Overview
Module 1 Overview:For this module, we start things off by investigating the conceptual underpinnings of imperialism. Basically: what is imperialism? How do we think about it? And—crucially—how do we talk about it? What is the real-world value of talking about it? And who gets to talk about it?
Our first reading is an interview with Booker-award winning author, journalist, and activist Arundhati Roy (from 2018). Here, the question is one of how to think about empire as it functions in our daily lives today. What are its mechanisms and functions, how can we trace its appendages, and is our language sufficient in even describing it? Pay close attention to her remarks about the term postcolonial and its usage today.
Alexander Hainy-Khaleeli’s piece (from 2021) also asks us to reflect on our reflexive use of the term empire in daily discourse, taking on one of the most widespread tropes we have about empire: Afghanistan as “The Graveyard of Empires.” Why do we describe Afghanistan like that? If it is more a fantasy than an historical reality, why do we keep saying so? Who benefits from that appellation?
Finally, Gabriela Soto Laveaga (2020) moves us into a sustained interrogation of imbalances in the production of historical knowledge, and suggests new directions as well.
Discussion
For your discussions, I do not want you to summarize the texts, as we should all be reading the sources together. Focus instead on your analysis of the text, and the analytical conversations of yours peers, and what all this tells us about bigger questions about imperialism.
The discussion boards are meant to be wide-ranging and conversational in nature. This means that I do not expect you to provide full-fledged academic citations on the boards. When page numbers are available, I do expect you to provide them in your parenthetical citations when bringing up evidence (e.g. Laveaga 440). I also expect your citations to provide direct quotes from the material. This is so that both I and your peers can look up what you are saying for reference as they think through our shared questions. And I do expect you to ground your responses in the reading through those parenthetical citations in order to gain full marks.
How do our sources construct empire and imperialism? What does it mean to them? Are the authors’ arguments convincing? Why or why not?
At all times, remember that this conversation is grounded in the materials we have all read.
Readings: How to Think about EmpireLinks to an external site.