Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (391-0-1)

Topic

Against Colonialism

Instructors

Nasrin Qader
847/491-8263
1860 S. Campus Drive, Crowe Hall #2-129
Office Hours: Thursdays 1:30-3:30 or by appointment

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

On September 4, 2026, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new world map in which Africa will be depicted more accurately. Current world maps, based on what is called the "Mercator Projection," from 1569, devised for navigation, shrink land masses closest to the equator. This debate reminds us that decolonization is an active and ongoing process not only historically and politically but also epistemologically, that is including the shifting status of our knowledge. Maps, creations at the intersection of science, history, imagination, and ideology, are not mere representations of the world. Rather, more actively, they configure our position relative to the world and our ideas of it. They are texts that are read and interpreted and thus part and parcel of how power relations are discursively constituted and maintained. For this reason, cartography is a central element in both colonization and decolonization. This course introduces students to key anticolonial and decolonizing works by Francophone African and Caribbean writers and thinkers by beginning with how these regions were mapped. Following a visit to the Herskovits Library of African Studies map collection, we will turn to V. Y. Mudimbe's influential work to understand how "Africa" is foremost a discursive formation; an imagined and invented idea with a long and complex history, rather than a merely natural and self-evident geographical mass. We will expand upon these insights by reading works by Caribbean and African thinkers on colonization's long history, and the diversity of their ideas about what it means to decolonize across generations. Because many of these thinkers are also poets and writers of fiction, our readings will include philosophical, historical, and literary works to explore differences in forms of expression. The course aims to show both the robustness of this complex critical tradition and its shifting and diverse orientations.

Learning Objectives

Apply the techniques of close reading to a wide array of texts (philosophical, historical, literary, and visual). Understand the political and ethical value of thinking about the past for the present.
Understand the relation between history, politics, knowledge, and the imagination in shaping our understanding of our world.
Develop oral ability to analyze texts and communicate ideas clearly and concisely.
Hone writing skill by organizing ideas and arguments in a coherent and persuasive manner.
Learn to generate thoughtful questions based on the materials studied in class.
Challenge thoughtfully and carefully the ideas and assumptions of others as well as their own.

Teaching Method

Lecture: When appropriate, I will lecture to contextualize a problem or question
Readings: Class readings consist of historical/theoretical book chapters and articles
Online work: Each week, students will contribute to Canvas discussion board a substantial paragraph
Group work: Periodically, students will discuss in groups first, and will do peer review of each other's writing
Class participation: Attendance and participation are mandatory
Writing assignments: Short textual analysis, in class writing, and a final project
Other: Midterm exam with essay questions written in class
Presentations: You will present one of the readings on the syllabus to the class (10 minutes)
Discussion: Students come to class prepared to discuss the readings

Evaluation Method

Exam, mid-term: 20%
Paper, final: 25%
Presentations: 10%
Attendance: 5%
Class participation: 5%
Online work: 10%
Peer assessment: 5%
Quizzes: 5%
Writing assignments: 15%

Class Materials (Required)

Tentative Reading List [books will be ordered at Norris Bookstore [Digital versions of books acceptable]. Pdfs of selections and article references will be posted on Canvas in Files folder. Lindsay Frederick Braun, "Cartography in Colonial Africa" (article) Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism (9781583670255) Aimé Césaire, Notebook of a Return to the Native Land (poetry) (978-0819564528) Maryse Condé "Suzanne Césaire and the Construct of Caribbean Identity" (article) Souleymane Bachir Diagne "In Praise of the Post-racial Negritude" (article) Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Mask (9780802143006) Doris Garraway, Libertine Colony (Introduction—selection). Edouard Glissant Caribbean Discourse (selection) Edouard Glissant Mahogany (novel) (978-1496201782) Achille Mbembe "Decolonizing the University" (article) Albert Memmi, The Colonizer and the Colonized (978-1788167727) V. Y Mudimbe Idea of Africa (selections) Felwin Sarr Afrotopia (selections) Léopold Sédar Senghor "Negritude: A Humanism of the Twentieth Century" (essay) ------ (selected poems)

Class Notes

Please no eating during class. Drink is fine.
Please turn off your phones before walking in the classroom. No texting, surfing the internet, social media, checking email during class.
You are expected to be in class for the duration of the quarter (this means from the first day of the quarter to the last day of classes and for any meetings during reading week. Since your final paper will be submitted by email, you are free to send it after your departure from campus if you are done with exams before the end of exam week).
No make up or late work will be accepted unless pre-arranged and pre-approved. Please familiarize yourself with university guidelines for missing classes.
Accessibility requests must be made in advance.
AI Policy: Assignments for this course must be entirely student work, even if there are imperfections. Self-correction is the best tool for learning and sharpening one's thinking. Assignments will be scrutinized for AI content and if work is found not to have been produced by the student, it will be deemed equivalent to cheating.

Class Attributes

SoC Additional Distro