Theory and Methods I · Middle Eastern, South Asian, And African Studies
A other thinking way. Don't take existing concepts or theories for granted.
This is an extremely useful and enlightening course for first-year students who are about to research any discipline that is located within the space of "social sciences" or "humanities." Especially as students in a department like MESAAS, yes, we are researching on the world beyond the West; however, if we have not obtained the opportunity to get a sense of what makes the West (particularly in the sense of its knowledge system), then our critique and the potential subversion, reparation, and emancipation will not manifest as profoundly as we would expect. Professor Mitchell is a wonderful teacher who understands the elegant balance between interpreting his own thoughts, parsing out the analytical and explanatory frameworks and concepts in the readings and acting as interlocutor to initiate conversations and discussions among us. Definitely worth taking it!
I gained experience working with a variety of critical authors and theories
If I were being exceedingly generous, I would say it was an educational experience in how NOT to run an introductory course.
This course offered a great opportunity to read work from the Global South and thus pushed for a different decolonial epistemology.
We studied unrelated texts, we never understood their relation to one another. The instructor did not give us any background or context of the readings until AFTER we finished discussing them in class. The course is supposed to be "Theory and Methods" but we studied neither. It was mostly texts that the instructor found relevant to his own work or that he was acquainted/friends' with the authors, but no one understands how they are supposed to be relevant to us for our future projects. I came out of this course with no added knowledge from the instructor. If I learned anything at all it was on my own.
The content of this course is interesting, but unfortunately it's teacher does not offer his students a comfortable setting to explore this content beyond 'what is written', how it reflects on today's reality and, at times, beyond his own personal views and interests.
I would definitely not recommend this to anyone. I am very disappointed with this semester, it was such a missed opportunity at learning. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: MDESGR5000_001_2022_3-THEORYANDMETHODSI : MDESGR5000_001_2022_3 - THEORY AND METHODS I Instructor: Mahmood Mamdani