LINK TO COURSE SYLLABUS
CHALLENGE:
Design a 7-week course that provides students with a holistic understanding of key concepts in decolonial theory.
SOLO PROJECT
SKILLS:
course design / research / research synthesis / writing / lecturing / feedback & critique
TOOLS:
google drive apps / adobe illustrator / medium
INTRODUCTION
As a Master’s student in the Spring of 2018, I undertook an independent study on decolonial theory and design, advised by then-Ph.D. candidates Ahmed Ansari and Silvia Mata-Marin at Carnegie Mellon University School of Design. (An informal Medium blog on my reflections from this study can be viewed here). I subsequently continued my research into decolonial theory for my own doctoral research. The seminar course “Decoloniality: Past, Present, and Future” was an outcome of those investigations.
In 2020, I proposed the course as an elective offering to students from across the university. Every aspect of the course, from the the structure, the syllabus, the lectures, the slides, and the assignments, was carefully designed by me. Students ranged from first-years to Ph.D.s, pursuing degrees in history, architecture, business, HCI, public policy, fine arts, design, and more.
TOPICS COVERED
Though not intended to be a history course, the topics in “Decoloniality” followed a temporal framing. We discussed the role of modernity in facilitating colonization and the erasure of cultures, taking a look at what the pre-modern, pre-colonial world system looked like and how empires across the world interacted with one another prior to colonialism and globalization. We then read how major thinkers of the time responded to the threat of colonization as a rupture from that prior world system. Not content to leave these histories in the past, we delved into decolonial theories, looking particularly at how coloniality still impacts us today, influencing the futures we envision.
Topics covered in this course:
The pre-modern world system
History, narrative, and mythology
Principles of modernity and modernity’s link to colonization
Encounters with the West and reactions to colonial advancement
Modernity, colonialism, and the development of race
Coloniality of knowledge & ways of knowing
Orientalism: media and the myth of the savage
Progress, development, and aid
Colonial theft and extraction
White saviorism
Diaspora of the colonized in a postcolonial world
Decolonization as metaphor & approaches to decolonization
Eurocentrism & colonized futures
Format and Organization
The seminar course relied heavily on reading assignments and in-class lectures and discussions. Classes began with a short lecture of about 30 minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less), and the remainder of the class is spent discussing the topics and readings in small groups and as a class.
STUDENT WORK
Because “Decoloniality” was a seven-week (mini) course, there were many manifestations of de/coloniality that we were not able to cover in the lectures and readings. For the final assignment, I asked students to research a topic related to decoloniality that we did not cover in class, but one they are interested in exploring. Students had two options: to solely write a research paper or design or create something as an output of their research, supported with written documentation and a summary of research findings.
At the end of the mini, students presented their papers in 2-3 minute presentations so that they could all be exposed to the various topics covered and learn from one another.
I also gave students the option to submit their papers or projects to a Medium publication to share their insights with a broader community beyond the classroom. Many students chose not to, but the outcome is nevertheless a concise survey of topics explored. Student work can be viewed on Medium at this link.
PRAISE FOR “DECOLONIALITY”
The following comments on the course are direct quotes, received from students in anonymous faculty course evaluations, except where otherwise noted. SoD is an acronym for School of Design.
I took your Decoloniality course in fall 2021 and I simply wanted to reach out to you and tell you how profound that course was to me. I truly feel it was the most impactful course I took during the 3.5 years I was in grad school. I want to send you my gratitude for teaching the course and investing so much care into the course. I will forever have a different outlook on the world and my position in it and for that I cannot thank you enough. [Note: this is from a personal correspondence]
Honestly for one of the first times during my time at CMU thus far, I felt sad for the last class to end. I feel I learned something new and important in every class section and will definitely miss it. [Note: this feedback was sent to me directly]
This was one of my favorite classes I've taken at CMU. I wish it were a required class for SoD!
This course was hands down the top class I have ever taken in my 3.5 years at CMU, I wish every student regardless of major were required to take it, the topic is THAT important.
This class was so impactful to me on so many levels. I would love to see this class as a semester course and would make it mandatory if possible.
This course is deeply needed in SoD. I hope it becomes a regularly offered elective.
I believe that the topics of Decoloniality and Decolonization covered in this class should be at the core of the SoD Design Studies curriculum as its an integral way to think ethically, critically, and holistically about interventions for the present and future.
This is an excellent course that deserves permanent installment in the University's perennial course calendar….The content in this class is so important to so many different disciplines around the University, and I feel strongly in that it should incorporated into different curricula.
As a woman of color, I felt seen, heard, and tended to, which is a rare experience in academia and at the School of Design. I would take any class that Hajira teaches.