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. While focussing on British colonialism, not least because the British Empire was the largest ever, we will also discuss how post/colonial traces and legacies affect our everyday lives in Bielefeld. As for primary literature, we will engage in close readings of postcolonial variants of the bildungsroman: Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions and Derek Owusu's That Reminds Me.

Bibliography

Please purchase the following two novels:
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
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.