Political Spaces, Representation and Decentralisation in the Postcolonial State

Recommended Prerequisites

Proficiency in Portuguese and in English. Knowledge of theories and methods of the social sciences, in particular of sociology, anthropology, or human geography.

Teaching Methods

Eacj seminar iniates with a short presentation by the lecturer, to introduce the topic. It is followed by a collective discussion of the readings assigned for each class, prepared through reading notes and presentations by the students. At the end of the seminar each student has to prepare a 15-page analytical essay.

Learning Outcomes

The objective of this curricular unit is to help the students to develop a rigorous knowledge throught critica reading and debate on space, state and political participation on postcolonial contexts.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

I. Introduction: Knowledge in Africa and Representations of Development

- The African context

- Development and Globalization

II. Space, State and Participation in Africa

- Production of Space and Spatial Practices

- Formal and Informal Processes  of Participation in the City

- Cities, Citizenship and Politics in the Global South

III. Spaces of Postcoloniality

- Creating Territorial Space for Post-Colonialism

- Territorial and Cultural Spaces and the Representation of the Self

- The Architecture of Power and the Limits of Post-Colonial Endeavor

- Can the Others Speak?

Head Lecturer(s)

Tiago Luís Lavandeira Castela

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Periodic or by final exam as given in the course information: 100.0%

Bibliography

Coquery-Vidrovitch, C. (2009), The History of African Cities South of the Sahara. Princeton: Markus Winer.

Dhada, M. (2016), O Massacre Português de Wiriamu, Moçambique, 1972. Lisboa: Tinta-da-china.

Ferguson, J. (2006), Global Shadows. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Holston, J. (2007), Insurgent Citizenship. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Lefebrve, H. (1996), "The right to the city", in Kofman, E.; Lebas, E. (ed.), Writings on cities, Cambridge, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Mbembe, A. (2014), Crítica da Razão Negra. Lisboa: Antígona.

Mudimbe, V. (1988), The Invention of Africa. Ohio: Indiana University Press.

Roy, A.: AlSayyad, N. (2004), Urban informality: transnational perspectives from the Middle East, Latin America, and South Asia. Lanham: Lexington.

Roy, A. (2011), “Slumdog Cities: Rethinking Subaltern Urbanism”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 35 (2), 223–38.

Stoler, A.-L. (2002), “Colonial Archives and the Arts of Governance”, Archival Science, 2.