Who Owns Culture?
Who Owns Culture? History, Culture and Decolonization Modern European imperial states devoted considerable time and effort to creating the norms and forms of European life in their colonies. This involved establishing European schools, languages, literature, music, dress, and art as superior to the indigenous cultures of the colonies. During the era of decolonization many thinkers from the colonies began to argue that political emancipation would also require a cultural emancipation. To decolonize the state one had to decolonize one’s state of mind. How could this be achieved? Who “owns” culture? These and other questions will be pursued through the writings of Gandhi, Césaire, Fanon, Memmi, Thiong’o, and others.
Who Owns Culture? History, Culture and Decolonization Modern European imperial states devoted considerable time and effort to creating the norms and forms of European life in their colonies. This involved establishing European schools, languages, literature, music, dress, and art as superior to the indigenous cultures of the colonies. During the era of decolonization many thinkers from the colonies began to argue that political emancipation would also require a cultural emancipation. To decolonize the state one had to decolonize one’s state of mind. How could this be achieved? Who “owns” cultu …Read more
Professor Prakash is an extremely effective lecturer. The class in itself is discussion-based and somewhat student-led with frequent (but beneficial) interruptions by Prof. Prakash. Prof. Prakash is extremely knowledgeable on the subject of the course, and his enthusiasm is evident anytime he talks (especially when the subject is Frantz Fanon). There are two essays per semester, and although the prompts are somewhat aggravatingly open-ended, the writing itself is not too difficult. His grading is fair and his feedback is clear. There are a lot of readings, but they're all very interesting.
Professor Prakash is an extremely effective lecturer. The class in itself is discussion-based and somewhat student-led with frequent (but beneficial) interruptions by Prof. Prakash. Prof. Prakash is extremely knowledgeable on the subject of the course, and his enthusiasm is evident anytime he talks (especially when the subject is Fra …Read more
the readings are pretty dense and long and because the class is completely discussion based, you have to read to participate. Definitely hard reads so can be tough to read the whole thing in depth or be fully prepped for class, but Amit is helpful with explaining the readings. The constant discussions can get a bit old, but it's nice being able to listen to peers rather than a lecture.
the readings are pretty dense and long and because the class is completely discussion based, you have to read to participate. Definitely hard reads so can be tough to read the whole thing in depth or be fully prepped for class, but Amit is helpful with explaining the readings. The constant discussions can get a bit old, but it's nice …Read more
This class was really engaging and was formatted in complete discussion style. It is hard/impossible to contribute if you don't do the reading, but if you do the discussions are interesting and fruitful. I feel like I've learned a lot of important information about coloniality and decolonization in this course. I feel like a more well rounded student having it under my belt. Amit understands that this class is a FYS and seems to intentionally make it not burdensome. The readings can be really long though.
This class was really engaging and was formatted in complete discussion style. It is hard/impossible to contribute if you don't do the reading, but if you do the discussions are interesting and fruitful. I feel like I've learned a lot of important information about coloniality and decolonization in this course. I feel like a more wel …Read more
This course covered the politics of culture in the process of decolonization. Amit was very knowledgeable on this topic and guided thoughtful and interesting conversations. Class consisted of a short lecture and then long discussions of the readings for the day. We read many short books by authors including Jamaica Kincaid, Fanon, and Césaire. Readings could be long (60-80 pages) but each was valuable and thought provoking. Amit was very supportive and understanding of students needs and constantly checked in with how we were doing. I would recommend taking a course with him.
This course covered the politics of culture in the process of decolonization. Amit was very knowledgeable on this topic and guided thoughtful and interesting conversations. Class consisted of a short lecture and then long discussions of the readings for the day. We read many short books by authors including Jamaica Kincaid, Fanon, an …Read more
Professor Prakash was an amazing teacher, and I felt very supported by his teaching style. Though lecture could be a large part of this class, given the amount of content that is covered, he put a huge emphasis on discussion. The content was important, and the readings were well chosen. There were also only two papers per semester!
The class is a bit boring. Sometimes feels just like a book club and is not very engaging. The readings are sometimes dense, so you can get discouraged to do it. I would not take this course again. Sometimes it feels like an echochamber