S: Interrogating the “International” in International Relations - WS 2022/23

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a rich and varied tradition of postcolonial and decolonial thought in the study of international relations. The seminars will engage with prominent texts of postcolonial scholarship over the decades, and introduce students to the limits and possibilities of critique to think about international politics beyond the scope of a Western centric or an American dominated social science. Students will be familiarised with major thinkers, map key debates and concerns that have animated postcolonial international relations thought, and develop an appreciation of the scope, aims, diversity of thought and methodological positions that sit under the umbrella of postcolonial/decolonial IR. By the end of the course, students shall be in the position to identify an appropriate topic for their term paper and proceed with a paper that engages the material covered in the classes.

The course will be conducted in a block seminar style. The language of instruction is English.