166-123 'The World Is an Amazing Place': the Politics of Other Cultures

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject addresses the problems posed in the attempt to understand cultures other than ones own; principally cultures within the non-west. The role played in historical and contemporary approaches to the study of other cultures by such categories as race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, progress and development, and notions of universal human rights. Specific reference will be made to literary texts, history and film. Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to: demonstrate a knowledge of some of the issues raised by the attempt to study another culture; understand and assess a range of arguments which seek to expand the meaning of the political; understand how, and by whom, a culture is represented in a variety of texts, including novels, film and scholarly works; develop relevant knowledge and skills on which to base further studies in politics or cultural studies; demonstrate an improved facility in researching and writing essays and presenting arguments in class.

Assessment

Written work totalling 4000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• E Said, Orientalism.
• E Said, Culture and Imperialism.