Welcome to the course! (& intro task)
This post introduces you to the course and its creators, and offers a first task based upon researching colonial relationships.
Postcolonial Perspectives
Course Aim:
To enable students to understand different meanings of postcolonialism, and expose students to key themes, debates and scholarship in the field of postcolonial studies, asking them to apply these theories to development practice and wider social conversations.
Postcolonial Perspectives will run for six weeks starting March 4, 2024.
To find out more about the course curriculum, visit this course document: EduSpots Postcolonial Perspectives online course Summer 2022-2
About EduSpots:
EduSpots aims to connect, train, and equip individuals to catalyse long-lasting community-led change, working across the UK and Ghana. We won the Tes International Award in 2018 for the best international education project in the UK. See www.eduspots.org for more information on our wider work.
EduSpots Online Courses
The EduSpots online courses aim to challenge pupils to critically reevaluate their assumptions about creating social change through listening to the lived experiences of pupils in different contexts, as well as offering the core theory needed to build successful service projects.
The courses are written collaboratively by the EduSpots team, based on a wide range of readings and an MA in Education and International Development at UCL, with advice from a number of professionals in the development field. Reflection on our positionality as writers is a central part of the course.
Reporting and certification
Pupils will receive a certificate at the end if they successfully complete the course by commenting on a minimum of 5 out of 6 posts, with those offering the most thoughtful responses receiving a distinction and some being awarded ‘top in cohort’ prizes.
Profits:
Note that any profits raised from this course will be used to support the development work of EduSpots in Ghana, enabling educational ‘catalysts’ (teachers, students, and community members) to lead educational change in their communities. The course is free for all state school students and Ghanaian community volunteers.
Week 1 - What is a postcolonial perspective?
This week introduces us all to the diverse meanings of 'postcolonialism' as an area of academic study and discourse, alongside its practical applications.
Week 2 - Development and Postcolonialism
This post explores the relationship between postcolonial theory and theories of development, looking at competing notions of development, and critically exploring development terminology.
Week 4 - Orientalism
In this post we explore Edward Said's Orientalism, relating this to modern day discussions of racism and 'Othering'.
Week 3 - Exploring Postcolonialism Through Text
This post explores the work and ideas of Fanon, Chinua Achebe, and Tsitsi Dangaremba.
Week 5 - Postcolonialism and Education
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Week 6 - Othering, Agency and the Path ahead
This post aims to get us thinking into the future, whilst recognising the history that has determined our present, and considering how our understanding of it must inform the path ahead.
