idea of Provincializing Europe” and “Chapter 3: Translating Life-Worlds into Labor and History,” in Provincializing Europe (2000) Recommended: Dipesh Chakrabarty, “Subaltern Studies and Postcolonial Historiography,” “Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History”; Antonio Gramsci, “Notes on Italian History”; Guha, “The Prose of Counter-Insurgency”; Vivek Chibber, Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital; The Debate on Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital, ed. Rosie Warren; Gyan Prakash, “Subaltern Studies as Postcolonial Criticism” November 19: Sovereignty Antony Anghie, “Sovereignty and the Postcolonial State,” in Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of International Law (2005) Kevin Bruyneel, “The U.S.-Indigenous Relationship: A Struggle Over Colonial Rule,” The Third Space of Sovereignty: The Postcolonial Politics of U.S.-Indigenous Relations (2007) Asli Bali and Aziz Rana, “Pax Arabica? Provisional Sovereignty and Intervention in the Arab Uprisings” (2012) Suggested Reading: Siba Grovogui, Sovereignty, Quasi-Sovereignty, and Africans; Iris Marion-Young, “Iroquois Federalism and the Postcolonial Project”; Joan Cocks, On Sovereignty and Other Delusions. November 26: Coloniality and the Decolonial Turn Gurmindar Bhambra, “Postcolonial and Decolonial Dialogues” (2014) Anibel Quijano, “Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality” (2007) María Lugones, “Heterosexism and the Colonial/Modern Gender System” (2007) Arturo Escobar, “Beyond the Third World: Imperial Globality, Global Coloniality and Anti-Globalisation Social Movements” (2004) Suggested Reading: Escobar, Encountering Development; Territories of Difference; Enrique Dussel; Jakeet Singh, “Decolonizing Radical Democracy”; Walter Mignolo; Robbie Shilliam. December 3: Settler Colonialism Patrick Wolfe, “Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native” (2006) Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor” (2012) Kyle Pows Whyte, “Settler Colonialism, Ecology, and Environmental Injustice” (2018) Shannon Speed, “Structures of Settler Capitalism in Abya Yala” (2017) Suggested Reading: Lorenzo Veracini, Settler Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview: Wolfe, Traces of History; Gershon Shafir, Land, Labor, and the Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1882-1914; Edward Said, “Permission to Narrate”; Robert Nichols, Theft is Property! Dispossession and Critical Theory. December 10: Resurgence Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, “Introduction,” “Nishnaabeg Internationalism,” “Queer Indigenous Normativity,” “Land as Pedagogy,” “Conclusion,” in As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance (2017) Suggested Reading: Glen Sean Coulthard, Red Skins, White Masks; Audra Simpson, Mohawk Interruptus; Nick Estes, Our History is the Future; Dian Millon, Therapeutic Nations; Theorizing Native Studies, eds. Simpson and Smith; Sandy Grande, Red Pedagogy: Native American Social and Political Thought Work on empire in political theory: Uday Mehta Barbara Arneil James Tully Jennifer Pitts Joshua Simon Duncan Bell Adam Dahl Sankar Muthu Sunil Agnani Thomas McCarthy Amy Allen Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Alexander Livingston Adom Getachew Important Journals: Interventions Journal of Palestine Studies Settler-Colonial Studies Native American and Indigenous Studies Wicazo Sa Review Third World Quarterly Political Theory Souls Contemporary Political Theory C.L.R James Review