(in Polish) Cywilizacja Azji Południowej(Z) 3600-7-IN5-CAP(Z)

The course aims to introduce students to the issues of colonialism and postcolonial theory in the context of South Asian countries.

During the course, we will analyse together the cultural, psychological and political mechanisms and effects of British colonialism in South Asia. We will also attempt to answer questions such as: How did the colonial experience change South Asia? Which elements of the colonial legacy shape the region’s present? How has colonialism influenced the self-image of the people of South Asia? How can one speak or write about the postcolonial world without falling into the trap of colonial stereotypes?

During the course, key texts of postcolonial theory and decolonial thought will also be analysed, and the opportunities these strands offer for understanding the contemporary (post)colonial world will be highlighted.

Essential reading:

Gandhi, Leela, "Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction", Columbia University Press: New York 2019

Loomba, Ania, "Colonialism/Postcolonialism", Routledge: London and New York 2015

Additional texts:

Chibber, Vivek, "Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital", Navayana: New Delhi 2013

D’Hauteserre, Anne-Marie, “Postcolonialism, Colonialism, and Tourism” w: Lew, Alan A., C. Michael Hall i Allan M. Williams (red.), A Companion to Tourism, Blackwell Publishing: Oxford 2004

Dirks, Nicolas B., "Castes of Mind", Princeton University Press: Princeton 2001

Inden, Ronald, “Orientalist Constructions of India”, Modern Asian Studies 20, 3 (1983)

King, Richard, “Orientalism and the Modern Myth of “Hinduism””, w: Numen, Vol. 46, No. 2 (1999), pp. 146-185 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270313)

Kipling, Rudyard, "Kim", Macmillan and Co. Ltd: London 1902

Kipling, Rudyard, “White Man’s Burden”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Man's_Burden

Nandy, Ashis, "The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self under Colonialism", Oxford University Press: Delhi 2009

Schopen, Gregory, "Archaeology and Protestant Presuppositions in the Study of Indian Buddhism", in: History of Religion Vol. 31, No. 1 (Aug., 1991), pp. 1-23. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062872)

Smith, David, "Orientalism and Hinduism", in: Gavin Flood (ed.), "The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism", Blackwell Publishing: Oxford 2003

Viswanathan, Gauri, “Colonialism and the Construction of Hinduism”, w: Gavin Flood (ed.), "The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism", Blackwell Publishing: Oxford 2003