Module description
Working against the grain of colonial, Eurocentric and diffusionist narratives of global expansion and of centres and peripheries, this module will explore the nationalising and partitioning work of states, languages, territories, epistemologies and historiographies. In order to do so, it will analyse prominent conceptual paradigms that have defined intellectual discourse and artistic and cultural production in the Global South such as mestizaje/mestiçagem, hybridity, heterogeneity focusing on their evolution and metamorphoses. It will pay special attention to how alterity, gender and coloniality inflect the region’s intellectual and artistic production.
The module’s non-linear, multi-disciplinary and decolonial mapping of the Global South links the historical and the contemporary, over three continents, multiple linguistic communities, and multiple faith groups—Africa (North and Sub-Saharan), the Americas (North and South) and Western Europe, the varieties of Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages; Christianity, Judaism, Islam and indigenous religions.
Assessment details
1 x formative essay/plan; 1 x 4000-word summative essay 100%
Educational aims & objectives
By challenging Eurocentric perspectives this broad-ranging and comparative module aims to trace interconnections between coloniality and the multiple experiences of modernity. It will engage students in discussions on the historical, political, social, and cultural dynamics that shaped narratives on and from the Global South, exploring its epistemologies, practices and aesthetic forms.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will acquire skills, knowledge and understanding appropriate to credit level 7, and in particular will be able to:
- Situate and critically analyse the theoretical and critical traditions and cultural practices from the Global South
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of these traditions and practices in dialogue and counterpoint with other northern and southern traditions.
- Critically interrogate the intersections of gender, sexuality and ethnicities.
- Assess and situate particular social and historical contexts associated to these traditions and practices.
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct independent, original research and organised inquiry, using academic resources, in order to produce sustained pieces of work for assessment.
Teaching pattern
two hours per week
Suggested reading list
Texts/Primary Materials may include:
- Amilcar Cabral – writings/film
- Paulina Chiziane – writings
- Gloria Anzaldúa – writings
- Rigoberta Menchú – writings/film
- Valeria Luiselli - writings