PSCI 367
Decolonizing International Relations Spring 2022
Division II Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed PSCI 367 / GBST 367
This is not the current course catalog

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Decolonization as “the withdrawal from its colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence by such colonies.” The emergence of an international system of sovereign states–the core foundation of international relations–presumes the process of dismantling systems of domination, extraction, and exclusion ended long ago. However, there is increasing recognition that International Relations in all forms, including theory, research, and policy, continue to be structured by traditional paradigms of power (e.g. white, male, elite). This course begins with the premise that knowledge is embedded within, and often reproduces, power hierarchies. Thus, this class is organized as a collaborative investigation with the aims of: 1) examining how whiteness and other historically dominant perspectives shape International Relations theory and research areas; 2) expanding and improving our understanding of International Relations through different lenses (e.g. race, class, gender, disability, indigenous, queer, subaltern); and 3) exploring the implications of a more inclusive approach to International Relations, both within the classroom as well as contemporary decolonization movements in the US and around the world.