Colonization/decolonization · Ethnicity And Race Studies
I taught me more formal elements of academic, reaching out to scholars, peer reviewing etc. It also brought a diverse perspective on colonialism, which I had a base understanding of, it merely enhanced it.
It was a wonderful survey not only of the history of colonization, but also of the mixing of ideas across the world through various imperialisms.
This course synthesized everything that I have learned about politics, economics, systems of power, history, and philosophy to date.
I learned world history, I learned about the tactics and depth of colonialism, how these structures permeate absolutely everything. I learned about the complexity of decolonization, the fact that there is no one answer, that it is so important not to flatten decolonial processes, and so much more.
I learned a surface-level understanding of different forms of colonization globally over the past few hundred years, with particular attention to the Americas and parts of Asia and Pacific Islands. Less attention was placed on African colonization and skills like synthesis, cross-referencing, and primary-source analysis.
creating more reader-facing writing, interpreting various historical documents using accumulated theory-derived insights
Through primary sources I learned how to be more critical of colonization, but also question my previous notions about decolonization.
For this iteration of Colonization/Decolonization, we focused on the university as a colonial project, and how disciplines like sociology and anthropology (among others) emerged through colonial interests, including land grants, charters, and other documents.
You learn the history of interactions between societies, starting in the 9th century, all the way to sophisticated colonial institutions that persist to this day. You learn about how colonization operates not just materially, but socially, psychologically, and even philosophically.
I learned a lot about colonization in the past, present, and what it might look like in the future. This class expanded my views and also challenged them. I also gained an understanding about how interdisciplinary this problem is, and how we can do something about it in any field we might find ourselves in.