Syllabus
Postcolonial Studies in Gender Perspective
Mgr. et Mgr. Tereza Jiroutová Kynčlová, Ph.D. terezka@gebbeth.cz
Office hours: Monday, 10-12, office C015, Veleslavin Campus. Please send an email prior to your visit. Thank you.
Annotation
The course showcases postcolonial studies as a discipline within literary theory and cultural studies in the scope of which it developed, as well as within critical the analyses of historical and contemporary power structures, social norms and cultural representations of the so-called globalized world, and international relations. The course sees into cultural and social practices relating to diversity, difference and othering from the positions of the center and the margin, it dissects the concepts of objectification of „the other“ and while employing feminist theories and gender as and analytical category it contrasts universalist and relativist thought. Besides the parallels between postcolonial and decolonial theories, the course aims to expose the contribution of feminism to the said modes of thinking.
FAIR ACADEMIC CONDUCT: Failure to acknowledge and properly reference sources of any kind used in assignments, papers and/or presentations is a breach to academic integrity and ethics. At all times, avoid plagiarism of any sort as it is a disciplinary offence and – upon the Faculty of Humanities Disciplinary Committee ruling – may result in termination of study. Presenting some else’s work or ideas as your own and failure to provide credits, acknowledgement, and references to all relevant sources falls under the definition of plagiarism. Should you experience uncertainty about correct ways of quoting and referencing, consult any citation manual and feel free to contact your teachers for advice. We are ready to help you. Also, be advised that the necessity to reference other people’s work and ideas applies equally to published texts (journals, books, articles, newspapers etc.) as well as unpublished texts (lectures, presentations, seminars, student papers, diploma theses etc.). Further, other forms of conveying information besides text are also subject to crediting and referencing, such as video material, audio material, computer code, photographs, graphs, illustrations, sheet music, web sites etc.
Requirements: 1. Active participation in class discussions – 20%
Students will showcase and discuss representations/examples of orientalist discourse encountered in the media, popular culture, daily experience and/or academic disciplines. This activity is constitutes a part of participation grade. 2. At least 1 300-word reaction paper during semester upon assignment – 10% 3. 500-word summary of Nussbaum’s text – 10% (
Please bring a print-out of your summary to class on April 6, 2020. 4. Student presentation on topic/artifact of choice – 20%
In your 10-minute long presentation you provide an analysis of an artifact/painting/film scene/image/PC game/advertisement etc. of your choice. The analysis needs to be carried out from the post/de-colonial perspective and employ gender-sesistive, feminist methods and paradigms. Part of your presentation is an executive summary of your arguments and key points for discussion via which you will receive feedback to be incorporated in your final paper. Please bring a handout with this summary to class for each class participant. The articact/topic you choose to discuss in your presentation should bet he one you will analyze in a greater depth in your final paper. 5. Final test -20%
Final test will consist of 5 questions all pertaining to main arguments and concepts discussed in required readings. The responses to the questions posed in the test will need to be written in full sentences. Ideally, one response should be between 3 to 6 sentences long. 6. Final paper – 20% (Due date: June 15, 2020)
Final paper is an academic essay that analyzes a selected artifact/movie/exhibition/painting/literary work etc. through post/de-colonial perspectives and discusses the intersections with feminist theories and gender studies. The paper is to be maximum 1500 words in length (excluding bibliography). As it is an academic paper, it needs to list the works cited, use inter-textual/parenthetical references and follow proper academic language. Due date: June 15, 2020.
All written assignments are to be submitted via email to: terezka@gebbeth.cz in WORD FORMAT. Thank you.
Topics and Dates: 17.2.
Introduction of class participants, course expectations, course overview, post/de/coloniality in selected artifacts 24.2.
Orientalism: The Orient as a construct, orientalism as a discourse
Required reading:
Jiroutová Kynčlová, Tereza and Blanka Knotková Čapková. “Postcolonial and Decolonial Thought in Feminism and Analyses of Othering Representations.“ Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research, 2017, 18 (2) 2–15.
(Accessible online: https://www.genderonline.cz/uploads/28e9774219816ac60e1ef853304c99c212fcf95c_gender-2-2017-editorial-aj.pdf
Said, E. Orientalism: Western Conception of the Orient. London: Penguin, 2003: 1-28.
Jusová, Iveta. 2016. “Situating Czech Identity.” Pp. 29-45. in Jiřina Šiklová and Iveta Jusová (eds.) Czech feminisms: perspectives on gender in East Central Europe. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2.3. NO CLASS – a make up for the course via visit to One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
Date and time TBA upon publication of festival program on February 18. 9.3.
Colonialism, postcolonialism and research
Required reading:
Tuhiwai Smith, Linda. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London, New York: Zed Books, 1999, 42-77.
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. “Under Western Eyes. Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” boundary 2, 12 (3). On Humanism and the University I: The Discourse of Humanism, 1984, 333-358.
Student presentations 16.3.
Globalist perspectives of the world order in sharp contrast – Huntington, Fukuyama, Said
Required reading:
Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations.” Foreign Affairs. 1993, 72 (3), 22-49.
Fukuyama, Francis. “The End of History?” The National Interest, 1989, 13, 3-18.
Said, Edward. “The Clash of Ignorance.” The Nation, Oct. 4, 2001
(Accessible online: https://www.thenation.com/article/clash-ignorance/)
Student presentations 23.3.
Feminism and multiculturalism
Required reading:
Okin, Susan Moller. “Feminism and Multiculturalism. Some Tensions.” Ethics, 108, 1998: 661-684.
Phillips, Anne. “Multiculturalism, Universalism and the Claims of Democracy.” Democracy, Governance and Human Rights, Programme Paper Number 7, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, December 2001, 1-20.
Student presentations 30.3.
Screening of movie documentary “Ticket to Paradise” 6.4.
Debates within post/colonial and decolonial studies
Required reading:
Grosfoguel Ramón. “Decolonizing Post-Colonial Studies and Paradigms of Political-Economy: Transmodernity, Decolonial Thinking, and Global Coloniality.“ TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 2011,1(1).
Accessible online: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21k6t3fq#main
Student presentations 13.4. NO CLASS – Easter Monday – National Holiday 20.4.
Coloniality of gender
Required reading:
Lugones, Maria. “Toward a Decolonial Feminism.” Hypatia, 25(4), 2010, 742-759.
Mendoza, Breny. “Coloniality of Gender and Power: From Postcoloniality to Decoloniality.“ In Lisa Disch and Mary Hawkesworth, (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016.
Student presentations 27.4. Class given by Blanka Knotková Čapková
Feminist views of human rights
Required reading:
Nussbaum, Martha. Women and the Human Development. The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 2000, 34-106.
Students are required to submit a 500-word summary of Nussbaum’s text in print on April 6 in class. 4.5.
Decolonial thought and femicide/feminicide
Paulina García-Del Moral, "The Murders of Indigenous Women in Canada as Feminicides: Toward a
Annotation
This course focuses on analysing
1. the subject-object relation from the perspective of post-colonial and gender studies meeting points (such as the objectification of the "Oriental" and "feminity", the projected otherness of the subject into the image of the object);
2. universalism and cultural relativism: can universalism also bring equal conceptions, or is cultural relativism the only alternative to the discourse of power?;
3. feminist conceptions in the framework of postcolonial studies;
4. the politics of location and the post/colonial situation context related not only to the "Third" world but also to the "Second" World.