Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - CMNS 824 G100

Colonialism, Culture and Identity (5)

Class Number: 8307

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Mon, 6:30–9:20 p.m.
    Location: TBA

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of colonialism, culture, and identity with a focus on the strategies used by diasporic communities and (neo)colonial subjects to address the impact of colonial violence as well as create ethical communities. Historical and contemporary case studies will be examined. Students who took CMNS 855 in Term 1071 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

Anishinaabe scholar Grace L. Dillon coined the term “Indigenous futurisms” to describe a body of Indigenous cultural production that uses the conventions of speculative genres (science fiction, horror, fantasy) to imagine futures not determined by the advancement of Western, colonial technocultures, but by worldviews and technologies rooted in and emerging from Indigenous epistemologies. Where the colonial imaginary consigns Indigenous peoples to a dying past, Indigenous speculative fiction firmly situates Indigenous peoples in futures shaped by Indigenous values, knowledge systems, and technologies.

This course examines Indigenous futurisms as an aesthetic movement and a philosophy of history, science, and technology. Through readings, discussions, screenings/viewings and assignments, students will investigate Indigenous futurisms and speculative cultural production as a way to understand history, the legacies of colonization, scientific knowledge, technologies, and Indigenous identities. The course also examines the intellectual history of the movement, placing it in conversation with Afrofuturisms, Latinx futurisms, and others, to understand its relationship to broader anti-colonial resistance movements. Students will be grounded in scholarship on Indigenous epistemologies, political and critical theory, Indigenous and Western scientific thought, philosophies of technology, and visual culture. We will also examine how gender, sexuality, and ability bear on Indigenous speculative cultural production. Course content will prepare students to build on this material in the development of their own research projects.

Grading

  • Participation 20%
  • Readings presentation 10%
  • Paper Proposal and Annotated Bibliography 15%
  • Final Paper Presentation 5%
  • Final Paper 50%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

  • Required readings will be available as PDF documents on the CMNS 824 Canvas webpage under “Files.”

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).