Module description
In the midst of growing global turmoil, IPE as a discipline faces increasing pressure to overcome its imperial legacies. Indeed, several of the transformations taking place in the global political economy cannot be understood without an in-depth analysis of the history and legacy of colonialism and imperialism, and without questioning the resulting denial of agency to people outside Europe. The so-called decline of the west, the return of east Asia at the centre of the world economy, the new scramble for Africa, wars, migration, and new forms of racial and gender oppression: all these phenomena cannot be understood in isolation from the process of worldwide expansion of capitalism and colonialism, and the national, racial and gender hierarchies it engendered. But these phenomena cannot be understood either in isolation from the global struggle for emancipation and the massive wave of anti-colonial movements that opened with the Haitian revolution and then grew in the following century breaking the legitimacy of colonial and racial domination. This module seeks to overcome the separation between political economy and postcolonial studies, investigating the linkages between empire and political economy, and the forces and theoretical traditions that have sought to disrupt this partnership both outside and in the West. By introducing students to the rich but often neglected history of anti-colonial movements, this module discusses the achievements and limitations of decolonization and investigates the economic, political and epistemological issues it raises (including debates on de-coloniality and southern epistemologies). By decentring the way in which political economy questions are posed, it seeks to provide students with tools to give new answers to the challenges of the present.
*Please note that module information is provisional and may change from year to year.
Assessment details
One 3,000 Word Essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
- Introducing students to post-colonialism as a distinctive approach to International Political Economy
- Exploring the relationship between political economy and the history and theories of empire and imperialism
- Familiarizing students with the history of anti-colonial movements and the political economy of de-colonization
- Investigating different strands of anti-racist thought, including Third World feminism, and the relationship between class, race, gender and empire
- Assessing the relevance of southern perspectives to contemporary debates on hegemonic transition, neo-colonialism, imperialism, extractivism, and migration
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Analyze the relationship between political economy and empire
- Appraise the contribution of post-colonialism to International Political Economy
- Describe the history of the anti-colonial movement and decolonization
- Identify the main political economy challenges of decolonization using different theoretical traditions
- Investigate the political economy of migration and racialization
- Debate the relationship between class, race, gender and empire
- Develop skills of empirical analysis by exploring the theoretical issues in case studies
- Critically select an appropriate mix of sources
Employability
This module will allow students to develop transferable skills and knowledge that are highly sought-after in both the public and private sector, especially at a time of crisis in the understanding of multiculturalism, race relations, and religious and national affiliations.
- Assess the political economy dimensions of issues of difference and identity
- Relate to broader movements to decolonize British and Western societies, beyond as well as within the academy
- Address broader Diversity and Inclusion issues, which are increasingly crucial in workplaces and management.
Teaching pattern
One-hour lecture and one-hour seminar, weekly
Indicative teaching schedule
Week 1: Postcolonial political economy
Week 2: From diversity to divergence
Week 3: Empire of economics
Week 4: Empire contested
Week 5: Racism and Black power
Week 6: Decolonization: an unfinished project
Week 7: Women, workers and subalterns
Week 8: Neoliberalism and empire
Week 9: Bordering surplus populations
Week 10: Decolonizing pandemic politics
Note that this teaching schedule is indicative and subject to change.
Suggested reading list
- Angela Davis (1983) Women, Race and Class (Vintage Books)
- Franz Fanon (1967) The Wretched of the Earth (Penguin)
- Kwame Nkrumah (1966) Neo-Colonialism: The Highest Stage of Imperialism (Thomas Nelson & Sons)
- Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik (2016) A Theory of Imperialism (Columbia University Press).
- Walter Rodney (1972) How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Bogle L’Ouverture)
- Edward Said (1978) Orientalism (Penguin)
- Gayatri C. Spivak (1999) A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Towards a History of the Vanishing Present (Harvard University Press)