This course offers various lenses to critically understand and work against colonial systems of power. First, it introduces critical scholarship on the structural dimensions of European imperialism, capitalism and racism, which have constituted the modern world. Second, to think comparatively about how palimpsestic colonial formations interact over time, it provides an overview of Iberian and Anglo-American (US) empires in Asia and Latin America from the 16th century to the present. It then focuses on late-19th century to mid-20th century Japanese empire and settler colonialism across the Pacific. Lastly, it tackles de/coloniality – that is, the patterns of power that originate from European colonial relations and shape our modern experience, labour and knowledge production – and the limits of, and alternatives to, imperial knowledges.

This course serves as an introduction to the 500-level course (to be taught in WN 2023), "Structural, Relational and Intersectional Formations of Race in Asia and Latin America," and is open to students interested in Japanese studies and Latin American studies, critical studies of ethnicity and race, as well as history and sociology.

Intended Audience:

Open to students interested in Japanese studies and Latin American studies, critical studies of ethnicity and race, as well as history and sociology.