230538 Beginning Postcolonial Studies - in Bielefeld (S) (SoSe 2026)

This reading-intensive course is designed as a critical introduction to the burgeoning field of postcolonial studies. Drawing on a range of theoretical texts, our aim will be to develop a working definition of 'postcolonialism'. Rather than subscribing to the simplistic idea of 'after colonialism', we will read postcolonial societies and cultures as still being subject in one way or another to overt and/or covert forms of colonial domination, oppression and exploitation. In effect, we will discuss postcolonialism as a continuing process of revision and resistance.
The theoretical discussion shall set the ground for the rest of the semester.
Students attending this course as part of HM2.2 will move on to research projects of their own choice. Everybody else will engage in close readings of postcolonial variants of the bildungsroman, starting with Derek Owusu's That Reminds Me before moving on to other texts.
The seminar session will be accompanied by a range of guest lectures, workshops, etc. - check Moodle for more information.

Literaturangaben

Please purchase the following novel:
Derek Owusu, That Reminds Me

Recommended Reading:
Gandhi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory.
McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism.

Check 'Moodle' for further information on the (theoretical) reading material.