IRS 375 Postcolonial International Relations

This course aims to examine the well-established field of international relations through a theoretical and practical postcolonial lens; asking important questions about the nature of regional, racial and gendered biases within Western-centric IR studies and assessing their real-world impact in the projection of state power. Students will be given a comprehensive understanding of the field of postcolonialism and its significance in the context of international relations theory through the writings of several lead theorists. The course will then move deeper into subjects of postcolonial statecraft, armed resistance, interventionism, international development, and the postcolonial global political economy - accompanied by relevant case studies - to help students get a more tangible sense of the power dynamics within pre-existing postcolonial relationships and how they have impacted our understanding of state power, foreign policy and international relations at-large. Issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, identity, hegemony, power, discourse, exploitation, development, and politics will be central to the discussion.