CompHist of SettlerColonialism

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Settler colonialism has been a permanent feature of the modern age, yet its utility as an analytical concept receded to the margins of efforts to understand the forces that shape the political, economic, and cultural landscapes of our contemporary world. In the wake of grassroots mobilizations and political debates around the question of justice for indigenous peoples, continued economic exploitation of populations in ostensibly de-colonized states, as well as ongoing settler violence and ethnic cleansing processes unfolding in occupied lands, the concept of settler colonialism has resurfaced as an explanatory tool in recent years. This course aims to explore this phenomenon, both conceptually and in its varied manifestations around the world. The course begins with an examination of the theoretical frameworks that inform analyses of this phenomenon. Historian Patrick Wolfe has defined settler colonialism as “an inclusive, land-centred project that coordinates a comprehensive range of agencies, from the metropolitan centre to the frontier encampment, with a view to eliminating Indigenous societies.” Other conceptions have expanded upon this definition, informed in large part by shifts in emphasis on particular themes, including political economy, law, race, gender, empire, and the environment, as well as on empirical research covering diverse geographies. Following on from the theoretical discussion, the course then engages with a wide array of historical case studies, many of which have contributed greatly to theoretical discussions around settler colonialism and its persistence in the contemporary world. Beginning in the Americas, and continuing with examples from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, the course maintains a global focus, exploring both the commonalities across varied geographies, while also highlighting the unique features that have defined manifestations of settler colonialism across time and space. Along with the examination of individual cases, the course compares expressions of settler colonialism as represented in popular culture. Finally, having examined the persistence of settler colonial structures in contemporary societies, the course concludes with a discussion of notions of decolonization.