Admission requirements
Admission to (one of) the programme(s) listed under Part of in the information bar on the right
Description
‘Every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate.’ Edward W. Said, 2003
European empire formation, imperialism, and colonization have profoundly shaped the modern world. However, as themes in political philosophy and in the literature on global justice, these phenomena have led a relatively marginal existence. In this course, we will approach the question of empire in political philosophy from both an intellectual-historical and a systematic perspective.
In the first half of the course, we will read classical texts from the eighteenth and nineteenth century and focus on the relation between modern political thought and European imperial expansion. We will explore how key liberal concepts – freedom and despotism, individual autonomy, territorial sovereignty – were conceived of in the context of imperial and commercial expansion beyond Europe, and indeed sometimes served as justifications for theses practices. With a focus on theories of legitimate occupation and self-governance, as well as ideas of social progress and development, the central question will be how political philosophies apparently grounded in universal and democratic principles could serve to legitimate imperial domination and intervertionist policies.
In the second half of the course, we will focus on twentieth- and twenty-first-century theories of colonialism and decolonization. We will discuss whether colonization constitutes a specific wrong, the temporality of the project of decolonization, the meaning of national self-determination and the question of reparations. We will read broadly from both the anti-colonial and postcolonial tradition, and as well as from recent scholarly works.
Throughout these two tracks, we will continuously examine what it means to philosophize in the shadow of empire.
Course objectives
The course aims to investigate the questions that pertain to the problems of empire and colonialism in modern and contemporary political philosophy by reading both classical texts from key thinkers and current scholarly works. Students will be expected to analyse, critically assess, and compare the main arguments of these texts in both written and oral form.
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
Classical justifications for and critiques of empire formation.
Different theories of imperialism and different concepts of empire, colonialism, and decolonisation.
Key debates about imperialism, colonialism, and decolonisation in contemporary political thought.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
Reconstruct, interpret, compare and critically evaluate the main ideas, concepts and problems relating to the question of empire in modern political thought.
Critically engage with secondary literature on the topic.
Propose and defend both in writing and orally, central arguments pertaining to the different parts of the course.
Write an independent paper.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar.
Attendance is mandatory.
Assessment method
Assessment
Active participation: class attendance and active participation in the seminars are mandatory. If you miss more than two classes, you will be asked to write a paper in which you discuss the readings for the weeks you have missed. If, due to logistical or health-related reasons, you cannot come to the campus, please inform the lecturer;
Questions for discussion: each week you will be required to submit a question for discussion on the readings for that week to the forum on Brightspace. The purpose of this exercise is to facilitate an active engagment with the text and to help the professor to indentify what issues will be of central concern to the class.
Midterm examination: the midterm examination is an in-class examination consisting of open essay-questions on the course material.
Final research paper.
Weighing
Midterm examination (30%);
Final paper (70%).
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
The resit will consist of a take-home exam composed of two parts: a text commentary and a research paper of 5000w. The mark for the resit will replace all previously earned marks for subtests. No separate resits will be offered for subtests.
Class participation and completion of non-marked assignments practical assignments are mandatory requirements for taking the resit. Students who have obtained a satisfactory grade for the first examination cannot take the resit.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Subject to change, central authors will include:
Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, G.W.F Hegel, John Stuart Mill, Alexis de Tocqueville, Anna J. Cooper, W.E.B. du Bois, M.K. Gandhi, Hannah Arendt, Franzt Fanon, Edward Said, Gayatri C. Spivak, Adom Getachew, Lea Ypi, Catherine Lu, Glen S. Coulthard.
A full bibliography with primary and secondary readings will be made available at least three weeks before the course begins.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar on the right.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office:
Remarks
Some knowledge of the history of European empire formation and the history of decolonization in the 20th century will be a great advantage in this course. Suggestions for background readings will be provided in the month before the beginning of the course.