Department of English

This first year seminar will explore global, comparative histories of empire and anti-imperial resistance in the 19th and 20th centuries. Empires like the British and French empires decisively shaped modern ideas about civilization, race, citizenship, and globalization. They transformed and connected regional cultures, economies and communities in a planetary order that continues to structure our societies today. Through close engagement with literature from across contexts like Haiti, Algeria and India, this course will introduce students to foundational debates on the nature, history and aftermath of empire. It will also study cultures and movements of anticolonial resistance. We will discuss critical understandings of colonialism and imperialism, and explore the complex, intertwined processes through which empires are established, maintained, experienced and resisted. The course will also consider contemporary empires and anti-imperialist struggles, and topics covered will include slavery, colonization, racial capitalism, migration, and cultural exchange. The class will take an interdisciplinary approach, and course material will include poetry, archival sources, novels, film and theoretical writing. Assigned texts will aim to introduce students to key thinkers on questions of imperialism and anticolonialism like Edward Said, Frantz Fanon and C.L.R. James. Assignments will include class participation, presentation, weekly posts and final paper. All texts will be in English, no prerequisite knowledge or expertise needed.